Homemade Dulce de Leche and Chocolate Macarons

Ever since I went to Paris with my daughter 9 years ago and had a Macaron at  Ladurée Pâtisserie, I’ve wanted to try making them. Although it’s only recently that they’ve become the rage in the United States.

For those of you that aren’t familiar with Macarons NOT Macaroons they come in an infinite array of colors with fillings from the ordinary to unimaginable. 

Macarons are made with few ingredients: almond flour, sugar and most importantly aged egg whites.  The process is precise to achieve perfection for simple and few ingredients. 

Since chocolate is my favorite flavor I decided to attempt to make Chocolate Macarons. 

After thumbing through the pages of numerous cookbooks and reading various blogs I decided to tackle Helene’s recipe from Tartelette.  Most of the recipes in the various Macaron cookbooks are in large quantity and although I could scale them down I decided to try her version for 30 Macarons to get my hands wet, so to speak.

In addition, I thought I’d make some homemade Dulce de Leche which turned out positively superb!  Soft, silky and gooey with just the perfect caramelized flavor.  If you’re not familiar with Dulce de Leche it’s a thick caramel-like mixture.  In Spanish it translates to “sweet milk,” or “milk candy.”  A simple preparation of sugar cooked with goats’ and/or cow’s milk for hours over low heat until thickened and deep golden in color.  However, the taste is similar to sweetened condensed milk when cooked the same way.  For details read below.

I hate to admit it, although I could have guessed, my first attempt at Macarons did not achieve perfection – though I learned from my mistakes and I’m ready to try again.  The shells weren’t as hard and crisp as I would have liked - more time was needed in the oven, still, the taste of this delicate cookie stuffed with Dulce de Leche and some blended with Nutella was more flavorful than I could have asked for!  Mmm I could have eaten the entire batch, but restrained myself to share with my family.

Below is the recipe for the homemade Dulce de Leche. There are several ways one could make this using a can of Sweetened Condensed Milk but I chose the safest way.  Many choose to place the unopened can in a pot of hot water to cook for hours.  The risk of pressure building up causing an explosion or burning yourself is extreme – my way is safe and quicker.

Vicki Bensinger has been teaching culinary classes throughout Missouri since 1992. However, she saw the need for more specialized classes and in 2004 established “At Home with Vicki Bensinger“, offering personalized private culinary classes for individuals and small groups (ages 7 to adult) in the comfort of their home or organization.

Having an In-Home Culinary Class is the perfect way to get together with friends while you learn to cook, hone your culinary skills or just have a fun time with friends and food.

If you’d like to learn more about her classes please email Vicki at: linking text or [email protected]

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Happy Cooking!

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