The French, Italians and the British completely confused the Russian-speaking population with the name of their dishes, which sound exactly the same for the Slavic perception. To distinguish a confection from a type of pasta, the Russians began to call the fragrant cakes macarons, but they did not take into account that there are cakes with exactly that name in English cuisine.
Macaroni and macaroons
The confusion that has arisen in the Russian language with the name of various dishes hiding under the name of macaroni and macarons is almost impossible in countries where the name of this food is written in Latin letters. A variety of durum wheat pasta is spelled macaroni, while a fluffy French cake is a macaron or, plural, macaroni. As for the meringue-like coconut cookies, this is macaroon. Unfortunately, when a colored almond delicacy with a creamy layer became popular in Russia, many began to write and pronounce its name like macarons, thereby causing the final confusion.
French pasta
French pasta cakes are made on the basis of whipped meringue proteins with the addition of almond flour, sugar and food coloring. The dough is deposited on a baking sheet lined with baking paper so that smooth rounds are obtained. When baking, the dough rises and a characteristic "skirt" is formed along the edge of the pasta. Delicate and soft, moist almond biscuits with a thin crispy crust are sealed in pairs using butter cream, chocolate ganache or fruit jam. The dough is colored with various dyes and flavorings are added. The cakes come in all colors of the rainbow and with many elegant flavors such as coffee, chocolate, vanilla, lemon, pistachio, mint, raspberry.
Confectioners bake pasta with more exotic tastes - truffle, violet, ginger.
English macaroons
Unlike French pasta, English macaroon is a cake that requires less financial costs and pastry skills. It is especially popular in the United States. Like the sumptuous French dessert, English is made with whipped protein and almond flour, but starch is added to it for fluffiness and coconut flakes or pieces of other nuts, not as expensive as almonds. The cake is baked by placing it on a baking sheet like a meringue and is often dipped in melted dark or white chocolate.
In France, such cakes are called "Congolese".
To bake real macarons, you will need:
- 3 cups of grated coconut flakes;
- 4 egg whites;
- ½ glass of sugar;
- 1 teaspoon of almond extract;
- ¼ teaspoon of salt.
Preheat oven to 180C. Whisk the egg whites into a firm foam, gradually adding sugar, almond extract and salt. Add coconut flakes to the lather. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and form small balls of the protein-coconut mass. Moisten your hands with water before sculpting them. Bake the macaroons for 15-20 minutes. Refrigerate for 5-7 minutes and serve. Finished cakes can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.
