French Touch Helmet Macaroons

It's up to you.

11 detailed steps, from preparation to service.

1. Preparing the plate and weighing

   Preheat the oven to 175 °C in conventional oven setting (no fan) and place a sheet of baking paper on a large cold baking tray. Weigh 200 g of grated coconut and 120 g of sugar in two containers. Prepare a large bowl, spoon or spatula and a small bowl of water to moisten the fingers during shaping; this water will not be added to the dough.

2. Separating and Weighing Whites

   Break the three eggs one by one in a small bowl and separate the whites from the yolks, without dropping any shell. Weigh 90 g of whites and pour them into the large bowl; keep the yolks for another preparation. The whites must remain liquid: this recipe does not require them to be snowed. Wash and dry your hands after handling the eggs.

3. Mix sugar and vanilla

   Add the 120 g of sugar and the vanilla teaspoon to the 90 g of whites. Stir gently with a fork for 30 seconds to break the white filaments and distribute the sugar. The mixture remains fluid and a little granular; do not frolic to obtain a foam, because the goal is simply to moisten the coconut.

4. Moisturize the coconut

   Pour the 200 g of grated coconut into the bowl. Mix with a spatula for 1 minute, bringing the material from the edges to the center and scraping the bottom until there is no dry coconut left. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Then take a small portion and squeeze it between your fingers: it must form a block that stands, while keeping a fibrous surface.

5. Share the preparation in 20 portions

   Divide the mixture into 20 small piles of close size, about 20 g each, on the baking paper. You can use two small spoons to avoid keeping too many on your hands. Scrape the bowl to distribute the rest among the heaps. Wet the tip of your fingers very lightly, then shake the excess water before giving each portion its final shape.

6. Shape 20 low helmets

   Gently press each portion between your wet fingers to obtain a dome of about 4 cm, with a flat base and a rounded top. Does not form a tip: the silhouette should look like a small low helmet. Place the domes on the plate, spacing them 3 cm, then check that none leans; flatten the base slightly if necessary, without smoothing the coconut fibers.

7. Cook to a blonde color

   Bake at mid-height for 12-15 minutes. From 12 minutes, look at the lower edge and the reliefs of the summit: they must be golden, while the sides remain lighter. Do not extend until everything is brown, otherwise the clusters will be dry. Take out the plate and leave the domes alone for 10 minutes, as their bases are still tender.

8. Cooling before the visor

   Slide a spatula under each clusters and place it on a wire rack. Allow to cool for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the base is at room temperature. Then install the 20 domes on baking paper, choosing for each one a front side. Prepare a food brush or the back of a small spoon to apply the chocolate without crushing the coconut.

9. Melt 90 g of chocolate

   Chop 90 g of dark chocolate and put them in a small, perfectly dry bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan containing a little hot water, keeping the bowl clear of the water. Melt over a very low heat, stirring. Remove the bowl when the chocolate has almost melted and stir off the heat until smooth. Wipe the bottom of the bowl; no drop of water should fall into the chocolate. Let it cool for 1 to 2 minutes while stirring: it must be able to spread out in a band, without flowing immediately to the bottom of the dome. If necessary, wait a little longer; do not add any liquid to change its texture.

10. Paint the visor and both fasteners

    Spread a horizontal strip of chocolate 1 cm high to mid-height on the front half of each clusters. Make small passages of the brush from one side to the other, leaving the top and back in bare coco. Then place a small chocolate stitch on each side of the band to evoke the fasteners. Spread the chocolate between the 20 helmets, without creating a separate piece or face.

11. Allow to be taken and served

    Let the chocolate take 20 to 30 minutes in a cool room, until it no longer marks to the light touch. Take off the clusters from the paper by supporting them from the base and place all the visors in the same direction on the plate. Any remaining chocolate can freeze in small pallets next to it. Store the clusters in a box, only when they are cold and their decor hardened.