Rose Macarons - With White or Dark Chocolate?

Finally, I understand why mac-fanatics do the things they do - churn out tray after tray of macarons in a spectrum of colours with various fillings ranging from ganache to buttercream to jam, curd and mascarpone cheese. It's hard not to get hooked on these delicate treats once you've fallen in love with them. I used to prowl places that make good macarons here, like Canele Patisserie, Obolo and the recently opened Jewel Artisans. But after discovering that my little oven can also churn out these babies, there's no more reason to go unless I'm exploring new flavours.

Since my last try, my mum brought some over to my grandma and relatives' place for them to try. Interestingly, they loved it! Considering that they normally don't fancy sweet desserts, this was a first! Hence, we decided to make another batch and this time I left the choice of flavour to mum. Gave her two options and she took the second one, which was to make Rose Macarons. It wasn't hard to predict or guess as she normally would want me to veer away from chocolate, which I'm practically obsessed over.

This time round, I used the same Italian Meringue recipe and added 3g of rose pink powder colouring. I think I was a little heavy handed as my macarons turned out bright pink! These were a joy to photograph, despite the not-so-cooperative weather (it was raining outside this morning). I also sprinkled some rose petals on the shells before baking them, just for that added romantic touch :). These were then sandwiched with two different ganaches - the first is a rose-flavoured white chocolate ganache, which didn't sit too well with me as I didn't go for the best chocolate I could find, and the second is a dark chocolate ganache made with Varhona Manjari. Trust me, the type of chocolate you use makes a whole world of difference. Don't compromise if you can as the results will be worth it.

Fillings-wise, there's definitely alot more room for improvement. I won't be posting the recipe until I'm happy with it. This means, back to the drawing board for more experimenting. One thing for sure, this won't be the end of my macaron series. There's still the other option which has been on my mind for some time and I can't wait to try it out. I'll leave you with these till then!