It was high time I talked to you about Italian meringue for making macarons. I’ve been making macarons for 4 or 5 years and I’ve always made them with a French meringue. But since January, the KitchenAid has become my best friend in the kitchen. It sits proudly in my kitchen. Since then, I’ve stubbornly insisted on making my macarons with an Italian meringue. The early days were difficult and I had a lot of failures (cracked/crazed/even worse macarons). But I’m more stubborn than they are! On top of that, my goal was to make macarons with an Italian meringue for the Paris amateur macaron competition at Arnaud Lahrer (and that’s now done!).
The “foot” is more discreet than with a French meringue, but I find them more elegant. You can compare the macarons in the post: the white ones, at the beginning, with an Italian meringue, and the yellow ones, at the end of the post, with a French meringue.
If you decide to give it a go, read carefully all the tips I give you at the end of the post to avoid failing (as much as possible). Put all the odds in your favour 😉
If you prefer to make your macarons with a French meringue, you can go and read my post: macarons with a French meringue (step by step in pictures).
Ingredients & preparation
The equipment
- an oven
- a baking tray
- a scale
- a blender
- a hand mixer or a stand mixer
- a whisk
- a piping bag
- a plain nozzle
- baking paper or a silpat
- a sieve
- a spatula or a scraper
The Recipe (for 25 macarons, i.e. 50 shells)
Ingredients:
- 2 x 52g (1.8 oz) egg whites
- 150g (5.3 oz) icing sugar
- 150g (5.3 oz) ground almonds
- 50g (1.8 oz) water
- 150g (5.3 oz) caster sugar
- food colouring of your choice
Blend the icing sugar and ground almonds as finely as possible, then sift the mixture.
Make the syrup by placing the sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil until the temperature reaches 118°C / 244°F. When the syrup reaches 110°C / 225°F, start gradually whipping 52g (1.8 oz) of egg whites to stiff peaks.
Once the temperature of 118°C / 244°F is reached, slow the mixer speed and pour the syrup over the whipped egg whites. Increase the speed again to cool the meringue down. You can add your food colouring at this point. Check with your finger — the meringue should be warm but not hot.
Switch the whisk attachment on your stand mixer for the paddle and incorporate the remaining 52g (1.8 oz) of egg whites, then gradually add the ground almond and icing sugar mixture. Leave the machine running until everything is fully incorporated.
Finish the macaronnage by hand to achieve the right consistency. The mixture should become smooth, shiny, and form a ribbon.
Once the right consistency is achieved, transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a plain round nozzle. Don’t hesitate to use a tall glass to hold your piping bag so you can use both hands.
Pipe small domes of about 3.5 cm (1.4 in) in a staggered pattern onto a sheet of baking paper or a silicone mat. For even macarons, I use a template for 3.5 cm (1.4 in) macarons — click here to download it. Tap the baking tray to smooth the tops of the shells. There is no need to let your macarons form a skin with Italian meringue…
Bake at 120°C / 250°F for 22 minutes. Once out of the oven, leave to cool for a few moments before peeling the shells off. They are cooked when they can be lifted off very easily.
Like me, you can also hollow out the undersides of the shells once out of the oven. Don’t wait too long though, as the shells harden quickly. This way, you can fit in more ganache ^_^
Next, prepare the ganache of your choice. If it is a whipped ganache, you will need to have prepared it the day before.
Sort your macaron shells so that the ones you pair together are the same size.
Place a small dollop of ganache in the centre of one of the two shells and sandwich the two shells together.
Place the macarons in the refrigerator and wait 24 to 48 hours before eating them (24 hours is enough if the ganache is wet). The macarons should spend their first night in an unsealed container (to prevent them from becoming soft), then close the container and keep them for a further 24 hours in the fridge. They will only be better for it.
Tips and Tricks
One essential tip: you need dry weather to make your macarons. If it is raining or rained the day before, I would advise waiting for better conditions… tried and tested tip! For the same reason, avoid doing the washing-up at the same time! Make sure you prepare everything before you start.
1) The Dry Ingredients
Don’t forget to blend your powders as finely as possible and then sift them — this will give you nice smooth shells.
2) The Egg Whites
Unfortunately, making macarons is not something you can do on a whim. You need to plan ahead! You must use so-called “aged” whites — ideally egg whites that have been separated from the yolks several days earlier. They keep for several days in the fridge but must be at room temperature before use. So remember to take your whites out the evening before for the next morning, or in the morning for later in the afternoon.
As for food colouring (whether liquid, paste or powder), you can incorporate it at the end of whipping the egg whites, or as I do, once the Italian meringue is made and cooling down. Personally, I use powder colourings.
3) The Macaronnage
The macaronnage stage is the most delicate. To quote “Le Meilleur Pâtissier”: “Macaronnage is a phase where you mix a little more vigorously in order to release the excess air. Because if too much air is left in the macaron batter, you end up with a meringue.” For this step, you should use a spatula called a “maryse”, which is very handy, but you can equally use a scraper. The motion is important. You need to pass the spatula under the batter, bring it up and over, and press it down… and repeat until you have a smooth batter. But be careful not to over-macaronnage either. Keep a close eye on it — the batter must not be too runny, otherwise the shells will spread too much after piping.
Since getting my KitchenAid, I start the macaronnage using the stand mixer and finish by hand.
4) Piping
When piping your macarons, the tip of the nozzle should be very close to the baking tray and your piping bag should be perfectly straight. Make sure you pipe your macarons in a staggered pattern on the tray for better heat distribution during baking. Once this step is done, you will probably notice that small air bubbles have formed on the surface of the shells. In that case, lift your baking tray about fifteen centimetres and let it drop. I do this 2 or 3 times. Be careful not to overdo it though, as the shells may spread too much.
For even macarons, I use a 3.5 cm (1.4 in) template that I downloaded from the Pure Gourmandise website, a reference in the world of macarons.
5) Skin-Forming
I have found that with Italian meringue, there is no need to let the shells form a skin before baking.
6) Baking
Another critical step, as you will need to get to know your oven. Personally, I use my oven on fan/convection mode, baking one tray at a time. I found the ideal temperature to prevent the colour from fading, both for dark and light coloured shells. My macarons bake at 120°C / 250°F for about 22 minutes. But you will need to do several tests to find the right temperature for YOUR oven. Regarding the tip about stacking trays (one hot, one cold), I did not notice any difference. So I just use a single tray!
7) Assembly
Once out of the oven, you need to let your shells cool — this will be very quick. Normally they will come away on their own. You can then fill them as you wish. And if you are feeling indulgent, fresh out of the oven, you can press the undersides of the shells with your thumb to make a hollow. More room for ganache! 🙂
8) Storage
The ultimate mistake would be to eat your macarons straight away! Oh, sacrilege!!! These little treats require patience — not only do you need to prepare them in advance, you also need to wait before eating them. Ideally, consume them 48 hours later (unless the ganache is wet, in which case 24 hours is enough). First store them in the fridge in an open airtight container (the first night, for example), then close the container and keep them for another day before eating.
Of course, you can freeze them. Either freeze the shells on their own (which is what I do), or the assembled macarons (which I advise against for macarons with wet, fruit-based ganaches). I think the best option is to freeze only the shells and make the ganache on the day you plan to take them out of the freezer. The ganache will be even better.
9) Tasting
Need I say more… right? 😉
