Foolproof macaron recipe ?
Discussion
We played around for ages at work making them (or at least trying to). resorted to a "mix" at £60 a time!! Still didnt work properly.
We buy them in
£10 for 36
http://www.nutracheck.co.uk/CaloriesIn/Product/34/...
We buy them in
£10 for 36http://www.nutracheck.co.uk/CaloriesIn/Product/34/...
21TonyK said:
We played around for ages at work making them (or at least trying to). resorted to a "mix" at £60 a time!! Still didnt work properly.
We buy them in £10 for 36
http://www.nutracheck.co.uk/CaloriesIn/Product/34/...
OK.... have you just given me a link to something I can't see to buy ! Where do you get them from? Guess you're buying them commerically would your source deal with someone who only wants 36 or 72 at a time...We buy them in
£10 for 36http://www.nutracheck.co.uk/CaloriesIn/Product/34/...
David A said:
OK.... have you just given me a link to something I can't see to buy ! Where do you get them from? Guess you're buying them commerically would your source deal with someone who only wants 36 or 72 at a time...
LOL sorry!Booker Cash and Carry stock them but I would imagine most frozen or speciality catering suppliers have them.
Couple of articles in the Grauniad today
Foolproof macarons: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/mar/2...
Macaron making course for those living in the London: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/mar/2...
Foolproof macarons: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/mar/2...
Macaron making course for those living in the London: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/mar/2...
Mobile Chicane said:
Just about the fiddliest thing it is possible to attempt at home. From the whisking of egg whites, to the folding in of sugar, the piping and the baking.
Look at them in a funny way and they'll go wrong. Much easier to buy them.
I don't know how she does it, but my wife's bloody good at them:Look at them in a funny way and they'll go wrong. Much easier to buy them.
(Those were for a breast cancer fundraiser a while back, hence the vivid pinkness of everything
)I'll try and find the recipe she uses.
21TonyK said:
We can also get them from Caterfood and Forest Produce but they are SW
Woo hoo booker came through, gave all the coffee ones away though. They're not great but will suffice till I sort making them myself.Also got 48 caramacs while in booker, just need an easter egg plastic case to use now.
David
Aww man, I was thinking of attempting these this week and my first thoughts were to ask on here. Spotted this thread and figured there would be a foolproof recipe. Alas it seems like that isn't the case. Damn and blast.
I picked up a few boxes of them from the Calais Carrefour last August, stupidly addictive. Was shocked when I saw them for sale in the McDonalds next door.
I picked up a few boxes of them from the Calais Carrefour last August, stupidly addictive. Was shocked when I saw them for sale in the McDonalds next door.
I had a go yesterday, used this recipe and they turned out well. I say well. I added some pink food colouring but not enough so the colour wasn't right but they taste spot on and they have the ruffled edges that they should have.
They are stupidly sweet though so need to think of a nice plain filling. Any ideas?
They are stupidly sweet though so need to think of a nice plain filling. Any ideas?
I had a spell of thrashing these out a couple of summers ago. It took a lot of trial and error but here's a guide I wrote for friends, copied and pasted. My success rate is probably about 85% now.
Macarons (French Meringue Method)
Yield 16-20
Ingredients
For the macaronnage
50g Egg whites
90g Icing sugar
50g Ground almonds
25g Caster sugar
1/8tsp Cream of tartar
Method
Mix together the icing sugar and almonds and blend this in a processor for 30-60 seconds.
Sift the almond-sugar mix. You’ll probably end up with a few grams of almond left over. This won’t affect the mix so you can throw it away. If there’s lots then give it another blast in the processor.
Whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar at slow speed until they are foamy (think washing-up liquid).
Add half a teaspoon of caster sugar and whisk to medium-firm peaks.
Add the rest of the sugar, along with any colourings, and whisk to firm peaks. The meringue should be glossy and firm, but not stiff or dry. Think shaving foam.
Add the dry ingredients to the meringue in stages (2-3 seems to work).
Fold the mixture, pressing the meringue against the side of the bowl to deflate it, until the mix is homogenous and has a lava-like consistency. If you drop a spoonful of the mix back on itself it should sink back in within 10-25 seconds.
Pipe 1” discs onto a lined baking sheet (they’ll spread to ~1.5”).
Tap the sheet on the counter a couple of times. This releases any air bubbles which would cause the shells to crack and also helps to flatten the batter.
Leave the tray to rest until the piped batter forms a dry skin - about an hour.
Into a pre-heated oven at 140°C for 12-15 minutes, turning twice. On the second turn (10 minutes) give the shells a gentle nudge. If they feel firm on the foot then cook for 12 minutes. If not then go for the full 15 and test again. Perfectly cooked, you should be able to peel them off the silicon paper directly from the oven, but it’s safer to give them 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Notes
Shop-bought ground almonds aren’t fine enough and will leave you with lumpy shells. Processing with the icing sugar stops you getting almond butter.
You’ll read lots about aged egg whites. I used to leave mine out for two days until I tried microwaving them and it turned out better. Nuking fresh whites for 10 seconds on full power produces the best results for me.
I prefer to stick to dry ingredients for the shells rather than mess with the consistency, so I use powdered food colouring. Best results come from mixing it with the caster sugar.
It seems common to make plain (coloured) shells and have all the flavours in the filling, but that seems lazy to me. The challenge is how to get your flavours from dry ingredients. Alternative nuts or freeze-dried fruits can be powdered and mixed with the almond-flour. Just replace some of the sugar if it’s fruit, or some of the almond if it’s nuts. A lot of potential ingredients can be dehydrated in a low oven and then powdered.
Folding the almond-sugar into the meringue is the critical step in the recipe. Each fold is a scrape around the bowl and then a press against the side, rotating the bowl a little each time. Getting the right consistency will probably take a bit of trial and error. Luckily even the abortions still taste awesome. The more you mix it the more fluid the mix will become (to a point). If you over-mix it then you get tough, cracked, over-chewy macarons. If you under-mix it then you get puddles when you pipe and the things won’t rise.
You don’t need to be too rushed about having the oven door open when turning the trays. It helps to release some of the moisture.
From the sound of your oven you’ll probably have trouble getting them to rise without raising the temperature and browning the shells. A really good baking tray (or even two, stacked) would be cheaper than a new oven. You could also experiment with a shielding tray on the top shelf, assuming that the heat is all coming from the top. This will help stop the shells browning so you could turn the temperature up a bit, though you need a bit of space between the tray and the shells.
Don’t pipe it too large. You can probably get about 40-45 shells out of this recipe. I have to keep forcing myself to pipe smaller. The batter does spread. If the batter consistency is right then the piping peaks will disappear on their own after about 30 seconds. You can use a damp fingertip to flatten them if necessary but the extra moisture does affect them.
Hollow tops mean the egg whites were overbeaten.
The pros tend to overcook the shells a little, leaving them a bit too dry at first. This is a great trick because once you fill them they need 24 hours to rest. The flavours and the moisture soak into the shells and they hit the perfect consistency. The hardest bit is leaving them to rest for 1-2 days.
Macarons (French Meringue Method)
Yield 16-20
Ingredients
For the macaronnage
50g Egg whites
90g Icing sugar
50g Ground almonds
25g Caster sugar
1/8tsp Cream of tartar
Method
Mix together the icing sugar and almonds and blend this in a processor for 30-60 seconds.
Sift the almond-sugar mix. You’ll probably end up with a few grams of almond left over. This won’t affect the mix so you can throw it away. If there’s lots then give it another blast in the processor.
Whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar at slow speed until they are foamy (think washing-up liquid).
Add half a teaspoon of caster sugar and whisk to medium-firm peaks.
Add the rest of the sugar, along with any colourings, and whisk to firm peaks. The meringue should be glossy and firm, but not stiff or dry. Think shaving foam.
Add the dry ingredients to the meringue in stages (2-3 seems to work).
Fold the mixture, pressing the meringue against the side of the bowl to deflate it, until the mix is homogenous and has a lava-like consistency. If you drop a spoonful of the mix back on itself it should sink back in within 10-25 seconds.
Pipe 1” discs onto a lined baking sheet (they’ll spread to ~1.5”).
Tap the sheet on the counter a couple of times. This releases any air bubbles which would cause the shells to crack and also helps to flatten the batter.
Leave the tray to rest until the piped batter forms a dry skin - about an hour.
Into a pre-heated oven at 140°C for 12-15 minutes, turning twice. On the second turn (10 minutes) give the shells a gentle nudge. If they feel firm on the foot then cook for 12 minutes. If not then go for the full 15 and test again. Perfectly cooked, you should be able to peel them off the silicon paper directly from the oven, but it’s safer to give them 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Notes
Shop-bought ground almonds aren’t fine enough and will leave you with lumpy shells. Processing with the icing sugar stops you getting almond butter.
You’ll read lots about aged egg whites. I used to leave mine out for two days until I tried microwaving them and it turned out better. Nuking fresh whites for 10 seconds on full power produces the best results for me.
I prefer to stick to dry ingredients for the shells rather than mess with the consistency, so I use powdered food colouring. Best results come from mixing it with the caster sugar.
It seems common to make plain (coloured) shells and have all the flavours in the filling, but that seems lazy to me. The challenge is how to get your flavours from dry ingredients. Alternative nuts or freeze-dried fruits can be powdered and mixed with the almond-flour. Just replace some of the sugar if it’s fruit, or some of the almond if it’s nuts. A lot of potential ingredients can be dehydrated in a low oven and then powdered.
Folding the almond-sugar into the meringue is the critical step in the recipe. Each fold is a scrape around the bowl and then a press against the side, rotating the bowl a little each time. Getting the right consistency will probably take a bit of trial and error. Luckily even the abortions still taste awesome. The more you mix it the more fluid the mix will become (to a point). If you over-mix it then you get tough, cracked, over-chewy macarons. If you under-mix it then you get puddles when you pipe and the things won’t rise.
You don’t need to be too rushed about having the oven door open when turning the trays. It helps to release some of the moisture.
From the sound of your oven you’ll probably have trouble getting them to rise without raising the temperature and browning the shells. A really good baking tray (or even two, stacked) would be cheaper than a new oven. You could also experiment with a shielding tray on the top shelf, assuming that the heat is all coming from the top. This will help stop the shells browning so you could turn the temperature up a bit, though you need a bit of space between the tray and the shells.
Don’t pipe it too large. You can probably get about 40-45 shells out of this recipe. I have to keep forcing myself to pipe smaller. The batter does spread. If the batter consistency is right then the piping peaks will disappear on their own after about 30 seconds. You can use a damp fingertip to flatten them if necessary but the extra moisture does affect them.
Hollow tops mean the egg whites were overbeaten.
The pros tend to overcook the shells a little, leaving them a bit too dry at first. This is a great trick because once you fill them they need 24 hours to rest. The flavours and the moisture soak into the shells and they hit the perfect consistency. The hardest bit is leaving them to rest for 1-2 days.
Here's some I made earlier. Sour cherry & chocolate, Snickers, mojito and banoffee.
Once I'd got the basic recipe down the challenge became to invent new flavours.
Carrot Cake
Packed with warm spices. Dehydrated powdered carrot in with the shells. Carrot-cake frosting filling.
Jaffa Cake
Almond shell, chocolate shell, mandarin jelly filling.
Louis XV
Lower shell made with hazelnut instead of almond. Chocolate top shell. Hazelnut & white chocolate croquante filling.
Once I'd got the basic recipe down the challenge became to invent new flavours.
Carrot Cake
Packed with warm spices. Dehydrated powdered carrot in with the shells. Carrot-cake frosting filling.
Jaffa Cake
Almond shell, chocolate shell, mandarin jelly filling.
Louis XV
Lower shell made with hazelnut instead of almond. Chocolate top shell. Hazelnut & white chocolate croquante filling.
Edited by Gruffy on Thursday 24th April 20:48
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