Isn’t it weird when something just works?
Like, never being able to wake up at the first waling of your alarm (seriously. That sound makes me want to cry, whatever the context) and then on the morning of your exam you wake up 2 hours early!?
Or even the piece of bread you put in the toaster. It will normally end up burnt on one half and still pale on the other. But this one time, becomes evenly browned, seems to stay warm forever and ALL the butter on it melts! - those random cold bits of un-melted butter are too stressful to deal with in the morning.
And this home-made ground coconut, which I actually managed to use in macarons, one of the most temperamental baked goods ever, and it worked! So I can now present easy, nut-free macarons for anyone with (or without) allergies…plus it’s got coconut…
and who wouldn’t want freaking coconut in their macarons?
Nut-Free Coconut and Chocolate Macarons
adapted from David Leibovitz
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp (9 tbsp) home-made ground coconut
1 cup (3.5 oz / 100g ) powdered sugar
2 egg whites
5 tbsp granulated sugar
For the chocolate ganache:
2 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup (60 ml) heavy cream / double cream
1 tsp butter
Line 2 cookie trays with parchment paper.
Sift together the coconut flour and powdered sugar in a medium bowl.
In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites until you get soft peaks. Continue whisking, whilst gradually adding the sugar until you get stiff peaks.
Add half of the coconut + powdered sugar mixture to the egg whites and start folding it in slowly and gently with a spatula. After a few folds, add the rest of it, and continue to fold it together slowly until the batter becomes the right consistency:
- Test the batter every few folds by putting some of it on a plate (or if you’re like me, just blob a little onto the counter top).
- Now watch the blob of batter, if it gets a flat top within about 20 seconds, you’re golden.
- If a little peak remains on the blob, do a few more folds then try again
- If it turns into a puddle and wont keep it’s shape, you’ve over mixed it
(they freeze super well too!)
This coincidentally fits in with Tastespotting’s Food Allergy Awareness Day on Friday the 18th of May (this week!)
** Disclaimer ** for any and all recipes associated with Food Allergy Awareness Day on TasteSpotting: “Please note that this recipe has not been reviewed by FAI or medical experts. Avoidance is the only accepted course of treatment for food allergy. Always verify ingredients or food products by checking with the manufacturer and/or your physician to ensure that any foods are safe for your unique allergy issues.”
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{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow this looks really good! coconut here are much cheaper and you almost find them anywhere than ground almonds. I would love to try this! And I have no success making macarons yet
I found these easier to make than other macarons in the past, so maybe they’ll work for you! Thanks
do you have a gas oven? mine doesnt come out ok, ever. i made this twice already.
Oh no! what’s wrong? I have an electric fan assisted oven.
Lovely! I’ve never made macarons. I’m not sure I’ve ever even had one.. you make it sound so easy! I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t be lovely with coconut. I’m sure they have the best natural nutty sweetness, as most coconut baked goods do!
Haha, coconut is definitely the best!
You, my dear, just put a smile on my face. My daughter is anaphylactic to peanuts and treenuts so this recipe is a great way for me to make and introduce her to macarons!! Thank you for sharing such a great recipe with all of us (me).
Jackie
Wow, that;s so great to hear! Thanks for the comment
They look delicious. But people allergic to nuts ( not peanuts) are typically allergic to coconut
aww, I had googled it and found that most places said that “coconut allergies were less common than allergies to almonds” [http://foodallergies.about.com/od/nutallergies/f/coconutallergy.htm] and that “coconut gets the green light for people with tree nut allergies” ]http://blog.onespotallergy.com/2011/03/is-coconut-safe-for-people-with-tree-nut-allergies/] so I thinks it’s pretty subjective!
Sorry izy. Hubby has tree nut allergies and can’t eat coconut. Which sadly mean thai restaurants are off limits. BUTTTTT I adore coconut and love this recipe
Thanks! Ahh, Thai food is some of the best
please delete my previous comment, don’t know why it was sent before I was done writing! thanks. But feel free to still answer my question
Hmm, it may be because of not letting the batter rest for long enough to develop the dry outer crust; the time you need to wait for this to happen can vary depending on the temperature and humidity of the room, was the batter sticky before you put it into the oven?
The batter had formed a crust, at least that’s what it felt like. It might have been a tiny bit sticky still, but there was for sure a hardened outer crust. I’ll give it another go tonight and report back. Thanks for the reply, I really want these to work out!
Do u think coconut flour would work?
Thank you so much for this recipe, I’ve been looking for a recipe for nut-free macarons that use coconut. I can’t wait to try it out.
Just made these TWICE and they both failed. The first time I followed the recipe as is and even watched youtube tutorials to make sure I was getting the technique right. I also used to work in a bakery and though I never made macarons, I watched the head baker make them enough that I kind of remembered what they were supposed to look like. These didn’t look right at all. The “batter” was extremely dry (and I didn’t overmix). It was like a sugar cookie dough. So I made again with 3 egg whites instead of two and added a little vanilla to up the liquid. They were better, but still dry. Not like “batter” consistency. I even added a few drops of water after I mixed it and it was still like cookie dough not batter. When they baked, they were really soft and never got a “shell”. Not sure if I did something wrong, but sadly these didn’t work for me.