THE DAY BEFORE MAKE THE GANACHE:
1:1 ratio of couverture 53% bittersweet chocolate and cream. If using white chocolate, use a 2:1 ratio of chocolate to cream; for example, 200g white chocolate and 100g pouring cream (minimum 35% fat). If you want to be creative you can also add some fruit puree, tea or essence. Store it in the fridge then bring back to room temperature before you begin piping.
MACARON:
INGREDIENTS FOR THE TANT POUR TANT (TPT)
300g sifted TPT (150g almond meal with 150g icing sugar)
55g egg whites
(fresh)
INGREDIENTS FOR THE ITALIAN MERINGUE (IM)
150g caster sugar
37g water
55g egg whites (old egg whites aged 12-24 hours in a bowl on the kitchen bench)
Wilton gel paste food colouring
STEP 1. MAKE THE TPT
Mix the Tant Pour Tant (equal quantities of icing sugar and almond meal) with the fresh egg white until it forms a thick paste, cover with cling wrap and set aside.
STEP 2. MAKE THE IM
Pour your aged egg whites into a Kitchen Aid mixer and insert the whisk attachment. Note - If you couldn't be bothered with aged egg whites, replace with fresh egg whites and 1 gram of egg white powder.
Bring the caster sugar, water and food colouring to the boil in a small saucepan. When the sugar syrup reaches 115°C start whisking your aged egg whites into soft peaks. As soon as the syrup reaches 118°C slowly pour the syrup into the beaten egg whites in a thin stream. Continue whisking the IM in the Kitchen Aid until it reaches a temperature between 50-55°C.
STEP 3. COMBINE THE TPT & IM
With a spatula, fold one-third of the IM into the TPT and egg white paste and knock out some of the air in the batter. At this stage of the process you can be quite rough when handling.
Gently fold in the rest of the IM into the TPT and combine until you have the right texture (should be glossy and look like cake mixture). Be careful not to over-mix the batter here or it will get too runny and your shells may crack in the oven.
STEP 4. PIPE YOUR MACARON SHELLS
Fill a piping bag with the macaron batter and place some parchment paper over a baking sheet. Put four small dabs of macaron mix underneath the parchment paper in each corner to secure the paper. Pipe 3.5 - 4cm diameter circles onto the parchment paper, tap the tray on the work surface to remove air bubbles and leave to dry for about 15-20 minutes to form a crust and are dry to touch.
STEP 5. COOK YOUR MACARON SHELLS
Cook the macaron for 17 mins at 150°C (fan forced oven). To release steam, leave the oven door open slightly. If this doesn't work for you, keep experimenting until you find the right temperature as every oven is different. Once cooked, remove from the baking sheet and leave to cool on the parchment paper over a wire rack.
STEP 6. ASSEMBLE YOUR MACARON
Remove the shells from the parchment paper and pair like sizes together. Pipe a decent blob of ganache onto the shell, then place the lid on top and twist slightly so that the ganache flows out towards the edge of the macaron. When piping the ganache onto the shell always leave a small rim.
STEP 7. STORE YOUR MACARON
Store your macaron in the fridge for 24 hours prior to eating so that the humidity helps the ganache to soak into the shell and allow the flavours to develop. Try not to eat your macaron the day they are made as they are too dry. Allow the macaron to return to room temperature prior to serving.
Make sure you visit some of my posts in January to March 2011 as I've got step-by-step instructions in photo's.
Hello, I tried your recipe for the first time and made basic macarons with a rosewater/choc ganache and everybody loved them! Never had so many positive comments on my cooking before!!Need to fine tune my piping skills but the recipe is great.
ReplyDeleteI'm ready to try one of your more complicated recipes but need to source some quality flavouring/colouring ingredients. I'm in SA, can you recommend anywhere?
Thanks!!
Wow, I'm impressed! If you happen to make more I'd love to see some photo's:) If you visit my post http://ladymacaron20ten.blogspot.com/2011/01/macaron-ingredients-online.html
ReplyDeleteyou'll find some online links dedicated to flavorings and essences and also places to get the more unusual stuff. If you happen to come across other good sites though let me know and I'll include the links. So glad that you got great feedback on your cooking. Piping is just practice so after a couple of batches your macaron will be just perfect. Thanks for the wonderful feedback I really appreciate it.
Lady Macaron, thanks for your instructions, my first IM macaron batch was a success [flavored mine with ground coffee! It was for a guest post, and since I do not want to leave macaron-making to chance, I asked my friend to LINK BACK to your post! A big shout out to you! Thanks again!
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hello! i just wanna ask.. when u say "To release steam, leave the oven door open slightly. "... what does it means?
ReplyDeleteIs it during the 17 mins of baking the macarons, we will need to leave the oven door slightly open? i tried a lot of times but the macaroons top always got burnt! :(
which part is the most critical as to get the ''smooth'' surface for macarons?
ReplyDeleteHi Anon - "To release steam" leave the oven door slightly ajar by using a wooden chopstick for the entire cooking time. As you close the oven door, insert the chopstick so that it's wedged between the rubber rim of the oven and the door. The slight gap allows steam to escape whilst cooking.
ReplyDeleteHi James - There are a number of things that contribute to a smooth surface. Firstly, make sure your almond meal is ground finely. Secondly, I've found that the longer I age my egg whites the smoother and glossier the shell. Thirdly, at macaronage stage make sure the surface of the batter is glossy and contains streaks of food colouring. Make sure you don't over mix however, as the batter will get too runny and you could end up with irregular shapes. Hope this helps:)
My macaron came on flat ..may I know what's the problem . I suspect its the batter ...
ReplyDeleteAnon it sounds like you over mixed the batter and deflated the egg whites.
ReplyDeleteI curious about the white eggs, why we have to use the fresh eggs not the old eggs for the almond mixture? I usually use the old eggs for the almond mixture and the meringue too ;p .... it will be have a different result? thank you :)
ReplyDeleteHey Lady M. Just made your basic macarons, as a bit of a practice, I have made macarons before but never the french variety. And they are gorgeous!! Just gorgeous! I am so so looking forward to filling them with ganache, and devouring them!! Thanks for all your wonderful recipes and tips. I'm making 4 different varieties for our local biggest morning tea this coming week, and I am now more excited than ever!! Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteI'm thrilled to bits that all went well and the fact that you're making 4 different varieties for the local biggest morning tea is absolutely awesome as it's such a good cause. No stopping you now and I'll bet you'll give Zumbo a run for his money:)
DeleteI can't get over how perfect those little feet are! I have spent countless hours researching and making macarons and yours are the best I've seen! I tried your basic shell recipe yesterday and they turned out just as amazing! I'm soo thrilled!! I can stop looking for THE recipe. Thank you so much! Also, having the oven door slightly ajar has FINALLY stopped them from browning! Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteHey, Chantal that is soooo cool! I haven't made any macarons for quite a while as I've been busy with work but you've now inspired me to make another batch so thank you too:) I'm really, really glad that your search for "THE recipe" is now over. Now you can start experimenting with flavours - good luck and I hope you have lots of fun:)
ReplyDeleteHi, Lady Macaron! I'm from Brazil and I'm so glad to visit your wonderful page. I'm already a cupcake lover and now I'm discovering the amazing world of macarons, however I still need some good advice in order to master them.
ReplyDeleteA few days ago, I tried a recipe that I get from web but it turned into anything but macaron. I was very upset but I can imagine that these little sweets are not as easy to make as they look like. Then, I found your website and your basic recipe. I tried it again, I saw the difference between your recipe and the one I made before, but the macarons just cracked on their surfaces and there were no feet. Would it be the oven? Would it be caused by overmixing the batter? Please, Fairy Macaron, help me on this matter! I'd love to make them for Christmas this year!! Thank you so much and I appreciate any support on this!!!
Gabi Moretto from Campinas - Brazil :)
Hey Lady Macaron! Thanks a ton for your assistance!! You're very kind! Let me tell you what steps I made when I cooked my macarons. After mixing together the sifted almod meal and icing sugar, adding the fresh egg whites, I made the IM. I confess this step was a bit difficult since I was alone and a little afraid of destroying the whole recipe. When this step was done, I just noted that the mixture of almond meal, incing sugar and fresh egg whites was kind of dry. I let it rest for more than 30 minutes. I don't know if it could affect the batter in any way, but when I added the first batch of IM, I had to mix the batter vigorously. After, I waited for the recommend time in order to form the solid surface and then I brought the macarons to the oven (I used 2 baking sheets). Finally, when I watched them baking inside the oven, the macarons were cracked. I'll do as you said and then I'll update you with the new result. I'll take note of every step I make and also, pay attention to the temperature of my old oven! lol
DeleteLady M, I'm looking forward to make the macarons for my sister's bridal shower next Saturday (August 4th)!! Let's cross our fingers!! Yay!!
By the way, I already liked your daughter's beautiful short! Hope she wins this challenge!! And when you have a time, please visit my page so you can meet me and my cupcakes (http://www.missgeecupcakes.blogspot.com)
As I said, you're very kind!! Thank you a lot again for your help!! Devil's food cupcake kisses from Gabi Moretto! :)
Hi Gabi Moretto from Campinas - Brazil - lets help you master macarons and then you can make them to decorate the top of your cupcakes! I would say without a doubt that ovens can cause lots of problems and if your macaron are cracking it definitely sounds like your oven is too hot. Next time mix the batter until you see a gloss form on top of the mixture and the food colouring start to change in colour (darken slightly and becomes streaky) - most notable on your spatula. Pipe half a dozen macarons on a tray and test out your oven by writing out down the temperature, shelf level and cooking time so you know what works and what doesn't. As every oven is different try starting from 135 degrees celsius or the fahrenheit equivalent then adjust by 5 degrees each time you put a new tray in. I have a new commercial style oven that is quite hot so now have to reduce my temp. to about 135 degrees celsius with one baking sheet however, with my old oven I cooked my macarons with 2 baking sheets at temperatures between 145-150 degrees celsius. When I test macaron batter I pipe what I need onto the baking sheet and keep the rest in the pipping bag. Also, I've been quite cheeky and cooked successful macarons straight after piping without any resting time! This is fine for macarons with Italian Meringue (hot sugar syrup) but I wouldn't try this if you use the French Meringue Method as the mixture isn't quite as stable. Also, another tip if you let Italian Meringue macarons rest for too long the bottoms stick to the tray and have difficulty rising which means no feet. Hope this helps but if you need more advice let me know;)
DeleteI just wanna ask questions about the maturing the macarons in the refrigerator. Because when i put them in the refrigerator, my macarons becomes wet and soggy. So where should i put the macarons? in a air tight container or just in a cooling rack with plastic wrap. and should i give them space between each other?
ReplyDeleteThank You!
Hi there Lady M! A fellow Macaron Home-Baker here and so cool to have stumbled upon your blog! Love your varieties of macaron fillings and will definitely be back for inspiration for different flavours when I make my next batch!
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