The Macaron Chronicles Part II

Macarons can inspire an obsession that cannot be easily shaken off. Your best is seemingly not enough. You want to master the recipe - but to what extent? Obviously, I am hooked. I developed a fascination for these petite confections after, curiously enough, a failed experiment where these little beauties ended up looking like flying saucers. Had this experience plagued me so? Was it some form of post-traumatic stress disorder? I’d like to think that I was just duly challenged –that thought was less disturbing.

Right after this debacle, I headed out to San Francisco where I made it a priority to sample as much of these delicacies as possible at Miette and Bouchon. Breakfast, mid-afternoon snack or late evening  munchie – these little gems were such a treat. I took back with me the memory of sublimely crisp yet slightly chewy cookies and sinful buttercream fillings.

So, I decided to do some research on how to make the perfect macaron because I just couldn’t deal with another failure. Through googling, I was able to amass some very useful information: like measuring your ingredients carefully as well as sifting dry ingredients twice. I used mostly weight measurements (grams) because they were more accurate. And most importantly, the way you fold your dry ingredients with your meringue can spell success or doom for your excursion into macaron land. Folding too little, and your batter becomes too heavy, you develop high-domed footless wonders; too much and you might end up with a runny mixture that will probably bake into malformed, sunken disks.

Apparently chocolate macarons are the hardest to make. I have not quite determined why –none of my readings explained this. But I suspect the addition of cocoa and its acidity might be interfering with the inherent structure of the macaron. But I am getting ahead of myself.

I’ve also read that leaving the egg whites out for 48 hours makes for a better end product– this idea could strike an “eww” reaction in most people but it looks like egg whites have natural anti-bacterial properties - besides I am desperate.

So one weekend, I separated around 12 eggs and let them sit for at least 24 hours. The “Hungry” Hubby started kidding me that my egg whites would crawl off the counter pretty soon.

The day couldn’t have been more cooperative - perfect dry fall weather. Humidity can plague the quality of your macarons but I guess the Meringue Gods had taken pity on me.

TEST I: Almond macaron recipe with 24-hour aged egg whites.

I started with a simple almond macaron recipe from here. I think I must have measured my powdered sugar wrong because it was extremely thick almost like a brownie batter ( I used a measuring cup and was not sure how I was supposed to measure powdered sugar – packed or scooped-swept). I wanted to throw out the mixture and start all over again but I did not want to waste my precious ground almonds so I thought –“What the heck, let’s see what kind of cookies I get out of this!” As I piped out each mound, I noticed that, although they spread out a little, most of them settled quite nicely into a neat round shape. After letting them sit for 30 minutes to dry out the tops – necessary for attaining that smooth shiny crown - I popped the tray (okay I set it carefully) into the oven at 310 °F. And then, I waited. After 5 minutes, I saw the beginnings of the requisite “feet”. I quickly hollered to HH and started prancing around the kitchen. “They’ve got feet, they’ve got feet!” I enthused gaily. I took the tray out after 11 minutes of baking and I couldn’t be happier with how they look.

            

TEST II: Pistachio Macarons with 24-hour aged egg whites.

Empowered, I proceeded immediately with the second recipe: the Pistachio Macarons from the lovely Tartelette. Jenny from All Things Edible had great success with it , so I was eager to try it out. I was not able to ground my pistachios perfectly so I knew I was going to get some bumps on the shiny caps. Again, I carefully mixed the dry ingredients to the meringue but the batter was a bit runnier than my first set of macarons; however they piped quite easily without the batter dripping from circle to circle. They also developed feet! Enthralled by two successive baking experiments with two different recipes I concluded that aside from having great recipes to work with, it must be the aged egg whites. I made chocolate ganache fillings for both.

           Between the two recipes I tried, the Pistachio Macarons were better tastewise and formwise. Lightly domed top (not totally smooth but I explained why), crisp skin, nice chewy center, dainty feet and the distinct pistachio flavor came through so addictively. I was so happy, I did a quick mini-post here.

TEST III: Chocolate Macarons with 48 hour-aged egg whites

    I had some egg whites remaining so I decide to be brave and try the chocolate macarons the next day – it would also mean that I would be aging them for the full 48 hours. I was debating on which recipe to use. I saw one on David Lebovitz blog, but I ended up using Sherry Yard’s recipe in her new book Desserts by the Yard (I could not reveal the recipe since it is still an unreleased book – but if someone reminds me in November I will update this post with it)

    I had a bumpy start. I accidentally measured the amount of ground almonds twice and it was hard to simply scoop them out because I spooned them directly on top of the powdered sugar. I had the stiffest batter yet, I almost couldn’t pipe it out through a 12 pt tip to 1 ½ inch circles. My wrists were tired after all that squeezing and I wondered what results I would be getting.  Since they were bigger, I left them in about 2 minutes longer - around 13 minutes actually. Again, perfect feet, perfect domes, perfect macarons.

It looked like no matter what the recipe was (or how much I messed up) the stars were aligned to make macarons. This time I decided to make a macaron vanilla ice cream sandwich. This was how Sherry served her macarons in her book, although the ice cream flavor was different, I thought it was equally scrumptious in vanilla ice cream. Initially the chocolate macarons were cakey inside but the chewiness and chocolate flavor developed the next day.

            All three batches of cookies were easy to remove from the parchment paper with a flexible spatula. I also had read that it was important to rap the sheets on the countertop prior to baking to encourage the development of feet. Since I had two trays at a time, I decided to rap one and not the other. There was no effect at all.

Sooo … end of macaron experiment, right? Wrong.

I wondered what would happen if I used eggs that were aged less or eggs that were freshly separated the morning of baking. In addition to this, I really would like to over-beat some of the batter just to see what happens.

To keep most of the parameters the same, I used the same recipe for all of them. Also, I kept the resting time after piping, constant, at 30 minutes. To have an accurate test about the effects of over-beating; I divided one batter in two and folded it to the correct “perceived” viscosity; the other half I just beat for as long as I could (until my arm was tired).

But I had no control over the humidity that day and boy was it humid!

Basic Almond Macaron Batter

• 125 grams almond flour
• 225 grams powdered sugar
• 100 grams egg whites
• 25 grams sugar

Pinch cream of tartar.

Preheat oven to 300 °F (I used 310°F to compensate for opening and closing the oven door).

Run the almond flour and powdered sugar through a food processor and sift twice.

Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites and beat at medium speed. Slowly add the granulated sugar and continue beating until the whites attain medium-peaks and are glossy.

Add your dry ingredients slowly to the meringue taking about six additions all in all. (See folding requirements below)

Pipe the batter to a diameter of an inch. And let rest for 30 minutes before baking.

Bake for about 11 minutes or until done, turning the sheets halfway through.

Folding requirements:

Test IV: Overnight egg whites on the counter. Beaten to “flows like magma” consistency.

Test V: Overnight egg whites on the counter. Beaten senseless.

Test VI: Morning-of egg whites. Beaten to “flows like magma” consistency

Test VII: Morning-of egg whites. Beaten senseless.

RESULTS. I noticed that the quality of the macarons weren’t as good as the ones I made with the 24 hour and 48 hour aged egg whites. For one thing, the domes tended to sink into the “feet”; more so if the batter was over-beaten. When the eggs were fresher (separated on the morning-of) the crust appeared to be thinner and more fragile. It was also obvious that they couldn’t hold their nice circular shape after piping and got deformed (as evidenced by the pictures).  For mixtures that received more folding it still developed “feet”, but the feet had bigger holes and the tops tended to separate and curve unappealingly inward like mushroom caps. 

Unlike my first three tests, these last four batches were difficult to remove with a spatula, I noticed that the bottoms were not crusted over which could have made them easier to detach. They were still gummy and I had to peel the parchment away from the macarons rather than the other way around because their tops would crack infuriatingly or worse get dismembered – feet and top totally separated.

In summary of what I’ve learned so far (or to spare you from my ramblings above):

1.      Make sure to measure and sift your ingredients properly. I’m not yet too fanatical about sifting because I do have problems grinding my nuts to powdered form – but I do make sure clumps of powdered sugar are broken up. I started measuring my ingredients accurately to the last gram after my first test yielded an amount of powdered sugar that was suspect.

2.      Fold in your dry ingredients in at least 4 additions. Do not dump the whole thing into the beaten foam or you might end up with a runny batter.

3.      I used a circle template by drawing them on the reverse side of my parchment paper. Resist to the urge to follow the outline with your tip, just keep your tip positioned about ½ inch above and in the middle of the round guide, the batter is going to spread out more evenly into the circle you want. If you have trouble controlling the flow of your batter and it keeps linking to two mounds together as you move about piping, chances are you’ve got an over-beaten mixture.

4.      Rapping the sheet pan before baking had no effect on your end product. They do get rid of bubbles if this develops in your mixture.

5.      Fresh egg whites develop thinner, more fragile skin which tends to break easily when you try to remove the macarons from the parchment paper. If your macarons stick, peel away the parchment paper rather than force the spatula to lift the macarons out. However, with the 24/48 hour aged-egg whites, the spatula slid easily under the macaron to detach them with no problem at all.

6.      Moisture plays a vital role in macaron making. Whether in the egg whites, or in the air it definitely affects the quality of these French cookies. My initial conclusion as to why the aged-egg whites yielded almost invincible macarons was because they had less moisture content due to evaporation but still have the same amount of protein bonds. That was probably why I have seen macaron recipes that called for some dried egg white powder to be mixed into regular whites.  Meringues have a tendency to weep, so even if you have beaten your batter to the right viscosity, your mixture might still get runny if the protein bonds break down – but if you have less moisture to begin then it would not be a problem. I figured the large holes and sunken caps of macarons from the “deliberately over-beaten batter” were because the protein bonds were not as dense and they were separated by water that would evaporate leaving those gaping holes.

Addressing the safety of egg whites left out for more than 12 hours. I have researched this topic in Harold Mc Gee’s book. Though he did not specifically say that egg whites can be safely left at room temperature for a long period of time, he did mention interesting information about its composition. There are three proteins effective in maintaining the integrity of the egg white. First, Ovotransferrin, binding tightly to iron, makes the white less hospitable to bacteria that thrive on it. The second protein, Lysozyme, digests bacterial cell walls. And third, the protein Ovomucin inhibits the growth of viruses. The paradox of the egg which looks so simple is in fact a very complex structure that never ceases to amaze me in its many uses. But going back to the safety of using aged eggs in macarons; I think the fact that they are baked at a temperatures of over 300 F – every type of bacteria would most likely be incinerated.

So is there a doubt that egg whites kept out for at least 24 hours produce the best macarons? Sadly -yes, I could not overlook the role that the humidity played during my last four experiments so I cannot say without a shadow of a doubt that my first three experiments would have had the same results on a humid day.

I have heard of a different method that uses Italian Meringue where the sugar syrup is poured in while the egg whites are beaten at high speed. I dread this method because most of my syrup ends up on the walls of the mixer bowl. But if consistent results are what I am after in my macaron tests then I’d have to just deal with it. I might also have to ask a certain French pastry chef to hold my hand on this one.

Oh, I think it is also time to explore different buttercream fillings and fruit jams to fill up these beauties with, don’t you think?

Stay tuned for this ongoing saga in The Macaron Chronicles!

Comments

[Lisa (Homesick Texan)]

I haven't attempted macarons yet because I find them intimidating, but I'm going to print this up and keep it handy for when I finally do take the plunge. Such useful tips!

[Deborah]

I second Lisa - I haven't made these elusive cookies yet, but when I do, I will come back to your post for reference!!

[Hilda]

In classic form, I started with the hardest kind - chocolate, and I finally got them to work on the 3rd try, but I've tried them with both the french and the italian meringue and it doesn't change anything as far as I'm concerned other than the texture which is less smooth with french meringue somehow. I'm going to have to put up that post at some point, about the macarons. Congratulations on a wonderful job, they're not easy things to master, but you look like you've got them beat.

[Tanna]

You are fantastic Veron! You could run America's Test Kitchen for Cook's Illustrated!
You are really swinging these little babies. I'm beginning to think I should try them.

[maria~]

Your macs look beautiful! Unlike my pathetic first attempt at them, hahaha! Do you have a bakery or something? If you don't I suggest you open one coz I'll be your loyal customer numero uno!

[eggy]

Thank you for sharing all that fantastic information. I've so far proved awful at making macarons (though I'm wonderful at eating them), and your post is both incredibly meticulous and inspiring. I shall be trying my hand at them again. I've also been playing with fondant lately and now that I've realised what kind of patience it entails, I am finally learning to enjoy it.

[Mandy]

kudos!Your macarons look lovely!!! btw, what tip did you use to pipe out the meringue batter?

[Lydia]

I've been completely intimidated about trying to make these, but your post gives me courage -- and will help avoid some of the pitfalls. Thank you!

[Judith in Umbria]

Wonderful post and it made me mad to have a macaron or ten.

[Mary at alpineberry]

I don't know how you find the energy to do these experiments. You're amazing! =) If I ever tackle the elusive macaron, I will definitely refer to this post for tips and guidance. Thanks for all the info.

PS: Is that a ruffled dish from Miette?

[veron]

Hi Lisa - I was the reverse, I did not think they were hard at all until I tried them the first time and they came out flat. That's when I found out how finicky they were. Hope you try them soon.
Hi Deborah - Let me know how it turns out when you do attempt them.
Thanks Hilda- glad to know there is not much difference between the two methods. I do like the slightly textured top rather than one that is too smooth.
Thanks Tanna - what a wonderful compliment. There's nothing I would love better than to be in Chris Kimball's shoes ;)
Thanks Maria - No I do not have a bakeshop but I dream of a little pattisserie of my own someday :).
Thanks Eggy - I'm so envious that you are attending a macaron festival. I'm finding out that I love decorating with Fondant, too.
Thanks Mandy - I used a Wilton #12.
Thanks Lydia - I hope you try them out soon!
Hi Judith! Macarons are like brownies , you can't have just one.
Thanks Mary! I get my energy tasting all those little macarons coming out of the oven . And yes, I got the ruffled plates from Miette- I can tell you visit their pattisserie often ;).

[Anita]

Veronica,
You got bit by the macaron bug too!:) I love you careful documentation - and it's such thrill when a batch comes out well, even if you're not sure you replicate it yet! I think yours look beautiful - Paris worthy for sure!

[Kat]

I found your blog through Anita's. I am intimidated by macaron making, yours looks beautiful!

[Belinda]

Wouldn't you just know that the heavenly chocolate ones are the hardest to make?! :-) But, honestly, Veron, I really admire your tenacity in researching and testing until you get everything figured out in the macaron making process. I'd say you've definitely achieved success...but I still look forward to the ongoing research you will share in future installments to this Macaron series! :-)

[T.W. Barritt]

Veron - what a great batch of experiments! Shades of Harold McGee!!! Isn't baking great therapy for our obsessions?

[brilynn]

Why do you tempt me so? The macaron gods have never smiled upon me before and yet I have such an urge to make more...

[Anh]

Veron, I bow to you! Awaiting for more of your experiences with macaron!

[Tartelette]

Awesome post! I am so happy you tried them again and with amazing sucess! Quick trick if you want macarons but you don't have 24 hr egg white lying around: nuke them in the microwave for 10-15 seconds, and they should act the same in the recipe.
I am never happy with the taste of chocolate ones but I can't wait to read more about your recipe!

[Big Boys Oven]

Firstly would like to congratulate you my dear Veron, Thety are fabulous and goregous macaroons! We love your tests on macaroons!

[veron]

Hi Anita! I'm definitely bitten by the macaron bug. I'm flattered that you think they are Paris-worthy!
Welcome Kat! Have you seen my first attempt? They were like cratered pancakes! You learn as you make them - give it a try.
Thanks Belinda - the reason I'm researching this so much is because I think they might be a lucrative market here in richmond for them.
Thanks T.W. - Harold Mc Gee's book always have answers to food science questions!
Oh Bril - make them! make them!
Thanks Anh!
Thanks for the tip Helen! But right now I don't have a microwave.Hmm ... might be a reason to reinstate one.
Thanks Big boy's oven- coming from you who make such great macarons, I am tickled pink!

[Anne]

wow! those are lovely looking macarons :)

Thank you for this very informative post. I've tried my hand on making macarons last Sunday and as expected I failed. I tried 3 batches and I had more better looking macarons using the meringue method and I used powdered egg white. Unfortunately, my macarons never developed feet so success for me is still far away. I'm planning to try them again when I do get the time.

[Marvin]

Wow, such determination on your part Veron! It looks like you had great results though. Would you get the same results if you just left the whole eggs in the shell out at room temp, and then separating the egg whites? Instead of leaving the egg whites themselves exposed to the elements?

[veron]

Hi Anne - when you are ready to try them again mix some eggwhites with the powder - but I'm not sure what the ratio is. I have seen a recipe , I think it was Pierre Herme, that mixed fresh whites with aged whites and a teaspoon of egg white powder.
Hi Marvin - Eggs are difficult to separate when they get to room temperature and you risk getting a bit of yolk in your egg whites which will inhibit the whipping. I think you do want to expose the egg whites to air for the moisture to evaporate and the whites to thicken. I would try Helen's method if I had a microwave.

[Susan from Food Blogga]

Wow! You truly do run a "test kitchen," Veronica. What a valuable post this is. Many thanks for all of your effort and tips. I've never made macarons yet, but I know where to come when I do. Fantastic!

[Big Boys Oven]

We also notice of not using fridge chilled eggs, rather use fresh eggs at room tempreture. Also depends on oven, you may need to cover the top of macaroons to avoid over burn top.

[Big Boys Oven]

Oh Veron, the next experiment is to try and taste all the different macaroons available, why? we notice a lot of them taste differently!

[veron]

Thanks Susan! I hope my post will be indeed helpful to you when you decide to make the macarons.

Hi Big Boys Oven! Yes both my aged eggs and fresh eggs were at room temperature of 74F before use. He..he..I know..my almond macaron tops were browned, -I guess I was concentrating on structure first. But I'll try to fix that in my next test. :). As far as different macaron tastes. So far the pistachio macarons tasted the same with the one I had in San Francisco's Miette. I suspect it's because they use all natural ingredients. Maybe some companies use some additives to prolong the life of the macarons. Also it might be the type of almonds used. I know Pierre Herme favors Marconi almonds.

[Lisa]

You'll be a master in no time.. whippin up macarons in your sleep!

Frankly, it doesn't look like you've got long to go before you do master them.

She did 99.9% of the work when she was here, but Helene taught me how to make them.. was the first time I'd tried one and quite frankly I'm more than a little shocked at myself for not making them over and over again since she left..

Maybe deep down I doubt I could do it myself - but printing out this post surely will help me.

Thanks sis!
xoxo

[monica]

wow this is a fantastic post on macarons! i am thoroughly impressed by your determination and wish you the best luck. i agree that humidity has everything to do with it...as i have made many successful batches and many failed batches. even though everythign but the weather was the same!

[Amy]

Fantastic post! This will be immensely useful if one day I have enough courage to tackle macarons. Your macarons look great! Love the little feet. :)

[Truffle]

I'm also too timid to attempt them so am particularly impressed by your efforts. Such lovely photos.

[Bea]

What a complete and useful study of making macarons. I am impressed with your persistence and effort into it. Looks great!

[Kelly-Jane]

You've perfected them this time, well done, they are so pretty :)

[KJ]

Great job!!!! I am a terrible macaron maker. The mix is always too thick or too thin. Just can't get it right. I'll keep trying though :-)

[Camila]

I wish i had the acomplished results like yours when i tried macaroons.. mine looks terrible... so well..not like macaroons at all!! Congratulations.. the all look just fabulous!

[Bog Boys Oven]

always use fresh almond powder!

[FoodJunkie]

Hello,
I recently took a pastry class with Greece's most celebrated pastry chef, Stelios Parliaros, on meringue, and his macaron recipe is based on Italian meringue, since this is the recent development in France too. He promised that it works every time. I will be posting the recipe on my blog soon, so I will drop you a line. He also suggests leaving the egg whites in the fridge for 48 hours prior to using and letting teh macaron make a crust, which takes approx. 45 minutes.

[Shannie]

awesome job!

i followed the recipie to the t but...

my batter is too thin to pipe properly? any clues as to why?

[Jas]

Your macaroons look lovely! I just tried my first batch, and while they have the correct crispy outside, gooey inside & shiny smooth top.. they haven't got feet! Your article really gave me some idea of what might have went wrong, so thanks a heap! I'm dedicating my next batch to you. ;OD

[Soraiya]

Hi Veronica,
Thanks so much for this detailed test! I have a company here in Austin (wwww.luxesweets.com) that does these. Even after making them for a year now, I still have on days and off days. There are a few tips and tricks you listed that are awesome and I will definitely try them out tomorrow in the kitchen. Something to note: if you are trying to make different colored macarons with food coloring, use a gel or powder instead of liquid. The liquid is like adding water to a meringue and just kills the height. Thanks again!

[Niamh]

Great tips. I am impressed by your tenacity!

[Lital]

Hi, thank you for the recipe and the wonderful instructions :)

I tried baking your macs and though they look good (kinda like yours) I find them a little too chewy.. it’s the first time I’m EATING a macaroon so I dont know what to compare it to, is it suppose to be chewy?? or perhaps I did something wrong :(
if you could please help me figure it out, I’d appreciate it very much.

thank you

[veron]

Hi Lital,
I find that it can get too chewy if you cook it too long and if your oven is running to hot. Also if you did not beat air out enough of your whites when you fold in the dry ingredients it will taste more meringue like. There is a fine line between not beating enough and beating too much.

[Lital]

Hi Veronica,

I did bake them more than you suggested, about 15 minutes also, baked on a 160C I think it's around 320F... but I also opened the oven door a lot... how can I know when I'm over beating the meringue or beating too little?? my batter was lumpy and almost like a brownie batter... they didnt come out like yours :( are they suppose to taste like a cookie? or a Madlen? they're also not so very high almost flat (the second batch) why is that?

thanks

[veron]

Try baking it a 310F. It's hard to describe the consistency of the batter. I'm going to make another step by step - hopefully soon and take a picture of the batter when it is just right. If your macarons are flat you probably overbeat it. Also do you grind the nuts yourself? you have to be careful that it is not too greasy.

[Lital]

oh... well, I didnt grind the nuts myself but they are freshly grind, and they also were frozen, so I left them on the counter to get to room temperature and then sifted them with the icing sugar 3 times. could be that they were still too greasy... in that case what do I do to make them less greasy???
by the way, they are SO soooooo sweet, could they be any less sweet?? what will happen if I'd reduce some of the sugar?
thanks for your help :)

[Trob]

Love your detailed test notes, Veronica! I've made several attempts and all seems to be good: I get feet, shiny tops, flows "like magma". Except one thing: After they've cooled and I bite into one, there is a space between the top "crust" and the chewy part. Are they cooling too fast? Or am I doing something else wrong? Maybe the whites are too stiff, but I don't think so. Thank you!

[Bakerette]

thanks! You really helped me work out my problems, I'm going to add a link to you on my blog...

[Junie]

Hi Veronica, I would like to thank you for the post on your macarons, it has helped me tremendously. I have attempted macarons four times and this time I have succeed, all thanks to you.