Last Monday, I made macarons again… finally! It came on a whim (or almost — you’ll see that you can’t improvise with macarons), but I had plenty of egg whites left over after making pastry creams the previous weekend. So my whites were aged, and I’d remembered to take them out of the fridge when I got up that morning.
When I put the first tray in the oven, I didn’t even start on the ganache preparation, I was so worried they’d go wrong. Then, walking past the oven… miracle! The macarons were baking perfectly — even superbly, because the “foot” had appeared *happy-dance-and-victory-cry-in-the-kitchen*!!!
In short, my macarons were a success and they’ve never looked so beautiful. So I’m taking the opportunity to share the recipe in detail, with a step-by-step photo walkthrough. If you prefer to make your macarons with an Italian meringue, you can read my article: Macarons with Italian Meringue: Step by Step.
Ingredients & preparation
How to make perfect macarons?
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, or running the dishwasher! Make sure you prepare everything before you start.
1) The Dry Ingredients
Remember to blitz your dry ingredients as finely as possible and then sift them — this will give you smooth, even macaron shells.
2) The Egg Whites
Unfortunately, making macarons can’t be done on a whim — you need to plan ahead! You must use “aged” egg whites, meaning they’ve been separated from the yolks for several days ideally. They keep in the fridge for several days but must be at room temperature. So remember to take your whites out the night before for the following morning, or in the morning for use in the late afternoon.
When whipping the egg whites, wait until the mixture is foamy (and even a little further along, when the meringue starts to stiffen) before adding the sugar. The sugar is added in 2 stages; when it comes to folding the dry ingredients into the meringue, do this in 3 stages.
For the food colouring, add it only at the end of the egg white whipping stage, whether it’s liquid, paste or powder. Personally, I use powder food colouring.
3) The Macaronage
The macaronage stage is the trickiest. To quote “Le Meilleur Pâtissier”: macaronage is a phase where you mix a little more vigorously in order to remove excess air. Because if you leave too much air in the macaron batter, you end up with a meringue. For this step, use a rubber spatula — very handy — or a scraper. Technique matters. Slide the spatula under the batter, bring it over the top and press it down… and repeat this motion until you have a smooth, flowing batter. But be careful not to over-mix either. Keep a close eye: the batter must not be too runny, or the macarons will spread after piping.
4) Piping
When piping your macarons, the tip of the nozzle should be held very close to the baking tray and your piping bag must be held straight up. Remember to pipe your macarons in a staggered pattern on the tray for better heat distribution during baking. Once this step is done, you’ll probably notice that small air bubbles have formed on the surface of the macarons. In this case, lift your baking tray about 15 centimetres and let it drop. I do this 2 or 3 times. Take care not to overdo this technique — the macarons may spread if you do it too many times.
To get evenly sized macarons, I use a template for 3.5 cm (1.4 in) macarons that I downloaded from the Pure Gourmandises website, a reference for macarons.
5) Skin Formation
The next step is letting the macarons form a skin. This is another important step because if your macarons have formed a proper skin, the famous “foot” will appear during baking. And a macaron without a foot is like… Christmas without Santa! So you need to leave your macarons at room temperature for at least 20 minutes. They’re ready to bake once you can touch the surface without any batter sticking to your finger.
6) Baking
Yet another critical point — you’ll need to get to know your oven. Personally, I use fan-assisted mode and bake one tray at a time. I’ve found the ideal temperature that keeps the colour from fading, whether for dark or light shells. My macarons bake at 120°C / 250°F for approximately 22 minutes. But you’ll need to experiment to find the right temperature for YOUR oven. As for the tip about stacking baking trays (hot and cold), I haven’t noticed any difference. So I use just one tray!
7) Assembly
Once out of the oven, leave the macarons to cool. This will be very quick. Normally they’ll lift off the parchment on their own. You can then fill them with the ganache of your choice. And if you’re greedy, just as they come out of the oven you can press a little hollow in the centre of each shell with your thumb — you’ll fit in more ganache!
8) Storage
The ultimate mistake would be eating your macarons right away! Oh, sacrilege!!! These little treats require patience — not only do you need to plan their preparation in advance, you also have to wait before eating them. Ideally, consume them 48 hours after making. Store them first in the fridge in an airtight container left open (the first night, for example), then close the container and keep them for one more day before eating.
The exception, I’d say, is whipped ganaches and jam-based ganaches which are on the wetter side. In those cases, 24 hours in the fridge is enough.
Of course, you can freeze them. Either freeze the shells alone (which is what I do), or the assembled macarons (which I wouldn’t recommend 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 taste even better.
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:
- 70 g (2.5 oz) egg whites
- 140 g (4.9 oz) icing sugar
- 80 g (2.8 oz) ground almonds
- 20 g (0.7 oz) caster sugar
- food colouring of your choice
Blitz the icing sugar and ground almonds together, then sift the mixture.
Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks, adding the caster sugar in 2 stages and whisking at maximum speed to achieve the “bird’s beak” consistency. Add the food colouring of your choice and mix a little more.
Gradually fold in the almond/icing sugar mixture using a rubber spatula. The batter should be shiny, smooth and fall back in a ribbon. Once the right consistency is reached, transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle.
Fill the piping bag with the batter. Don’t hesitate to use a large glass as I do to prop up your piping bag — that way you can use both hands.
Pipe small domes of approximately 3.5 cm (1.4 in) in a staggered pattern onto a sheet of parchment paper. To get even macarons, I use a template for 3.5 cm (1.4 in) macarons — click here to download it. Leave to form a skin for around 20 minutes. If after an hour the surface of your macarons is still not dry, there’s a good chance they won’t form a skin at all. Several possible reasons for this… in any case, there’s no point waiting any longer. Bake them anyway, but be prepared for the possibility that they won’t have a foot ;).
Bake in a preheated oven at 120°C / 250°F for approximately 22 minutes.
Once out of the oven, leave the shells to cool before lifting them off the parchment.
Then prepare the ganache of your choice. If it’s a whipped ganache, you’ll 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 shell and sandwich the two halves together.
Refrigerate the assembled macarons and wait 24 to 48 hours before eating them. The macarons should spend the first night in an uncovered container (to prevent them from becoming damp), then close the container and keep in the fridge for a further 24 hours. They’ll only be better for it.
