Macarons – Baking

[TheSwede]

This is my second attempt. It obviously went much better:

Filled with raspberry italian buttercream.

I'm pretty sure it was moisture that made yesterdays batch fail. It was raining outside and I belive a proper "skin" never formed. Today I used a hair dryer to ensure a proper skin and everything worked perfectly.

[JamericanDiva]

Well, I had my FIRST macaron from Laduree in Paris. It was chocolate. This has peaked my interest in macarons and here I find an extensive thread... or two. During my online search, I came across these two sites... I'm going to try my hand at these very soon.

TarteletteThis link is to a blog that has a link to an online magazine called "Desserts Magazine" where they cover French desserts... with a "Macarons 101" section complete with pictures spanning at least 8 pages!

MercotteThis one is from a French chef normally written in French, but this one's in English. Check out the pics of the rest of her macarons that she includes the recipe for... although that bit is written in French... there are BLACK ones... so striking!

I'm a visual learner... the latter link has so many recipes of such gorgeous macs, but she's just started putting some in English. Seeing how I'm trying to brush up on my French, I don't mind reading them....

Edited June 27, 2008 by JamericanDiva (log)

[Chufi]

I made my first macarons this weekend. Since eGullet was down I could not look up the recipe i wanted to use, so instead I googled a bit and then used:this one

I piped them too big, so 11 minutes of baking was not really enough.. they´re just a little bit too soft in the middle. But the flavor was surprisingly good (before I started I told my husband this project had a 97% chance of failure ) and I even got teeny tiny feet!

The filling is an improvised buttercream with instant espresso , butter, some ground almonds and a splash of milk ... again, surprisingly tasty...

pictures here on my Dutch blog

Edited June 30, 2008 by Chufi (log)

[afoodie]

Hi there,

Do you have any idea how to use cracked macarons, i was thinking of griding them again and using in a batter maybe for dacquoise or something similar. Ill sure give it a try and post my result.

Edited July 23, 2008 by afoodie (log)

[zenpup]

Does anyone have a good recipe for French Macaroons that uses weight measure, not volume? Plain almond or chocolate would be great.

Although any good recipe would be appreciated... Have been using Martha Stewart's recipe from MS Baking, and they're good, but ...

Thanks!...and no calories, right????

[greenbean]

Try this link. It has a great deal of information about macarons. The recipes are by weight and scalable.

[adey73]

I always wondered about using pasteurised egg and putting them in a dehydrater on the highest heat over night.

Anyone tried this?

[thecoffeesnob]

Does anyone have a good recipe for French Macaroons that uses weight measure, not volume?  Plain almond or chocolate would be great.

Although any good recipe would be appreciated... Have been using Martha Stewart's recipe from MS Baking, and they're good, but ...

Thanks!...and no calories, right????

←

I use this recipe and it works for me every time. It uses the Italian meringue method- cooking a sugar syrup over the stove before pouring it into the egg whites- which i prefer to just beating the egg whites till stiff peaks form.

I've always wanted to try Martha's recipe out but was a bit skeptical. I can't wait to try it now that i know it works

[Saffy]

After stumbling across a picture of macarons on the net and just having rediscovered cooking and baking after a long hiatus, this is going to be my project for the weekend.

I have all the ingredients sitting waiting in my kitchen .. now all I need is some time to play!

I thought I might start small with vanilla and strawberry macarons.. and hopefully my oven ( which is a little erratic ) will behave itself.

Wish me luck

[lamington]

I'm pretty sure it was moisture that made yesterdays batch fail. It was raining outside and I belive a proper "skin" never formed. Today I used a hair dryer to ensure a proper skin and everything worked perfectly.

←

I'm coming to this thread very late aren't I! Never even saw it. Tsk. I'd say TheSwede's first batch was undermixed. That's been the cause when I've seen such porous shells before. In my experience, humidity causes rapid softening of the cooked shells, but not this sort of porous-shell problem.

[lamington]

Hi there,

Do you have any idea how to use cracked macarons, i was thinking of griding them again and using in a batter maybe for dacquoise or something similar. Ill sure give it a try and post my result.

←

I wrote about turning them into a delicious trifle-like delight here. Otherwise I just eat them as soft biscuits, sometimes dipped in coffee or hot chocolate.

[prasantrin]

I've never made macaron, so I have nothing to contribute technique-wise, but...

I just had a sansho macaron and it was awesome! Sansho-infused chocolate ganache filling with some ground sansho in the shells. Mmmmm.... I bet a Szechuan peppercorn one would be even better! So if anyone wants to try a new and interesting flavour, I'd vote for that! And I'd even be willing to be your taste tester!

But they'd have to be served at the end of a meal, because they'd pretty much kill your tastebuds for anything else...

[Truc]

has anyone tried the foir gras macaron at pierre herme?

Edited October 25, 2008 by Truc (log)

[Baggy]

I might be a few months late, but check out this link for Pierre Hermé making macarons with almond paste.

[gfron1]

I remember a while back that someone (Schneich?) posted a tip for getting your macarons to come off of the parchment paper after baking. I never quite understood what they meant by wetting the bottom of the paper. The 2nd video from Patiss.com demonstrates the technique at 4:20 on the video counter. First, it appears that it is intended for parchment and not silpat. Simply lift the parchment from the tray, spritz with water and let the moisture release the macarons. I can't tell from the video if they mean to spritz a hot tray or after it cools? Anyone know?

[lamington]

I can't tell from the video if they mean to spritz a hot tray or after it cools?  Anyone know?

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You would spritz the hot tray. The idea is to soften the stuck, sticky bits. Leave the parchment to get too damp, however, and the macarons will begin to dissolve. As with so much about macarons, the utility of this technique depends on how your oven cooks macarons. If one's macarons have very very sticky bottoms (typically happens if heat below the tray is weak), then wetting the parchment may not help removal much.

[Peggylicious26]

How long will filled/unfilled macaroons keep?

I'd love to make some basil macaroon shells but don't know what to use in flavoring the macaroon batter. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[Truc]

hey guys i finally got the chance to make macarons a few weeks back and finally got the time to post them. Sorry i dun know how to post pix on here but check them out on here.

link below

[lamington]

How long will filled/unfilled macaroons keep?

I'd love to make some basil macaroon shells but don't know what to use in flavoring the macaroon batter. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

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In the fridge, filled macarons will keep for about a week in reasonable condition (the shells may become softer). Unfilled, they do keep for longer, but become increasingly chewy.

Try to bring filled macarons up to room temperature in a sealed container if it's humid outside.

Flavouring shells can be difficult because they aren't great flavour vehicles. Citrus peel works well, as do some essences, but many spices and herbs will just dissipate.

[Piglit]

I got on a cheap budget flight the other day (i.e no food served), and whilst waiting to board, noticed a woman with a familiar looking Laduree bag. I decided not to look. Afterall, it couldn't contian real macarons, as we were in a country >15 hours away from France!

Once we board, I realise that not only is the bag filled with delectible piles of almondy goodness, nor that she's sitting in the same row as me, but she ate them one by one with a pleasant smile on her face. I was slowly and painfully losing consiousness in my seat as their smell wafted about the cabin.

If there was one redeeming thing..... it was once we touched down in Cambodia, I stumbled upon a little store which happened to be selling, of all things, macarons!

Have a look at these chocolate and pistachio masterpieces (as excuse the thumb!):

They looked delicious (even the feet) and came in a variety of interesting flavours. Only downside was that upon biting into these, one would believe they were eating cake, not macaron. The consistency did not even resemble a bad macaron. It was not in any way tough or chewey, or even crumbly, it was just like a moist chocolate mud cake. Any theories as to why? Could it be additional wheat flour?

Edited December 29, 2008 by Piglit (log)

[jackal10]

Anyone experimented with savoury macaroons like these?

http://www.playingwithfireandwater.com/foo...he-macaron.html

[Abra]

I wish she'd posted her recipe, but since she didn't mention it, I have to assume that she used the regular amount of sugar. I've had quite a few savory macaroons here in France, where they're very trendy as mise en bouche in restaurants. Without exception I found them much too sweet to qualify as a savory, even though I like sucré/salé a lot. The weirdest one was black olive, which was really sweet and briny at the same time.

I've been assuming that it's a structural issue, that you need the sugar to get the cookie part right, but I think it's pretty peculiar.

[lamington]

They looked delicious (even the feet) and came in a variety of interesting flavours.  Only downside was that upon biting into these, one would believe they were eating cake, not macaron.  The consistency did not even resemble a bad macaron.  It was not in any way tough or chewey, or even crumbly, it was just like a moist chocolate mud cake.  Any theories as to why?  Could it be additional wheat flour?

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One of two causes: an overly moist filling when filled, or horrendous humidity. Either of those render macarons squidgy, even if they still look robust and multi-textured.

[Sivert]

First post from a lurker...

I love macarons. Pierre Hermé and Lenotre are my favorites, especially the interesting flavors. Paulette in Los Angelos is very good, also.

Here's the problem: my wife is deathly allergic to nuts. She only became so about 8 years ago, and previously we both enjoyed these little gems.

So, last time I was in Paris, I asked in some baking supply shops about ideas for alternative flours.

I have tried using ground pumpkin seed. Besides tasting bad, they had no volume. While they came out with feet, and looked great, they soon went flat.

I am thinking of trying a really fine cornmeal with a slightly salted carmel filling.

Ideas...?

[lamington]

I am thinking of trying a really fine cornmeal with a slightly salted carmel filling.

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My immediate reaction is that the cornmeal doesn't absorb liquid quickly enough or in the same manner as almond meal, probably resulting at the very least in something pretty gritty. Your wife is allergic to all nuts?