Drafty82

Ok, I have worked out the problem, to get enough heat into the tray, it is warping/buckling. I guess the 1st awesome batch was because the sheets were new and never used. Time to find some proper 2/3 sized sheets (and knock an inch off both of the short sides of my silpats). I did a batch last night on my old trays with baking paper and they came out awesome (should have listened to my wife a few batches ago - probably wouldn't have come to this realisation though).

I have done some experimenting, and I am now confident the problem is the Heat is too slow to the Base of the Shells. It is just going to take some more trial and error to find that butter zone between not enough and too much. It is incredibly frustrating, because the one in the picture I posted above is so aesthetically pleasing until I remove it from the Silpat, and the ones I have since managed to cook thoroughly, have all the typical too much heat symptoms (protruding uneven feet & hollows). I did try pre-heating a tray, and sliding the silpat across, but had 54 volcanoes in a matter of minutes. This is something I might continue to experiment with, but with a reduced pre-heat time (maybe 2 minutes instead of 10).

No, I know what you are saying, but the base isn't left on the Silpat. There is a fine powdery residue where the base used to be, like the base was massively over cooked to the point it disintegrated. I think I might do a pure test batch next time, and reduce the oven temp further, as the outer shell is pretty crisp.

I have been baking Macarons at home pretty successfully for 6 months or so, and have recently upgraded to larger aluminium baking sheets & silpat (from traditional Steel trays & baking paper) after a class with Adriano Zumbo (I am in Australia). My 1st batch turned out perfect (chocolate shells - replaced 10% of almonds & icing sugar with cocoa powder as per his recipe)., however 90% of the next 2 standard batches turned out as pictured below. Does anyone have any ideas? I just tried another batch this morning, the 1st two trays came out perfect, and the 3rd did this again. I have made the following changes since my class; - 2mm thick aluminium sheet with Silpat - grinding my own blanched almonds (in lieu of Almond Meal) With the 2 completely failed trays, I developed a theory, that I had rapped the trays a little over zealously, I did take care this morning with just some gentle tapping, maybe by the third tray I wasn’t so gentle... Has anyone had a similar experience? Or any ideas, I just find my theory lacking substance