Chocolate and Raspberry Macaron Mess

Macaron buddies, if you’ve ever had disasters whilst macaron-making; this is your moment of joy! Look no further for you will no longer have to bin them or eat them grudgingly or be annoyed at how cracked up they are.

Turn it around, do something special for you, and your macarons. You will remain blessed for it!!!!!!!!  Though it is called a rather awkward name, make no mistake; this tasty serving bears little resemblance to its other meanings like a sloppy or unappetizing preparation of food or a state of embarrassing confusion!

It is a fabulous dessert and is sure to elevate you to the ranks of gourmet cook when served up. The beauty of it is the time it takes to knock it together! Literally none…..done in minutes! There is also very little you can do to go wrong! Hence, the thumbs up!!!!!!!

Long before I succeeded at finding my feet with chocolate macarons, I knew I would fail in some aspects and I actually looked forward to that bit the most. For I knew already what I would do – make a chocolate and raspberry macaron mess, which is exactly what I did with my broken, cracked and un-presentable macarons!

This is modeled after the famous Eton Mess, traditionally, a combination of broken meringues, cream and strawberries. Of course, like with most things gastro, numerous variations now exist. Sometimes raspberries are used instead/in combination with strawberries, the cream may be ditched for Greek/Turkish yoghurt, crème fraiche, sour cream, ice cream or a combination of all of these and you’ll even find a few recipes with shots of wine and alcohol.

Of course, there are also people like me, who’ve made them before with store-bought meringues, as opposed to homemade! Forgive me. I’ll use the 3 kids excuse this time :-)!!!!

The last time I had Eton mess was in the autumn when we (the husband and I) went to London and so I decided that I would update this stat!

This version, ladies and gentlemen tasted amazing…if I might say so myself. The combination of broken-up chocolate macarons (in place of the meringues) is followed by a ‘raspberry mess’ of crushed raspberries, icing sugar, white chocolate liqueur, cream and crème fraiche. It is verrukelijk (superior Dutch for Delicious).

This is heading on over to MacTweets and Macattack 3. The challenge was ‘Out with the old, in with the new!’ Deeba and Jamie implored us to

DO SOMETHING OR ADD SOMETHING YOU’VE NEVER DONE BEFORE BUT HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO TRY!

“Maybe drying out fruit to create a flavor/color powder, try Italian meringue, try new flavor combos, try getting feet if you’ve never done that before… or use your macs to create a new dessert.

What you need

75g crushed/broken up (chocolate) macarons

200g whole raspberries

2 tablespoons icing sugar

40 ml cream

2 tablespoons crème fraiche

2 tablespoons chocolate liqueur (like Baileys Irish Cream or the White Liqueur in Tia Maria)

To garnish: Mint leaves, whole raspberries and mini macaron halves

Traditionally, when making Eton Mess, all the ingredients are tossed together save for a few whole berries and meringue bits for garnish. This combination is then refrigerated for a couple of hours before serving.

In this case, when I made the ‘cream’, I didn’t add any macarons because I didn’t want them to go super soggy and form creamy cereal.

To make the cream, place all but 10-12 raspberries in a bowl and gently crush.

Combine with the sugar, liqueur, cream and crème fraiche.

Stir well to combine.

Then add the 10-12 whole raspberries. Stir again and place a lid over the cream/wrap some cling film over the top. Refrigerate till ready to serve.

It is best served in individual glasses….. so no one fights ! Place a spoonful of chocolate macarons at the base of each glass, followed by a spoonful of the creamy mixture. Repeat to make another layer and top finally with crushed macarons. Top with one or more of the garnishes and serve…. immediately.

Enjoy the rich, silky creaminess and freshness of the mess and the slightly bitter, often sweet bite of chocolate from the macs, which slips through ever so lightly.

Gobble up the whole raspberries, knowing that you’ve had 1 of your 5 a day!!!!!

I call it a tremendous balance between light, dark and ruby red!!!!

The freshness and light tartness of creme fraiche is balanced by the richness of the cream and evened out by the icing sugar to give a smooth, silky blend!

Feeling more confident that your disastrous Macs can find a place called home now? I am!!!!

Enjoy it. We did!

[wpurp-searchable-recipe]Chocolate and Raspberry Macaron Mess – – – [/wpurp-searchable-recipe]