Macarons. We’ve all heard of them, we’ve (most likely) all eaten one. So why is there so much hype around them? I’ve never been able to figure it out, because the macarons I have had never seemed to wow me. However, after eating a ginormous french meringue macaron in Paris, my outlook on the elegant french dessert was changed forever.
I decided to take on the challenge of making my own macarons for a few reasons. The first and probably biggest reason behind my motivation is that making macarons is tricky and I like the bragging rights (why lie?). The process itself is easy and the ingredients are minimal as well as easy to source out. However, controlling external factors like humidity, moisture and oil (all things that macaron batter hates), is tricky. Also knowing when to stop mixing the batter during the macaronage is difficult and requires some solid judgement skills. I am going to be discussing all of this is more detail so that after you are done reading this post, you are well equipped with the knowledge and tools to make a perfect macaron your first try.
Why Make Your Own Macarons?
If you’re not keen on making your own macarons, let me convince you on why you should. After nailing down the process, making the batter for the shells is quick, easy, and takes less than 30 minutes. It’s also WAY cheaper to make your own. A recipe usually makes around 16-20 assembled macarons, and macarons from the store/bakery usually go for three dollars a piece. I appreciate all the work, time and effort that goes into making the perfect macaron but seriously, I will be making my own macarons from now on.
Another great reason to make your own macarons is that you’re able to control the size of the shells. Of course you can make huge macarons, but they’re typically really sweet and lots of people are usually satisfied after only one (although I can’t say the same hehe). Lastly, and I think this goes without saying, you can pick your own flavours. This part is probably the most fun. So far, I have made strawberry white chocolate and lavender macarons.
Process and Sift
Making macarons consists of three parts: combining the dry ingredients, making a meringue, and the macaronage which is the combining of dry ingredients with the meringue (I’ll get to that in a bit). I’ve learned through multiple trial and errors that getting the almond flour really fine is key to a successful batch.
The first tip I will share with you, is to process the dry mixture in a food processor and sift it afterwards. For the recipe I have shared in this post, that involves pulsing the almond flour and icing sugar together a few times to 1) combine them thoroughly and 2) to get out any lumps. When the dry ingredients are ready to be combined with the meringue, sift the dry ingredients overtop the meringue before you combine them to really make sure the big chunks of almond flour are sorted out.
Macaronage- Mixing the Batter
Macaronage is a fancy term to describe the process of combining the dry ingredients with the meringue. Lots of people swear by counting how many times they fold the batter together and to not go over that number, but I say no thank you to that method and prefer to judge the batter for myself. First, sift the dry ingredients over the meringue. Then, using a spatula, fold the ingredients into each other, pushing the air out of the meringue. Note that if your batter is too thin, the macaron shells will be thin and won’t develop proper feet.
As air gets pushed out of the meringue the batter will become more liquidy. Don’t be too gentle to the point where you’re not pushing any air out, but don’t be too careless either otherwise you’ll have a macaron batter that falls flat and yields thin, wide shells. You want the batter to be thin enough so that you can draw a “figure eight” with batter from the spatula, but thick enough so that the eight holds its shape and doesn’t dissipate right away into the rest of the batter. Once you get that shape, toss the batter into a piping bag and pipe it right away.
Piping the Macarons
Of course, you can always eyeball the piping process. But if you want consistent macarons, spare a couple moments to make a reusable macaron template. Using a cap from a jug of milk or shot glass, trace evenly spaced out circles (about 1/2 an inch apart) onto a piece of parchment paper that fits onto your baking sheet. This will be your template.
When ready to pipe, place the macaron template onto the baking sheet and another piece of parchment paper on top. After you’re done piping, simply slide the template out from underneath. This way, you’re able to see the template underneath while piping, but not dirty it so that you can use it again!
Beware of External Factors
Like I mentioned previously, macaron batter is sensitive to external factors such as humidity, moisture and oil. If there is too much of any of that, they will fall flat and not turn out properly. Although it’s impossible to control the weather, make sure that you take extra steps into preparing the environment before you begin. This sounds tedious, but trust me you will thank me later when your first batch turns out!
Here are the steps I take to make sure I minimize the risk of ruining my batter:
- Wash all of your equipment. This means although you washed your electric mixer and bowl last week, hand wash it again with soap and hot water to remove any dirt/oils that have piled up since then. If you plan to use a silicone baking mat, wash that as well. Same goes for any cooking utensils you may use as well as your piping bag. I use disposable piping bags and usually reuse them, but I set aside one piping bag which I only use for macaron batter, so that it’s never exposed to oil (it’s hard to get oil off of piping bags that have been used with buttercream).
- Dry all of your equipment. After washing, thoroughly dry all of the equipment you’ll be using to eliminate exposing the batter to moisture.
- Choose the right food colouring. If you plan on colouring your shells, add the colouring into the meringue while it is being whipped, around the soft peaks stage. Beware of cheap liquid food colourings as they add moisture into the batter and can ruin the turn-out. Instead, opt for gel food colouring or powdered colouring.
- Beware of oil from the toppings. After the shells are piped onto the baking sheet, they will need to sit for around 30-60 minutes to develop a non-sticky coating and “dry”. Before they are set aside, you have the option to sprinkle on toppings such as lavender buds, crushed nuts, sprinkles, etc. If you do decide to do this, make sure you use the toppings sparingly, as the oil from them can also throw off the science of the batter.
Macaron feet
The “feet” of a macaron are the bottom edges of the shell that bubble upwards. The perfect macaron has feet that bubble upwards but don’t crack. You want to avoid macarons that have feet which bubble to the sides during the baking process as well as macarons that don’t have any feet! If you’re careful and are aware of the factors which can ruin your batter, as well as know what to look for in a macaronage and remove any lumps from the dry ingredients, you have a really good chance of making a successful batch.
Using Correct Measurements
In the recipe I provided (which is also the go-to recipe that I use), I provide both volume and weight measurements. I highly suggest using weight measurements for making macarons, since there is more room for error when measuring volume measurements. I use an electric kitchen scale that I can zero in between measurements.
Last but not least, I got this recipe from The Duchess Bake Shop recipe book. I was drawn to the book by the stunning photography and gold accents, and the recipes inside are just as amazing. This recipe yields incredible french meringue macarons among many other desserts and you can check out their full recipe book here.
Fillings
Here is a detailed post I wrote about macaron fillings filled with tips and tricks. Here you can find two different types of fillings that allow for a variety of flavour experimentation!
Here’s the recipe!
French Meringue Macarons
Equipment
- electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment
- spatula or bowl scraper
- clean piping bag and a medium round tip (#803 or #804)
Ingredients
- 135 grams almond flour or 1 1/4 cup plus 3 tbsp
- 195 grams icing sugar or 1 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp
- 100 grams egg whites, room temp about three large
- 38 grams granulated sugar or 3 tbsp
- 7 grams egg white powder (albumen) or 2 tsp, see note
- 1/4 tsp powdered colour or minimally use gel colouring, a couple smears should be enough
- filling of choice
Instructions
- Make sure all of your equipment is clean and dry before starting.
- Using a food processor, pulse the almond flour and icing sugar together until fine. Set aside.
- Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or alternatively you can use a hand mixer). Sift the granulated sugar, egg white powder and powdered food colouring onto the egg whites. If using gel colouring, wait until the egg whites have been whipped to soft peaks before adding.
- If using gel colouring, whip on high until soft peaks form. Add in the gel colouring sparingly and continue whipping until very stiff peaks form. See note on soft and stiff peaks.
- Sift the processed almond and icing sugar mixture over the meringue and start the macaronage. Using a spatula or a plastic bowl scraper, fold the batter into itself to combine the two mixtures while pushing out the air from the meringue. Repeat until the batter is thin enough where you are able to form a "figure eight" shape with the batter, but thick enough so that the figure eight doesn't dissipate right away. The mixture should resemble slow flowing lava.
- Once you get the figure eight shape, immediately transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a 1/2 inch round tip by placing the bag into a tall glass and folding the edges over the rim (or alternatively you can eyeball it and cut your own hole if using a plastic disposable bag). Fill the bag with the batter.
- Using a macaron template, pipe the batter onto a baking sheet covered in parchment paper (or clean and dry silicone baking mat). If you plan to add toppings to your macarons, sparingly sprinkle them on the piped shells now and remove the template from underneath the parchment.
- Firmly tap the baking sheets onto the counter to remove any air bubbles from the macarons. Set the shells aside at room temperature to rest and "dry" for 20-30 minutes, or until a smooth layer develops on top of the shells and they are not longer sticky and smooth to the touch.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and bake the dry macarons for 8 minutes, only baking one sheet at a time. After the 8 minutes is up, quickly open the oven door to release some heat and rotate the baking sheet in the oven. Bake for another 4 minutes. If the edges of the macaron start to brown, remove them immediately.
- Cool the shells for 20 minutes before removing them from the parchment paper. Get the shells ready for filling by pairing up shells similar in size. Fill each macaron by piping a dollop of filling onto one shell and sandwiching it down with another.
- And that's it! Filled macarons can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for about three days.
Notes
- Soft peaks: you can remove the whisk and the meringue will form a peak that droops
- Stiff peaks: once the whisk is removed, the meringue will form a peak on the surface that holds its own shape and stands up without drooping
- egg white powder or albumen is easily found at gourmet cooking stores (or online)
- unassembled macaron shells can be kept in the freezer for up to a week before assembling, just make sure to bring them to room temp beforehand!
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