When you cook your chickpeas from scratch don’t throw away the draining water! This is top class aquafaba that you can using in baking or to make mayonnaise. It’s basically lecithin, an ingredient you will see on many a packet in lieu of egg, used to emulsify or bind ingredients. Lecithin, a natural compond, binds both water and fats to it. Great if it’s a by-product of your own healthy cooking.
Macaroons are a nostalgic, sweet treat before we went all macaron, a more fancy operation to make, where you can still use aquafaba, mind.
Whip using a stand mixer, or an electric hand whisk. I’m not sure how far you will get by hand. Top tip: make sure your equipment is free from traces of oil to ensure firm peaks.
An icecream dolloper is ideal for forming the macaroons. Otherwise a large spoon with the mixture packed down, or you might get flat and crumbly macaroons.
Ingredients c 16 pieces
- 90ml aquafaba
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 65g granulated sugar
- 200g fine desiccated coconut
- 100g 70% chocolate (no dairy in it)
- 1tsp coconut oil
Method
- pre-heat oven to 160 C
- line baking sheet with baking parchment
- add aquafaba and apple cider vinegar to a clean metal or glass bowl and begin whipping at high speed
- when you reach the soft peaks stage, add the vanilla extract. Keep whipping until you get to the stiff peaks stage this can take anywhere from 2.5 minutes or more, depending on your mixer and your aquafaba
- once you reach the stiff peaks stage, slowly add the sugar, a few tablespoons at a time, and continue whipping with your mixer. Wait until the sugar has been dissolved into the aquafaba before adding more sugar the mixture will become glossy and thicker
- fold in the coconut, a little at a time
- use your ice cream scoop and pack in the mixture before placing each on the baking sheet
- bake for 20 minutes until the macaroons are golden brown on the bottom
- allow them to cool on the baking tray for five minutes or so to firm up before transferring to a cooling rack
- melt the chocolate in a bain marie and add the coconut oil
- dip the cooled macaroons in the chocolate and place back on the baking parchment covered tray if you have enough left over, you can drizzle it zigzag style over the top put the macaroons in the fridge to help the chocolate set faster so you can pile in faster!