Making of the French Macarons

 

French Macarons, is this one of the hardest cookies to bake? 

 

Well, I would say yes as I have failed a few times when I first made them. 

When I have finally made my first successful batch, I stuck to the same method all the time and now I can say 'I can make them!'

 

But at times I still get one or two imperfect ones out the oven.

But hey, it is one of the hardest cookies to bake after all!

 

I have created a step by step guide of how I made mines, I hope my method is made simple for you to follow. I still follow it closely as it has worked for me all the time now.

Just want to share with you what to look out for and what you must do! 

 

So here it is, my guide to the French Macarons. 

Recipe is here so good luck and have fun! 



 

Weigh out the ground almonds and icing sugar together. 

 

Pass through a sieve twice. 

 

Discard any big bits of ground almonds that doesn't pass through the sieve. 

 

Weigh out your egg white and whisk.

 

 

Add sugar gradually to the meringue until you reach soft peak, at this stage you can add gel colouring  if you want coloured Macarons. 

 

Whisk until you reach stiff peaks, meringue would be glossy and stiff. 

 

Add 1/2 of the ground almonds & icing sugar to the meringue and fold briefly, 

then add last 1/2 to it and fold. 

 

The mixture will appear grainy after you have added the dry ingredients to it. 

 

 

 

Fold and press the mixture against the side of the bowl to deflate some air. 

Fold about 50 times and press against the bowl 3 times alternating in between folds.  

 

The mixture should now be smooth and shiny, when you drop some back into the mixing bowl, it should flow back slowly like volcano lava. If it doesn't, fold a few more time. Be careful not to over fold at this stage. 

 

Fill a piping bag with the Macaron batter, tie the top of the piping bag and make a small snip on the tip end. You are ready to pipe.

 

I drew a template of circles on a piece of paper from my piping nozzle and lay a baking paper on top. 

Lay this on a flat baking tray.

Pipe from the centre on the circle and stop once you have filled the circle. 

 

 

Tap the tray on the work top a couple of times to let any air bubbles out in the piped macaorns.  

At this stage they should appear smooth and shiny. If there's any visible bubbles on the surface, pop them with a wooden skewer.

 

Then let it dry out for 30 minutes to an hour.

When they are ready, they should have formed a thin skin and you can just about touch it and the macaron does not stick to your finger, but be very careful not to break the skin otherwise it would crack in the oven.



 

Due to the humidity in my room, I used a desk top fan to speed up the drying process. 

This still took me over 1 1/2 hours. 

 

Bake in a preheated oven at130c for 15 minutes. 

You need the check your ovens temparature as you might need to lower to 120c if you are using gas oven, I have found different ovens have different temperature.

 

5 minutes into baking the feet on the macarons should appear. 

Once baked, take out to cool while they are still on the baking paper then remove carefully.

Match up two the same size and add filling of your choice. 

If you have succesfully made these share with me! I love to hear from you and know that my method has worked for you too.