How to make Macarons
“LIFE IS SHORT; EAT THE DESSERT”
Recipe (makes 40 pairs). You can half this recipe but it works best at this size!
Icing Sugar 400g
Ground Almonds 400g
Egg Whites 150g
Italian Meringue
Caster Sugar 400g
Water 100ml
Egg Whites 150g
Equipment
Electric Mixer
Sieve
Metal/Glass Bowls
Spatula
Piping Bag & Nozzle
Weighing Scales
Trays
Pan
Sugar Thermometer
Greaseproof paper/silicone mats
Chocolate Orange Macarons
Method
Sieve the icing sugar and ground almonds together and discard any excess that doesn’t go through the sieve. Repeat the process again making sure to remove the excess again. You can keep the excess for something else but it’s important that it doesn’t go in your macarons as it will change their texture.
Separate your eggs being careful to make sure no egg yolk gets in
Put the first 150g egg white into this almond mixture and mix together. It will be very thick. This is the stage to add colour if you want to. I would recommend using a food paste colour such as wilton or sugar flair, rather than a liquid as it works better and has a stronger colour. Remember to add more colour than you want here as the colour fades when you add the meringue later.
Make the Italian meringue. Put your egg whites into a very clean bowl for the electric mixer. You will need the whisk attachment here. Put the caster sugar and water into a pan and boil it till it reaches 118oC. When it’s getting close, put the egg whites on to mix. You want them to get frothy but not too thick. Slowly pour the hot sugar mixture onto the egg whites being careful not to scramble them. Turn your mixer up and whisk till its glossy and thick. It shouldn’t fall off the whisk!
Add the meringue to your almond mixture and mix together till shiny and lump free. This may take longer than you think. Use a motion of pushing down into the middle of the bowl and bringing it back up slowly (folding). Be careful while mixing at this stage, don't beat the mixture like you would a cake. Just gently fold it. This stage is crucial as over-mixing or under-mixing will result in non-perfect macarons. They will still taste pretty great though. Don’t worry if they don’t work, just give it another go. Mine still go wrong and I’m a professional pastry chef. Macarons are fiddly, feisty little biscuits!
Put the mixture into a piping bag with a round nozzle (medium sized). Cut a hole a the end small enough that the the nozzle won’t come out. Don’t fill the bag all the way as it’s easier to pipe when there’s less in the bag. Hold the bag down towards the paper and pipe small rounds onto baking parchment or silicone mats. You can use a template if you want them identical in size.
Macaron Template
Piping takes practise so your first might be a bit odd shaped, again nothing to worry about. All skills take time and patience! They are worth it when they turn out just how you want.
7. Rap the tray firmly against the counter to pop any trapped air bubbles that might cause deformed macarons.
8. Here you can add something on top of them to make them look extra special such as freeze-dried raspberry, chopped nuts or sprinkles. Make sure whatever you decide to put on is dry, as wet toppings will ruin your macarons! You can add other things once they are baked, such as piped chocolate or edible glitter etc.
9. Leave them to dry for up to an hour, they need to form a crust on the outside. To check for a crust just gently touch the top of one, there should be no mixture left on your finger.
10. If like me, you have little patience to wait a whole hour before baking, you can try this method. Be warned, its not foolproof and totally depends on how well you’ve made the macarons and your oven temp. Put your oven on 150oC, once it’s up to temperature put the macarons in and turn the oven off. Leave for 15 minutes and then turn the oven on to 140oC and bake for a further 10-15 mins. MAKE SURE YOU ONLY PUT ONE TRAY IN AT A TIME. Macarons are fussy, they like their space!
11. If you didn’t risk the above step, waited an hour and your macarons have a crust, then set your oven to 140oC-150oC. Again, ONLY ONE TRAY AT A TIME. The temperature depends on how hot your oven runs, you may just have to trial and error the first few times. I also put a wooden spoon in the door of my oven to keep it ajar but again, this depends on your oven. Bake for up to 20 minutes, check on them every minute after 15 minutes as they can burn quickly. They are done when they no longer move when you touch them, no longer soft or stick to the tray and have their signature ‘feet’.
12. For filling recipes, check my other blog posts. You can fill your macarons with pretty much anything you like. Jam, ganache, caramel etc. They will keep for up to a week in the fridge or you can freeze them for up to a month!
If you have any questions don’t hesitate to get in touch and/or leave a comment! Let me know how it goes for you and please share my page, thank you! Happy Baking.