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French Macarons are known to be tricky to master. This is my ‘fail proof’ method! If you follow my ingredients and instructions you will yield perfect macarons every time, I promise!
In saying that, practice is your friend! I can whip these up in no time at all because I used to make them for sale in cafes and custom orders. I’ve had a lot of practice!
Handy Hints:
– Everything should be clean and dry! Macarons hate humidity and moisture. I dry everything with paper towels when making these, I also work in airconditioning because I live in a hot/humid environment most of the year.
– Sift your almond meal! Trust me, for a smooth finish, you want to sift your almond meal to get any lingering lumps out of the packet.
– Weigh your ingredients! This is the only way to get them precise and macarons love precision! (I’ll do a US conversion recipe below)
– Age your egg whites, preferably for a few days, but at least for a few hours! Trust me, it makes a world of difference, why not separate them the night before?
– Rest your piped macarons. If you don’t then you will not get feet and they will most likely crack! No one likes ugly macarons right? They are delicate and pretty!
– Cook in a low temp oven and watch them!
– Work in small batches (like the recipe I have supplied) until you get the hang of it.
– Never add liquid food coloring. Always use a paste or powdered coloring, this way you will not ruin the integrity of the meringue.
– If you wish to flavour the shell, use a flavoured oil, they are very concentrated and the flavour wont cook out.
– After they have baked, cooled and you have filled them with your desired filling, place them in the refrigerator overnight so the flavours can meld, bring them out and let them come to room temperature before eating – 24-48 hours resting time is recommended for the best texture/flavour.
– Be patient! Biggest tip is patience, macarons don’t like to be rushed, they live by their own rules and you must comply. Patience will be rewarded.
Here is a link to the macaron template that I use, place it under your parchment paper for perfect sizes every time!
Ingredients:
38g (1.34oz) aged egg whites
45g (1.58oz) caster sugar
40g (1.41oz) almond meal – sifted
40g (1.41oz) confectioners/icing/powdered sugar (it has many names)
Combine the almond meal and confectioners sugar before you begin.
Have all your ingredients weighed and ready to go.
Preheat your oven to 150C (300F)
Baking times will vary depending on the environment they have rested in.
They can bake anywhere between 15 – 25 minutes.
They are ready when they are firm on their ‘feet’ and lift without sticking.
Remove them from the tray immediately when they come out of the oven, I quickly run a small offset spatula under them to make sure no areas are stuck and then place them on a wire rack to cool.
By removing them immediately from the hot baking sheet it stops the cooking process so they don’t over cook and become hard. You want them to be crisp on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside.
I know this is a LOT to read/take in, but honestly, it really simplifies the process and makes it fool proof.
Any questions, just ask in the comments below.
I would also like to add that ALL pictures of macarons in this video were made by myself.
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