Honey & Vanilla Chai Macarons with Chocolate Ganache

To prove that the success of my matcha macarons wasn't due to first timer's luck, I made another batch of macarons using the same recipe but I replaced the matcha powder with chai powder. Need I say more? This macaron recipe from muffinsareuglycupcakes surely has the winning formula!

Chai is a beverage from the Indian subcontinent made by brewing tea with a mixture of aromatic Indian spices and herbs such as cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, star anise, peppercorn, and cloves.

Chai is definitely gaining in popularity in Australia. So, it's not surprising that Chai Latte is the second most popular drink (after cappucino) at little Miss C's school cafe where I work occasionally. The cafe provides an alfresco seating for school mums, school teachers and staff. I have always had a dream of owning a little chic cafe by the beach. Once a month working as a volunteer gives me an idea of how it is like to work in a cafe environment. I do enjoy the hustle and bustle when the cafe is operating in full swing, but there is so much to do before and after: inventory planning, cleaning, washing up.... which I really don't enjoy that much. I am glad that I have tried it and I know now that it's not easy to run a cafe or a restaurant. A dream is always a dream. The little white and blue beach cafe will always be my dream. In reality, it's not going to happen.

Thanks to Rachel from Polarity Consultants who has sent me a twin pack of PURE Chai, I was keen to find a recipe and incorporate this ingredient into it. Since I was in macaron making mode, Chai Macarons became a natural choice.

Honey and Vanilla Chai Macarons Recipe
(Adapted from Muffinsareuglycupcakes)

Ingredients

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3/4 cup ground almonds
1/4 cup PURE Honey and Vanilla Chai
3 egg whites
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Method

1. Grind ground almond, honey & vanilla chai and icing sugar with food processor to make sure there’s no lumps.
2. Whip the eggs whites with a pinch of salt and slowly adding in the granulated sugar until soft peaks formed. Add the dry ingredients to the egg whites half at a time and start folding.
3. You should get a slow moving batter (flow-like-magma consistency).
4. Pipe the macaron batter onto baking paper.
5. Bake at 320F (160C) for 12 mins.
6. Let cool.
7. Fill the macaron shells with chocolate ganache (recipe below).

Chocolate Ganache
(Adapted from Trissalicious)

Ingredients

200 grams dark chocolate
200 ml cream

Method

1. Chop the dark chocolate into even pieces (the smaller the better) and place in a bowl.
2. Heat the cream until it starts to boil.
3. Pour the cream into the bowl of chocolate and let rest for 1 minute.
4. With a rubber spatula, mix the ganache fully.
5. Cool and let it set in the refrigerator (around 1 hour)