Servings: 30 macaron sandwiches
Calories: 2685kcal
Ingredients
Macaron
- 100 gram egg whites about 4 small eggs
- 100 gram white caster sugar
- 100 gram almond flour
- 100 gram powdered sugar confectioner's sugar
- gel based colour optional
Filling
- 50 gram unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar confectioner's sugar
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
Macaron
- Sift almond flour couple of times to make sure that there are no large granules. After that sift almond flour with powdered sugar and salt. Set it aside
- The next step is to make meringue using egg whites and caster sugar. The recipe I have used is the french meringue technique as it results in soft macarons but it can be bit tricky to get it right
- Using an elextric hand mixture, beat the egg whites on medium speed until the eggs form peaks. If you pull out the whisk, the peak should hold it shape
- Start adding caster sugar one table spoon at a time and continue to mix. Make sure the sugar is mixed before you add the next spoolfull of sugar
- Once all the caster sugar is added, beat for about 6-7 minutes. As you progress, you will notice the the bowl is cool to the touch, the mixture starts to look shiny and your whisk start to make deeper grooves in the mix. Continue until stiff peaks are formed. The good way to test if stiff peaks have formed is to pull the whisk out of the bowl and you turn it upside down, the peak will hold it's shape. It can be small peaks and you don't have to aim for large stiff peaks. Another way to test if the mixture is ready is to turn the bowl upside down and if the mixture doesn't move then the it is ready for the next step
- Next step is called macaronage. It's the process of removing air from the meringue. Most recipes call for doing this step by hand but I use a electric hand mixture as it's quicker and prevents the mixture from becoming dry. Humidity is low in UK and every time I tried macaronage by hand, the mixture became dry before it could reach the lava like consistency. If you live in a humid climate, then it's better to do the next step by hand using a spatula
- Now add the almond flour mixture from the first step to the meringue. If you are using a colour, add the colour at this step.
- If using an electric hand mixture, beat the mixture for about 1-2 minutes using pulse setting. Stop after couple of pulses to test if the mixture is ready. The mixture should have a slow-moving lava like flowing consistency. To test, lift the batter with a spatula and make a figure eight out of the dripping batter. If you can make the figure eight without the batter breaking, then the batter is ready.
- If doing this step by hand using a spatula, gently fold the mixture using a spatula. Scoop the batter from near the walls of the bowl to the centre of the ball, twisting in a circle. Repeat this process until the mixture has a slow-moving lava like consistency. o test, lift the batter with a spatula and make a figure eight out of the dripping batter. If you can make the figure eight without the batter breaking, then the batter is ready
- Pour the batter into a piping bag with one inch piping tip. Pipe about dollar sized circles on the parchment-lined baking sheets. Make sure that there is space of 1-2 inches between the cookies. Bang the baking sheet on the counter a total of four times but turning it around after each bang. This will ensure that all the bubbles will be removed. For any leftover bubbles using a toothpick to pop them
- Air dry the macarons until a skin is formed on the top. If you gently touch the top of a macaron with the tip of the finger, it should feel dry. It takes me abuot 45minutes to an hour in UK but it will take longer in more humid places. It's important for the skin to develop as it will help in the formation of the frilly macaron feet
- In the meanwhile, heat the oven to 150C. Macarons are very sensitive to temperature so it's important to get the temperature right. Most of the ovens tend to run either hot or cold than than the temperature indicated on the knob. My oven runs hot so I will have the knob ot 125C to get the oven to heat to 150C. Using an oven thermometer will help. I have included a detailed note at the bottom to try out a few things
- Set the macarons in the middle tray of the oven and bake for about 10-15 minutes depending on your oven. At half way point, turn the tray around as most ovens don't heat evenly. To test if the macarons are ready, gently tap your finger against the side of the macaron and if it doesn't move then the macarons are ready
- Take them out of the oven and let them cool on top of the tray. Once the macarons have cooled down, you can easily peel them off the baking sheet
Filling
- Combine all the filling ingredients and use an electric mixture to beat until it's fluffly, about 2-3 minutes. Pour the mixture in a piping bag
- Once the macarons are cold, pipe the filling on the macaron and then place another macaron on top to create a sandwich
Notes
Tips on meringue
To make a good meringue, it's really important that any of the utensils used in making meringue don't have any fat on them. Before starting on a meringure, I wipe all the bowls, mixer blades with lemon juice to remove fat completely. Dry the bowls before starting on the meringue
If you are separating the egg whites and yolk, make sure that the egg whites don't have even a spot of yolk. The fat in the yolk can destabilise the meringue
Macaronage
It's important not to over or under beat the mixture. If you beat it too long, the mixture will be too liquid to pipe properly and if' it's underbeaten, it will have too much air and will develop very very large feet once baked. It's important to do the figure eight test at regular intervals and stop as soon as you can form the figure eigth without breaking the batter
Humidity and temperature Macarons are very sensitive to both humidity and temperature. I had to do a number of trials with my oven before I could get the right temperature setting. My oven has a grill on the top so it's always cooks the macaron on top first and as a result, the bottom of the macarons didn't bake fully. If I baked for longer, it burned the top even after I covered the top with parchment paper! To get around this, I had to get creative! So as soon as the macarons developed feet (around 3minutes into baking), I stuck a wooden spatula at the top of the oven door to keep it open. This released the heat from the top while the bottom of the macaron kept cooking. I also preheated the metal baking sheet so that the bottom of the macarons were set on a heated sheet which helped bake the bottoms Using the parchment paper (baking sheet) rather than a silicone mat helped with better heat transfer to the bottom Do not pipe directly on a metal sheet as it doesn't allow the macarons to expand properly.
Humidity and temperature Macarons are very sensitive to both humidity and temperature. I had to do a number of trials with my oven before I could get the right temperature setting. My oven has a grill on the top so it's always cooks the macaron on top first and as a result, the bottom of the macarons didn't bake fully. If I baked for longer, it burned the top even after I covered the top with parchment paper! To get around this, I had to get creative! So as soon as the macarons developed feet (around 3minutes into baking), I stuck a wooden spatula at the top of the oven door to keep it open. This released the heat from the top while the bottom of the macaron kept cooking. I also preheated the metal baking sheet so that the bottom of the macarons were set on a heated sheet which helped bake the bottoms Using the parchment paper (baking sheet) rather than a silicone mat helped with better heat transfer to the bottom Do not pipe directly on a metal sheet as it doesn't allow the macarons to expand properly.
Nutrition
Sodium: 218mg | Calcium: 233mg | Vitamin A: 1250IU | Sugar: 437g | Fiber: 11g | Potassium: 184mg | Cholesterol: 108mg | Calories: 2685kcal | Trans Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 29g | Fat: 90g | Protein: 33g | Carbohydrates: 461g | Iron: 4mg
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