This French macaron recipe creates delicate little macarons with a smooth crispy shell and a soft centre, ideal for a multitude of fillings. This recipe is similar to a recipe I used to use a few years ago, working in Queen Of Tarts, only scaled down to a non commercial yield. I wish I could tell you that after years of making everything but macarons that I simply made a batch and everything was perfect. That absolutely did not fucking happen. Despite making these little almond cookies literally hundreds of times a few year previous, I made all the mistakes I could make. I had to make them three times before I actually got a hang of the oven I’m currently using and had something I could photograph. The positive side of this is that the fails are still fresh in my mind and I’m ready to tell you what not to do.
Things I did that you definitely shouldn’t:
Do not under whip the meringue or add the sugar too quickly. An underdeveloped meringue will result in your macaron feet being small or simply not there. Similarly, if you add the sugar too quickly the meringue will not be stable which will effect the rise at the bottom.
Do not add too much food colouring. Stick to gels if possible, but if using liquid food colouring be mindful of how much you add. Too much liquid will result in the batter being too runny and the macarons will spread.
Do not get impatient when you are resting the macarons. You need to wait until a thin skin forms on the top of the macaron and it has lost it’s shine. You should be able to lightly touch the macaron without it sticking to your finger. Even if you live in a super humid country where it takes 2-3 hours for the skin to form…. wait. Or just don’t be stubborn like me and only bake them on non- rainy days.
Do not underestimate how different ovens can work. Use an oven thermometer if possible to gauge an accurate reading of the temperature. Most ovens are a few degrees off and can play a big role in your macarons succeeding or failing. Also check where the heat is coming from in your oven. With most ovens, I would place my macarons in the lower half of the oven, however while using the oven I currently have, I noticed the fan blew over them too much when placed there. I tried my third attempt on the very top shelf and to my surprise they turned out perfect.
Now, I am by no means a macaron master, if you want to dive into more information on macarons I would highly advise you to check out Michelle’s macarons, her work is stunning and she has lots of key information for troubleshooting macaron recipes. I will include a video below on her top macaron questions. These ones I made close to Halloween so an orange colour seemed like a good idea but you can colour them any shade.
In a large mixing bowl, begin to whisk the egg whites until bubbles start to form. Slowly add the sugar in additions, whisking well after each addition. Continue whisking the meringue until stiff peaks form.
If your ground almonds are quite wet or doesn't seem to be very fine you can quickly blitz them with the icing sugar in a food processor on the pulse setting for a few seconds. Regardless if you took this last step or not, you need to sieve the icing sugar and ground almonds a total of three times. This is to remove any lumps and any larger pieces of ground almonds.
Add in the ground almond and icing sugar mix in two goes. Very carefully fold this into the egg whites, being mindful to avoid knocking out the air initially. About 10 folds per addition such be sufficient for now.
Next, add in any food colouring if using and fold another 15-20 times. The mix should be at the "ribbon stage" (when you drop the mix off the spoon, it should fold in on itself still briefly). If you think the macaron mix is still a little too thick, wait 20-30 seconds before folding more, and only fold another 5-6 times and reassess. It's much better to under mix these than over mix.
Next, transfer this mix to a large piping bag fitted with a 1mm round tip. Or just cut the bag very carefully to achieve a perfectly straight line that will result in a perfectly piped circle. (No pressure)
Line your baking sheets with parchment paper and pipe your macarons with plenty of space in between each one. You can use a macaron template for this, simply place the macaron mat directly onto your baking tray, put a layer of parchment over it, pipe your macarons and then slide the mat out from underneath.
Bang the trays of macarons sharply down onto your counter to bust any large air bubbles left and to level them off to create a smooth surface.
Place your trays in the driest part of your kitchen and rest the macarons for anywhere between 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on how humid your kitchen is. You're looking for the top to form a slight skin, you should be able to run your finger over them without sticking.
20 minutes before your macarons are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 150°c (300°f).
Place one (yes you have to bake one at a time, I'm sorry) tray in the sweet spot of your oven, In most ovens, this is the lower third of your oven.
Bake for 22 minutes total, but after 5 minutes turn the oven temperature down to 140°c or 280°f. Halfway through baking, very quickly open the oven to turn them around and close quickly.
Allow to cool totally before removing from the tray.
Chocolate Ganache
Bring cream to the boil in a small saucepan.
Pour hot cream over the chocolate. Allow to sit for a minute. Whisk well until smooth.
Allow this to cool fully (about 20-30 minutes) before loading into a piping bag with a nozzle of your choice.
Pipe this around the edge of one side of your macaron shell. Fill the middle with strawberry jam and let mature overnight in the fridge. Keep stored in the fridge but take out and bring to room temperature before eating.
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