The Macaron Gods Have Finally Smiled On Me.
Baking By Limpy Updated 5 Jun 2014 , 3:08am by stevenchanis
So. After 5 failures. Cracked tops. Hollow bottoms & much frustration, I have finally made two great batches of French macarons.I was determined that I was not going to let these little buggers get the better of me. So what have I learned? I was becoming obsessed with these little things.Reading everything on the net. 8 recipes. All with different instructions. Bang the tray. Don't bang the tray. Age the eggs. Don't age the eggs. Sift almonds & confectioners sugar three times. Sift only once.Stir only 40 strokes.Stir only 50 strokes. My head was starting to spin. I finally tried a recipe that uses the Swiss meringue method & this stableizes the egg whites. I learned that once piped, you need to let them dry for between 30-60 minutes, or until when you touch them they are dry. I also learned that you can dry them with a fan on low for 20 minutes. Hollow bottoms & sticking to parchment? Need to check one in the corner before removing from oven. If it does not come away from the paper, need to add more time.Need to cook till they develop a frill or "foot". Also used my Kitchen Aid beater blade when adding the icing sugar & ground almonds. Made it much easier, as it deflates the egg whites, which is what you want to do.So. Am I an expert? Far from it. But I no longer cower when I hear the word macaron & after taking my results into work, have received two orders. I filled the latest batch with Nutella. Yummy & easy. So this is what worked for me. If there is one thing to finish that I feel is absolutely necessary, is a scale to weigh ingredients, as a gram or two difference can mean success or failure. Also, I used a coffee grinder to grind the almonds to make sure they were nice & fine. Would be interested to know of others who have made these little treats.
I use Helene Dujardin's recipe, and it works like a charm every time. I would like to share a tip with you, too. Just buy the preground almond flour - it is very fine, and works so well. The best one is on Amazon - I think it is 2 lbs for about $34.00.
I also use my Kitchenaid for whisking, then switch to the paddle for adding the powdered sugar and almond flour. Knock it down to the "flowing lava" stage, as she notes.
And you can dry them too long - touching and having your finger not stick is when to put them in. I bake about 18 minutes at 280 degrees.
People are really impressed with them, aren't they?
Liz
Congratulations on your beautiful macarons :) I have made them successfully a few times. I want to make some in a couple of days actually. I also use Helene Dujardin of Tartalette to make mine.
Congrats! I'm still afraid to try but maybe I'll follow your lead!
I love macarons! Congratulations on your success! I remember the first time all my batches came out perfect.- you just want fist pump the experience - lol
Just out of curiosity, has anyone tried Richard Festen (Baking Arts) macarons? He has a Cake Masters class that looks pretty good.
Off topic! But I saw your background Paris box, and then I saw you were from Canada. Did you get it at HomeSense, I think I saw that today 
I got some of the ones with the high heel shoes!
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