Macarons – The delicate French invention.

[iii_bake]

hi Guys,

I tried making macaroons but they came out flat and with not foot,

I suspect my folding in the beaten egg whites with the remainder of ingredients may have been too much.

When one folds ingredients into beaten egg whites should the folding be as gentle as possible ? Is it more risky to fold too much and cause the egg whites to end up flat and not result in raising ?

Thanks,

L

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The white will deflate, do not worry.

Continue folding until, as we all say, it flows like magma.

The feet will come out when the top is dry and forms a shell. So make sure that you leave the piped macaron to form a nice dry top...this depends on the humidity of where you live.

It is my own thinking that it is the result of the unset batter seeking the way out; like pound cake that once the top is set...the dome bursts out. The macaron got out from the bottom!

Despite the dry top, the folding is the key still.

Good luck!

[RuthWells]

I made some lemon macarons over the holidays:

They were juuuuuuuuuust about the way I'd like, with the exception of an over-puffed dome. I'm assuming that bumping the inital oven heat down 25* or so will take care of that problem -- what do y'all think? (The recipe I use is from a several-months-old NY Times Magazine article.)

[lennyk]

Finally got them right after 4 tries.

Thanks for all the great advice here.

[jende]

Sorry if this question has already been answered, but is there a good place to find recipes for different flavors of macaroons? I had a wonderful hazelnut macaroon with vanilla filling at Miette in San Francisco that I'd like to try to replicate. The filling was the consistency of a thick buttercream.

I have the Pierre Herme book, but his recipe is for a chocolate macaroons with chocolate filling and I'm not sure how to change it. (I've never made macaroons before so I'm not confident enough to fiddle with established recipes)

Thanks!

[piperdown]

After a trip to the Bouchon Bakery in NYC, I decided to try making Macarons at home. It was quite the process, but I think the hardest part was getting teh almonds ground finely enough. I just could justify paying the high price of almond flour. The recipe I used was from Keller's Bouchon cookbook, and I have to say, these might be teh best cookies I've ever had. Definitely not an everyday treat (I just can't imagine grinding all those almonds over again), but I definitely want to try different flavours.

I just wish I knew about this thread earlier, it would have answered quite a few questions. Overall though I'm pretty happy with the results.

[lennyk]

A coffee grinder is the way to go with regards to getting a nice fine powder.

It will grind fairly quickly only thing is coffee grinders work better when using small batches.

I started with M.Lucia's recipe

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=24767&st=120#

But cut it down to 2 egg since I am still experimenting.

It appears most recipes for the almond/sugar mix use equal proportions but I find it a little sweet so I am reducing a little.

I also suspect that voids inside result from not enough almond powder since the egg whites are basically just air.

Drying seems to help a lot with the foot, I used a hair dryer for a few mins to kick it off and let them rest for 20 minutes near a fan.

I also suspect that having a shelf below with an empty pan helps keep the heat even and avoid cracking.

[iii_bake]

I am so curious about the oven temp and the time you baked.

The recipe says...15 minutes...is it that long and the macaron still not brown?

About the cofee grinder, i use it too, much easier.

Edited April 21, 2008 by gfron1 (log)

[lennyk]

I baked at 300 for about 18 minutes, I think after 15 minutes they need to be looked at to be safe

[lennyk]

Ok, I think I've got them down now,

couple tips, the sugar added to the whites when beating is important,

too little and they won't glaze/dry to form a nice crisp outer and the feet wont come out also, for less voids err on a little more tpt than less

last tip, I used some red silicone to mark lines under my silpats to make it

easier to layout items on the silpat, use masking tape and paint/squeegee the line with a thin layer of the red silicone

[ulterior epicure]

I make a ton of ice cream, and therefore have a lot of egg whites in the freezer.

1. Is it bad to make macarons out of previously frozen whites?

2. If not, then does someone have a recipe that gives the measurements of the whites by weight, as I have no clue how many egg whites I have in each bag...

Appreciate it!

u.e.

[miladyinsanity]

I make a ton of ice cream, and therefore have a lot of egg whites in the freezer.

1. Is it bad to make macarons out of previously frozen whites?

2. If not, then does someone have a recipe that gives the measurements of the whites by weight, as I have no clue how many egg whites I have in each bag... 

Appreciate it!

u.e.

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I haven't tried, but other people say the answer is yes. I've frozen whites I've been meaning to use for this too.

I think some of the recipes offer measurements in grams, but you can also use this site to convert.

[M. Lucia]

Hibiscus Macarons

not the world's most perfect specimens, but they were really tasty

[ShoeBox Oven]

finally getting the hang of doing the macarons with feet and all, but i cant get smooth tops. the pastry tip remains and i get a peak every time. no cracks, but peaks from the pastry tip. any advice? i've banged the tray on the counter, used my finger to smooth the tops, but alas those peaks keep peeking....help.

[iii_bake]

finally getting the hango of doing the macarons with feet and all, but i cant get smooth tops. the pasty tip remains and i get a peak every time. no cracks, but peaks from the pastry  tip. any advice? i've banged the tray on the counter, used my finger to smooth the tops, but alas those peaks keep peeking....help.

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Not sure if this will help, the smooth top comes from the consistency of the batter.

I noticed that, for my case, the consistency varies for each batch when i use the watery part of egg white more than the jelly like part.

( gotch, i do not have proper terms, sorry!)

To elaborate, i ususally have my egg white in a bowl, left at room temperature. When i measure it, sometime i pour the watery part more in proportion to the jelly part; and that makes difference in the consistency.

[miladyinsanity]

FWIW, I know there is a technique for getting smooth tops with most types of batter, without that sharp point at the end. Something about quickly making a circular motion at the end?

Edited April 21, 2008 by gfron1 (log)

[deensiebat]

i am making macarons for a bunch of lactards in a few weeks, and am looking for advice for dairy-free fillings. a dairy-free ganache is easy enough for chocolate macarons, but i'd like to provide some variety. i was wondering about a citrus curd, but i didn't know if it would be firm enough (or if you could make with margarine instead of butter, or use a different firming agent?), and had some ideas about using cocoa butter for a dairy-free white chocolately taste (perhaps flavored with macha, or rosewater, or vanilla), but i have no experience working with that. any tips/recipes/ideas much appreciated.

[chezcherie]

finally getting the hang of doing the macarons with feet and all, but i cant get smooth tops. the pastry tip remains and i get a peak every time. no cracks, but peaks from the pastry tip. any advice? i've banged the tray on the counter, used my finger to smooth the tops, but alas those peaks keep peeking....help.

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sometimes i have good piping mojo, sometimes not. if i get the little pointy peak on top, i barely dampen my finger in water and ever so gently pat the point away. then i let them sit at room temp an extra few minutes to get that matte finish, or "skin" on them.

[ludja]

i am making macarons for a bunch of lactards in a few weeks, and am looking for advice for dairy-free fillings.  a dairy-free ganache is easy enough for chocolate macarons, but i'd like to provide some variety.  i was wondering about a citrus curd, but i didn't know if it would be firm enough (or if you could make with margarine instead of butter, or use a different firming agent?), and had some ideas about using cocoa butter for a dairy-free white chocolately taste (perhaps flavored with macha, or rosewater, or vanilla), but i have no experience working with that.  any tips/recipes/ideas much appreciated.

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Don't know if it wil work for your guests, but some lactose intolerant people can handle small does of butter so you might be able to make the regular fillings.

You could also use some nut pastes--think Nutella or marzipan. You could make your own nut fillings also with ground walnuts. A good ground walnut filling from Austrian desserts has rum, sugar and grated lemon zest. Usually it is cooked a bit with some milk but you could use lactaid for this. (My mom makes the filling this way on account of my sister's lactose intolerance and it still tastes good.)

The only non-lactose creamy type filling I was thinking of was something like what is inside oreos... not sure I could really recommend this though!

Good luck!

[deensiebat]

sadly i've got to go totally dairy free -- no butter, no milk, no nutella (which, in addition to being choc full of lactose, is a little too similar to the chocolate ganache option). the walnut option with soymilk sounds good. still looking for more ideas.....

[chezcherie]

i am making macarons for a bunch of lactards in a few weeks, and am looking for advice for dairy-free fillings.  a dairy-free ganache is easy enough for chocolate macarons, but i'd like to provide some variety.  i was wondering about a citrus curd, but i didn't know if it would be firm enough (or if you could make with margarine instead of butter, or use a different firming agent?), and had some ideas about using cocoa butter for a dairy-free white chocolately taste (perhaps flavored with macha, or rosewater, or vanilla), but i have no experience working with that.  any tips/recipes/ideas much appreciated.

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i use bonne maman raspberry jam for raspberry macs...i'm sure that other jams would work.

[miladyinsanity]

I think you could fill macarons with lemon curd? But you have to keep them in the fridge and not take them out too early.

[annimal]

One of the tricks to getting smooth tops is to hit the baking sheet on the countertop a few times after you've piped out the cookies. It helps the peaks settle.

[SarahW]

Having recently discovered macarons, with dumb beginners luck as encouragement, I have tried just about every permutation of macaron batter and technique that I could find, only to be frustrated by the usual "flops and monsters" syndromes complained of by others - and not having the experience or full grasp of macaron science to get more consistently consistent results.

I am looking for a link to a "Here comes the macaron science" article or advice, anywhere.

One flaw that I get on a fairly regular basis that just drives me nuts, is a thicker shell than usual accompanied by internal collapse of the meringue leaving a large void or pocket of air and damp, flattened, undercooked innards.

Recipes with more acid in them seem to be less prone to this fault, so I am guessing that the stretchiness of the proteins has something to do with this.

[SarahW]

Two macaron questions:

Why do my macarons hate their feet? I've had a lovely post-cooling-rack batches, but but all too frequently experience a little let-down when batches that have gorgeous, high fluffy "oven feet" sink into a more flattened fringe, upon cooling.

Mostly my macarons are tasty and presentable, and the real disaster batches have come from trying to tinker with the sugar. I was hoping to make a macaron with reduced sugar, but they don't cook right if there is any substitution in any part of the recipe - (meringue, TPT). Of course, I have only tried substituting a little of the sugar with splenda and aspartame or just reducing the regular sugar and not adding anything. Is it possible to make a low-sugar macaron?

[Lkfarkas]

We've been having a very hard time w/the macarons at the shop. I can do them very well at home (thanks to everyone here!), but our baker is struggling. I'm guessing that it's got to do with the fact that she's grinding her own almonds (in the robo coup) that don't get fine enough, and that they're using the convection oven. Does anyone else succeed at these with the convection? Hers are very thin, crunchy, and "empty" inside. Any ideas?