Soldato
- Joined
- 11 Sep 2009
- Posts
- 14,064
- Location
- France, Alsace
Not seen a thread on these little beauties so thought I would start one. I'm going to do a blog post on them later, if I get the time but thought I would get something up here about them.
These things can be a pain in the ****. I have tried, and failed, to make these, more than once. My Mrs has failed at making these. So they're not so easy, but it's more about finding what works with your equipment, oven, even the eggs you have.
There are two main methods you can use to create them.
1. The Italian Meringue method
Egg white 100 g (3 eggs - aged)
Pure icing sugar 125 g
Almond meal 125 g
Caster sugar 125 g
Water 34 g
Where you beat your eggs to stiff peaks, make a hot sugar syrup (to about 118c) and while still processing the egg whites, gently add the sugar syrup to the whites. Then, you add the sieved almond meal to the mixture, folding it in to try to limit the lost air in the mix. (If you wish to colour your mix, I would add this to the almond meal, not the egg & sugar mix as it tends to take air out.) Fold it all in until mixed well, but don't go around mixing it hard. You want a shiny consistency, not grainy, or lumpy.
2. The French Meringue way method.
225g powdered sugar
125g almonds, blanched
25g sugar
food colouring (about 5 drops)
3 egg whites (preferably aged *which is leaving on the side for 3 days*)
Well, we live in France, and the last time I tried them, I did it the Italian way, it wasn't working properly, this time, French.
Beat your egg whites to stiff peaks, don't overwork them either. Then, add 25g of caster sugar while beating. Blend up your icing sugar and your almond meal with your colouring of choice. Now, slowly add this in to the egg whites, a bit at a time, folding it all in until the mixture is fully incorporated. Again, glossy, smooth, no lumps.
With both methods, preheat the oven to 157c. Or 160, as mine and yours probably go up in 20s anyway. Pipe the discs on to baking paper, remembering that they will spread and settle slightly, so don't go too big to start.
Importantly, you need to then leave the macarons to set on the side, for at least 30minutes. This will form a sort of film on the outside of the shell, which helps in the cooking. They will raise from this and keep shape.
We found the best results came when we put them directly on the oven shelf that was hot (we have shelves with trays on them which are flat) as this seemed to seal the bottom of the macaron shell.
Cook for 12-15minutes. We found 13 minutes to be the on the money. The shell should be firm to touch (lightly) and a consistent colour. You do not want to brown or discolour them.
Remove from the oven, put on the side to cool. Don't try and remove them right away. If you're having any trouble with the removing. Wet your worktop and then put the baking sheet directly on the wet surface, this often helps.
Options for filling are many, you can do a chocolate ganache, other flavours etc. We went for a raspberry coulis and chocolate ganache.
You can then have some great fun playing with flavour combinations, flavour the shell, and the centre etc. The Mrs is doing some more today.
Some pics:
These things can be a pain in the ****. I have tried, and failed, to make these, more than once. My Mrs has failed at making these. So they're not so easy, but it's more about finding what works with your equipment, oven, even the eggs you have.
There are two main methods you can use to create them.
1. The Italian Meringue method
Egg white 100 g (3 eggs - aged)
Pure icing sugar 125 g
Almond meal 125 g
Caster sugar 125 g
Water 34 g
Where you beat your eggs to stiff peaks, make a hot sugar syrup (to about 118c) and while still processing the egg whites, gently add the sugar syrup to the whites. Then, you add the sieved almond meal to the mixture, folding it in to try to limit the lost air in the mix. (If you wish to colour your mix, I would add this to the almond meal, not the egg & sugar mix as it tends to take air out.) Fold it all in until mixed well, but don't go around mixing it hard. You want a shiny consistency, not grainy, or lumpy.
2. The French Meringue way method.
225g powdered sugar
125g almonds, blanched
25g sugar
food colouring (about 5 drops)
3 egg whites (preferably aged *which is leaving on the side for 3 days*)
Well, we live in France, and the last time I tried them, I did it the Italian way, it wasn't working properly, this time, French.
Beat your egg whites to stiff peaks, don't overwork them either. Then, add 25g of caster sugar while beating. Blend up your icing sugar and your almond meal with your colouring of choice. Now, slowly add this in to the egg whites, a bit at a time, folding it all in until the mixture is fully incorporated. Again, glossy, smooth, no lumps.
With both methods, preheat the oven to 157c. Or 160, as mine and yours probably go up in 20s anyway. Pipe the discs on to baking paper, remembering that they will spread and settle slightly, so don't go too big to start.
Importantly, you need to then leave the macarons to set on the side, for at least 30minutes. This will form a sort of film on the outside of the shell, which helps in the cooking. They will raise from this and keep shape.
We found the best results came when we put them directly on the oven shelf that was hot (we have shelves with trays on them which are flat) as this seemed to seal the bottom of the macaron shell.
Cook for 12-15minutes. We found 13 minutes to be the on the money. The shell should be firm to touch (lightly) and a consistent colour. You do not want to brown or discolour them.
Remove from the oven, put on the side to cool. Don't try and remove them right away. If you're having any trouble with the removing. Wet your worktop and then put the baking sheet directly on the wet surface, this often helps.
Options for filling are many, you can do a chocolate ganache, other flavours etc. We went for a raspberry coulis and chocolate ganache.
You can then have some great fun playing with flavour combinations, flavour the shell, and the centre etc. The Mrs is doing some more today.
Some pics:
