Neapolitan Ice Cream Sandwiches
An Original Recipe by Not Quite Nigella
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 18 minutes per tray (5 trays)
Makes about 10 macaron ice cream sandwiches about 8cms/3.2inches in diameter
- 600g/21.2ozs. Tant Pour Tant (300g/10.6ozs. pure icing sugar and 300g/10.6ozs. ground almonds)
- 120g/4.24ozs. egg whites (first lot)
- 300g/10.6ozs. caster or superfine sugar
- 75g/2.65oz water
- 120g/4.24ozs. egg whites (second lot)
- 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
- Pink colouring gel
- 2 or 3 500ml tubs of Woolworths Gold Ice Cream (you can get about 4 macaron sandwiches per tub)
- Woolworths Gold summer berries and elderflower jam, dark chocolate sauce and salted caramel sauce
Hint: try not to make macarons on humid days. It's not impossible but it takes longer.
Tip: I buy almond meal in bulk and keep it in the fridge but that is not ideal for macaron making as the almond meal is better when it is less moist. Drying it out in a low oven for 10 minutes helps to get frilly feet on the macarons.
Step 1 - Sift the Tant Pour Tant (TPT). This will take a while but is necessary for smooth textured macarons. Mix with the first lot of egg whites until you get a thick, smooth paste.
Step 2 - Place the caster or superfine sugar and water in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Add a sugar thermometer and heat until simmering rapidly. Do not stir.
Step 3 - Place the second lot of egg whites in a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.
Step 4 - When the sugar mixture reaches 115°C/239°F commence whipping the egg whites. They should reach soft peaks by the time the sugar mixture reaches 118°C/244°F. Carefully pour the hot syrup in a stream into the egg whites while the mixer is still running. Whip for 1 minute on maximum speed. Lower the speed to medium speed and whip for 1-2 minutes until it reaches 50°C/122°F.
Step 5 - Mix with the TPT mixture. Don't worry about deflating it, mix it so that the whites and TPT combine well. Divide into two bowls.
Step 6 - Colour one bowl with pink colouring gel. Sift the cocoa powder into the other bowl to make a chocolate coloured shell.
Step 7 - Place each mixture into a piping bag ready to pipe. I use silicon mats but you can also use baking parchment. Trace out large circles about 6cm/2.5inches in diameter (or measure the size of your ice cream carton) on parchment in thick pen and slip under the silicon mat or parchment to use as a guide. Pipe the macaron mixture onto the silicon mat -some do swirls but I found the best results were by keeping the tip in the centre and it would naturally push out the macaron mixture. It spreads a little during baking.
Step 8- Allow to rest at room temperature until it forms a skin - that is, you should be able to touch the macaron mixture and it should not be sticky at all. This can take from 15 minutes to two hours depending on the weather.
Step 9 - Preheat oven to 150°/300°F. I prefer to bake macarons one tray at a time as I find that sometimes the bottom trays don't develop "feet" (the frilly bit). Bake for 18 minutes. Cool on the tray for 5 minutes then slide a palette knife under the macarons to dislodge.
Step 10 - Pair up a chocolate and a strawberry macaron according to size.
Step 11 - Line a freezer proof tray with parchment. Remove the ice cream from the freezer and using a long palette knife, slide it out of the container. Slice into four or five slices - if they are a bit large use a round cutter to cut the slices down to the right size. Place on the prepared tray and put back in the freezer to completely harden until you have finished all of the ice cream tubs. When all the slices have been cut, sandwich between the macarons with some of the sauces.