Macarons – The delicate French invention.

[CanadianBakin']

Wrinkly topped macaroon... still tasty but not quite perfect

Gary I had a couple wrinkle tonight although the others I was completely happy with. I had two observations. The ones that wrinkled were the last 3 I piped but don't know how that affected them. I think they may have wrinkled because they were piped a bit thick and ended up undercooked and deflating a bit causing the wrinkles. Hope this helps you with your experimenting.

Edited February 4, 2005 by CanadianBakin' (log)

[Patrick S]

When you grind the almonds with the confectioner's sugar, is there any risk of overgrinding? I don't want to accidentally overgrind and end up with almond butter.

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You wont overgrind as long as you are grinding it with plenty of dry ingredients.

[Patricia Austin]

Having had good success with chocolate macarons I experimented today with my first attempt at non chocolate macarons. I used Herme's La Patisserie basic recipe and made up additions for the flavors I was interested in: Cherry, Espresso, and Green Tea (Maccha). I made the batter, divided into thirds and flavored respectfully with natural cherry flavor & rose petal color; ground espresso powder, and maccha (which I sprinkled with black sesame seeds before baking). The cherry ones were a gorgeous pink (nice for Valentines Day). The espresso ones were dull brown, did not retain their speckle, and the green tea ones are my favorite; very pretty with the green and black contrast and tasty too. They all rose beautifully and were lovely colors but then got too much color because I forgot to lower the temp from the choc recipe. Rats!!

[plunk]

For piping them you should use the largest round tip your have. And dont hold the tip too close to the sheet, otherwise you will never get a  domed macaroon. You have to hold the tip a little higher than where the peak of the dome is going to be.

If my largest tip is half an inch in diameter, is the proper technique to just hold it over the pan and just squeeze a big dollop? In my first batch, I used a quarter inch tip because I thought the half inch was too big. In order to get a somewhat circular shape, I piped the batter into spirals. Needless to say, the circles were uneven.

[Patricia Austin]

If my largest tip is half an inch in diameter, is the proper technique to just hold it over the pan and just squeeze a big dollop?

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Yeah, you got it. A half inch tip is a good choice; just hold steady, squeeze and voila!

Patricia

Edited February 9, 2005 by Patricia Austin (log)

[mkfradin]

This thread inspired me to retry macaroons and for the first time, they actually look like they're supposed to!! Hooray!

However, the tops are exceedingly thin and delicate some of the time, and they crack really easily. Although everyone reassures me that they taste wonderful, I will not be happy until they look perfect as well.

Is there supposed to be a very thin top shell, with an air pocket, and then a flat piece of meringue that's close to the ganache? or should the meringue be relatively solid throughout?

The formula I'm using is as follows (I forget who contributed this, but thank you, whoever you are):

4 oz. almond flour

5 oz. powdered sugar

3 egg whites

2 oz. granulated sugar.

I'm not leaving the whites out overnight; fresher worked better for me. I get the fragile top both baking immediately after piping and letting them sit till firm before baking. When I bake immediately after piping, the last 1/3 or so of the batch have cracked or wrinkled tops, too.

Any insights would be greatly appreciated!! thanks.

Marjorie

[Rhea_S]

However, the tops are exceedingly thin and delicate some of the time, and they crack really easily. 

I ran into the same problem this weekend. I baked two pans at the same time. The ones on the bottom rack, and directly on top of the pizza tiles that I was too lazy to remove, ended up with the very thin and delicate tops. The ones I baked on the upper rack were more solid, chewy and had nice feet. Do you suppose the temperature on the bottom rack was too high compared to the upper rack that was closer to the colder air coming through the partially open oven door? In other words, is this problem due to too hot an oven?

I was trying to make rose-flavoured macarons filled with rose-lychee buttercream based on a description of Herme's Ispahan. The flavor from the rose water disappeared with baking, so I'll try some more. I've made rose buttercream before, so that part I think I have ok.

[mkfradin]

Do you rotate your pans? We don't; maybe that is part of the problem.

I forgot to mention that when I let the meringues sit before baking, the foot is not as pronounced or ruffly as when I pop them right in after piping. I love the ruffled foot so much that I don't know if I'm willing to give that up just for consistency. Maybe I can use the defective meringues as bottoms for the macaroons and sell them to unsuspecting customers!!!

[Rhea_S]

Do you rotate your pans? 

I didn't rotate my pans. Also, I'm not a pro, and I just like to experiment. I hope someone else comes along with an explanation for the fragile tops.

[Patrick S]

The other night I got the idea into my head that I'd like to work out recipes for caramel and praline macaro[o]n variations. As far as fillings, I'm thinking maybe caramel whipped cream in the first, and commercial praline cream in the other. Please, though, share your ideas if you have any. About the cookies themselves, I am curious about what would happen if you replaced some of the sugar with powdered caramel or powdered praline? Alternatively, I could just sprinkle a little on top of the cookies before they go into the oven. If that doesn't work, I suppose I'll just stick to plain cookies and let the filling do the flavoring. Just brainstorming here, and I'd much appreciate any feedback.

[Patricia Austin]

I have a ongoing mystery I am trying to solve and wonder if anyone has a clue to the answer.

Approximately once a week I bake a batch of chocolate macarons using a Pierre Herme recipe. I pipe the recipe to yield a total of three half shiners worth of baking. I allow the macarons to sit out for 15-20 min. to dry a bit and form a skin before I bake the first tray. The first bake and the second bake come out perfect, I couldn't be happier with them. The third bake is unpredictable . . . sometimes about half of the macarons have only a partial foot developed with what appears to be a collapse of the top over one side. They do not have their roundness, but are mis-shapen. They still taste great but do not look right and consequently I do not sell them. The only thing I can think of is that the drying time is too long and this affects the rise of the macarons. I have tried baking the first tray sooner but end up with wrinkly tops. Sorry I do not have photo capabilities here.

Ideas, Experiences???

Thanks, Patricia

[Mel]

PLEASE HELP!! I have been following this string for a year. While my macarons taste lovely....they are on the delicate side. They seem to be part chewy & part air so they crush easily (& a bit messily) when bitten. I've left the egg whites out for 24 hours & have even tried 2/3 left overnight & 1/3 fresh, I continue to experience air pockets in my cookies (I do tap down on the pan to rid them of any air bubbles but it isn't helping). Externally, they look good: frilly feet, nice dome that is a thin shell when you bite into it. I just can't seem to figure out why they are so delicate vs firm & chewy. Perhaps I'm overbeating my eggs and incorporating too much air but I've experienced a lack of rising when I tried to underbeat a bit... Could my problem be that I’m using a 6 qt mixer on 150g of eggs so too much air is inevitable? When I measure eggs that are to be left out, should I measure 150g of fresh eggs & use what is left or should I leave out extra egg white and measure 150g from that? Any advice would be truly appreciated as I’m close to tears on this one. Thank you so much for your help & time!!!!! I truly appreciate it!

On a side note, do folks keep their cookies refrigerated due to the buttercream? Mine seem to melt if I keep them out for more than an hour or so. Am I doing something incorrectly or do most bakeries use a non-dairy base for their buttercream fillings?

Once again, thanks for the help!

[ComeUndone]

Mel, I think the texture (delicate vs firm) of your macaron depends on the proportion of sugar/almond/egg whites in your recipe. If you find your macaron too delicate, you may want to consider trying a different recipe with a higher proportion of sugar and almond. In addition, if your recipe contains cocoa powder, it would also result in a firm end product.

As for the measurement of egg whites: if your recipe states 150g of egg whites, that means you seperate the eggs and scale off 150s of whites only. However, if your recipe requires whites from 6 eggs (for example), simply take the whites from six whole eggs.

Personally, I have a jar of left over egg whites that I keep in the fridge. I've never tried to leave the whites at room temperature to dry out.

[Mel]

ComeUndone, Thank you for your response! As to the egg measurements, I didn’t clarify well that I am measuring the actual egg whites versus the complete egg. As to the proportion of a sugar/egg/almond mixture, I was using the recipe you recommended from Louisa earlier in this string. Are you still using such proportions or have you adjusted? A better question might be: what is the ratio you use? Thank you so much! So close and yet so far on these cookies….

[Mel]

As to the macaron thread, I would love to see that revisited as I'm in tears on mine. (mine was the last post). My attempts look great but once you bite into them, there is quite a bit of air. I've tried everything from 1) leaving the whites out to dry 2) not letting them dry 3) 2/3 dried & 1/3 fresh.... Could it be that using a 6 qrt mixer on 150 grams of egg whites inevitably creates too much air in the whites? When I try to slightly undermix (in hopes of less air), I end up with a mess. Tapping down on the pan hasn't helped my problem at all. If anyone who has successfully made a cookie could please review that thread, I would be eternally grateful as I have been working on this a year & I'm still no closer to a chewy (non-chocolate) cookie. As to ratios on ingrediants, I have used Louise's recipe mentioned by ComeUndone in that thread. (no clue how to create a link to it). Help please!!!

[onehsancare]

[

To explain: If you bought almond flour and or hazelnut flour thru a reliable source like King Arthur, what you recieved was those flours. They wouldn't need to be processed further.

The instructions where your supposed to process the nuts with the sugar is to make the flour. But if you bought nut flour, you wouldn't need to process it further so you'd pass that part of the recipe.

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Thanks, Wendy. I'll definitely skip the sieve step next time!

I'm not sure I understand, though--if the homeground nut flour should pass through a sieve, why would the purchased flour be exempt from that requirement?

[jgarner53]

Tapping down on the pan hasn't helped my problem at all.

I know for a fact that our macaroon baker does not tap his pans. Then again, he makes pans and pans of these every day, and for who knows how many years. He could probably do it in his sleep.

The best luck I had with macaroons was with a batter that was stiff enough to hold its shape, more or less, when piped, and I let the pans sit out for a good half hour or more.

Keep trying, and know that they're not an easy thing.

[Mel]

Ever feel like you're so close....but missing that vital ingrediant in the equation? That is how I feel about these cookies; I'm completely obsessed with them. No matter what I change in my calculations, I never achieve a chewey, cakey cookie that rises...there is always a component missing.... If anyone can help me, I'll give them a huge on-line smooch.

[Arghavan]

Ever feel like you're so close....but missing that vital ingrediant in the equation? That is how I feel about these cookies; I'm completely obsessed with them. No matter what I change in my calculations, I never achieve a chewey, cakey cookie that rises...there is always a component missing.... If anyone can help me, I'll give them a huge on-line smooch. 

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From my experience macarons are not actually that chewy. I had some from LeNotre in France and they weren't what you call chewy. mayble a bit chewy towards the filling.

PS. I am trying the recipe again next week. wish me luck :D

[Wendy DeBord]

I'm not sure I understand, though--if the homeground nut flour should pass through a sieve, why would the purchased flour be exempt from that requirement?

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Sorry, yes you should follow the sieving instructions. If I recall correctly I was just pointing out the typical texture of purchased almond flour............which is no where near as fine as milled wheat.

Mel, which if any other recipes for macaroons have you tried? Have your results been consistant regardless of which recipe you worked?

[Mel]

Wendy - I have worked mainly with Lousie's recipe :

300 g powdered sugar

180 g ground almonds

150 g egg whites

30 g sugar

Tried the Pascal Rigo recipe, Pierre Herme, made some variations on the above on dry to egg white ratio... all to no avail. I truly believe it must be technique as most recipes I've researched seem to have comparable ratios to the above. Could using a 6 qrt mixer on 150g of egg whites inevitably create too much air in the eggs? I generally leave out the whites for 24 hours & let the piped cookies sit for 30+ minutes.... After my first attempt at using store bought almond flour, I didn't return as the flour was pretty course & needed to be pulsed some more in the blender. Since then, I use the Herme technique of grinding and get very good results....but maybe I'm doing something incorrect there or when I blanch the almonds? Most likely, I would assume, it is something about my whites that are leading to air pockets....

The only macarons I've eaten store bought were from Miette's in the Ferry Building in San Francisco. They were beautiful! 2 cakey, chewey cookies. My poor husband had to take pictures of the cookies being eaten at various stages so I could refer to them when I was attmepting to make them on my own.

Your thoughts and advice are most appreciated!!!!

Arghavan- GOOD LUCK!!!

[Patrick S]

As to the macaron thread, I would love to see that revisited as I'm in tears on mine.  (mine was the last post). My attempts look great but once you bite into them, there is quite a bit of air.

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Do you mean that there are large voids/air pockets in the cookies? Without a picture, I don't know exactly what the problem is. Are you folding the dry ingredients into the whites very thoroughly? I'm just guessing here, but I wonder if air pockets could be due to incomplete folding.

[Wendy DeBord]

I think I do know what Mel is referring to.........because I've experienced similar.

Yes, there can be an air pocket between the top and foot of the macaroon. This makes them very fragile and not right. I know it didn't happen because of underfolding in my case. I had that happen when my batter was too wet.........and man there's a fine line there.........because your soooo close.

A denser batter holds up better, pipes better and doesn't have air pockets (besides being correct). That's when I added a little more dried egg whites to Herme's recipe and discovered that that did the trick for me. I'd believe that this also is achieved by leaving your whites uncover out in room temp. well before using.

I believe that your enviroment plays a roll in your formula for these cookies. I don't believe that one recipe fit's all, because of that. So you need to tweek the recipe to find your answer.

[Mel]

Wendy, you have hit it on the nose! An air pocket between my dome & foot (with a chewey foot). Did you actually add powdered egg whites to fresh? I generally leave out my egg whites at least 24 hours (have also tried everything from fresh to 2/3 left out & 1/3 fresh). May I ask what recipe you used which yielded success?

Is there any chance that using a 6 qrt mixer on 150g of egg whites could be my problem? Perhaps so much "power" on so little whites is a contributor?

I've tried slightly underbeating but that only resulted in flat messes. Trying to increase the sugar/almond ratio did the same. Would folks recommend measuring 150g of egg whites and then using only the concentrate remanining after 24+ hours or measuring extra to then measure out 150g of concetrated egg whites?

At this point, I'm ready to start back at the drawing board so if anyone has a recipe which has worked well for them, please consider passing it my way.

Thank you all for your help!!!

[Patrick S]

I highly doubt that the mixer is to blame for your problem. I've also found that underbeating and too much dry ingredients to whites gives a flat mess. Have you tried increasing the amount of whites a little bit? I don't know that that would fix the problem, but it might be worth a try. I've found in the past that a small difference in the egg white/dry ingredient ratio can make a huge difference in how the cookie turns out. Too much sugar and/or almond makes a too dense, chewy cookie.