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French Macaroons (Macaron) with Chocolate filling
I know I READ all instructions again and again - guess theory alone didn't do any good! These came out tasting great - but the base was soft - with no feet
Macaron Flop Show- Batches 6, 7 and 8
Yet again different technique but same old sad story - Taste once again, great but looks wise and feet wise - this batch did not sprout feet either. Happy Feet they sure weren't! In fact there was NO FEET!!!
Macaron Batch 9
Just when I was giving up - tired, cranky, irritable, cursing woman is not good to be around with (ask my husband!) - one last batch of egg whites and last 2 cups of almond flour and 1/2 cup of powdered sugar beckoned me yet again! They seemed to tell me, "Just try one last time! - Dont give up on us!". So back to the computer - rewrote all techniques yet again, read through 50 more sites, glanced through 1000 tips yet again ( just let me get my hands on few of those ppl who wrote it #$%R%R$@!!!!!) and ground some powdered sugar at home for the recipe (late to shop)
And tada - few BABY FEET AT LAST! Not great - but I had something to show at the end of it all and also some little justification for the immensely messy kitchen and for looking like a Halloween Ghost with all those powdered sugar on me!
So the main purpose of this post is to give you HANDS ON TIPS - so that you save those 8 batches of footless macarons! Try variations with tips that will not make you waste time with wrong base or technique. I have given tips at the end of every method where applicable to help out the beginners like me!
- Confectioners’ (Icing) sugar: 2 ¼ cups (225 g, 8 oz.)
- Almond flour: 2 cups (190 g, 6.7 oz.)
- Granulated sugar: 2 tablespoons (25 g , .88 oz.)
- Egg whites: 5 (Have at room temperature)
- For Chocolate Filling - Recipe from Davidlebovitz.com
- ½ cup (125 ml) heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
- 4 ounces (120 gr) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon (15 gr) butter, cut into small pieces
Tips and Tricks
You can grind your own almonds to make the flour. But even if you buy the store bought ones - Grind them once again. Simply combine the powdered sugar and almond flour and grind them fine.
Tips and Tricks
1.First make sure you separate the egg whites from the yolks very carefully. Even one single drop of the yolk can spoil the entire meringue.
2. Once separated, keep the egg whites on your counter top (covered with paper towel) for 1-3 days. This helps to concentrate the protein and bring out a shinier end result.
3. Soft Peak Stage - Start beating eggs at low speed for 1-2 minutes and then gradually increase it to med-high. You get a soft peak stage, I think approx in 5-6 minutes. You know you have a soft peak when you lift up the beaters and you see a peak but with the end slightly curled. They would droop slightly. You should be adding the granulated sugar now, little by little.
Tips and Tricks
Folding is very crucial technique to make this macaron work. The correct and proper way of doing this would be as follows- To the meringue, add about 1/3 rd of the almond-sugar mixture. The first 6-7 strokes of mixing is going to be fast. You can do it little hard at this stage to help get rid of the air pockets formed while forming the meringue. The correct way of folding would be to cut the batter in the center, scrap out the bottom most batter and bring it above folding over the top layer - turn the bowl slightly and repeat the process. Doing so this way, will avoid air getting into the meringue while folding. Do this fast and hard for first few strokes and then slowly and gently finish off with the rest of the almond mixture.
This Process is called Macaronage and the full process for this recipe takes about 5-8 minutes depending upon your style of foldingor 30 or so strokes!
You know your macaronage is just right when the mixture starts looking smooth and glossy.
Tips and Tricks
-If you have not mastered the Macaron yet, then I would suggest that you don't waste time by drawing out circles on the parchment paper (helps to drop correct amount of batter on the sheet). Instead you can download this pattern from here : http://en.mooseabout.com/wp-content/themes/mooseabout/documents/zwcok-maccir1-3p8.pdf and take a print out. You can concentrate more on the technique instead of drawing circles on the paper. Saves time and effort too :) Works for lazy bums like me too. If that template does not work use this - http://marvwoodhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/zwcok-maccir1-3p8.pdf (thanks Amy)-Just place the print out sheet just below your parchment paper
Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored. Cool on a rack before filling.
Tips and Tricks
Another possible issue usually faced by many is while removing the macarons from the parchment paper. I did not have a single problem and I did this -
Dampen a kitchen towel and place it flat on the counter. Now take the parchment paper and place it on top. Give it, say 10-15 seconds, and then slowly using a knife edge, lift up the macaron. You might need to do a little slicing action - but trust me, it did not break even a single macaron and 90% of the case, the macarons came out willingly! So much so, that my parchment was reusable! It was that clean!
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If you find the surface of the macaroons never dry when left at room temperature (after piping) you have probably not combined the wet and dry ingredients sufficiently well. Everyone always warns you about over working the mixture but if you under work if the sugar is not properly integrated into the mix: it’s this dissolved sugar that makes the shell. Without the shell they rise in all directions as opposed to being constrained to move upwards and form feet. The result is a macaroon that inflates, expanding in all directions then sinks upon cooling. Note: A macaroon that was under worked looks similar to a severely over worked macaroon.
I’ve tried it and for some reason my macarons stick on the wax paper like crazy and won’t come off. what else is a better way of removing them?
Can this be made eggless??? If yes then plzzzzz let me know what to use instead egg..
Thank u…
I finally got my macaroons to come out.
1 things I found necessary. 1 don’t use really fresh eggs. and 2. make sure that the eggs you use are not too big.
I added my egg mixture to my dry mixture a little at a time to make sure it wasn’t too runny, and hey presto the came out perfect. Make sure you let them sit for at least 1/2 hour before putting them in the oven. and only do 1 tray at a time. Also let them cool completely before taking them off the baking paper.
HELP! My macaroons are beginning to annoy me. I follow everything to a tee but the mixture just doesnt dry out after I have piped it onto the greaseproof paper. It just seems very runny! Please, help me and prevent me from going insane!
I just made my first macaron attempt today and had like…too many feet. The cookies bubbled out and spread and the tops slid off of the bubbly bases, giving me a spread out mess. A delicious mess, but not what I was attempting to make. I don’t know exactly where I went wrong…I did have to substitute granulated sugar blendered with some corn starch for confectioners’ sugar, which might have caused me problems…or perhaps my oven was off, or maybe I folded too hard/not hard enough…grr. I’ll have to try again soon. I had such grand plans!