Sunday, December 12, 2010

french macarons


I have been itching to make macarons for some time now.  I've been reading about all the different techniques used in making them - French style, Italian meringue style (also known as the sucre cuit method), aging your egg whites, not folding your batter too much, not folding your batter enough ... I finally decided to try Pierre Herme's recipe since his macarons are legendary, and I even bought his Macaron book, which is completely in French!

I must say, making macarons is quite a process.  First, you have to "age" you egg whites at room temperature for 48 hours (although I only aged mine for a few hours).  Then, you need almond meal, which I decided to make myself (I know it doesn't need to be this complicated, but I had bought a huge bag of almonds from Costco and needed to use them up!)  I blanched the almonds in boiling water for 30 seconds, then rinsed them in cold water so that I could peel/pop them out of their skins.



Then, I pulverized the blanched almonds with a food processor to turn them into a fine almond meal, then added powdered sugar and pulverized them some more.  After sifting the mixture 2-3 times, I was satisfied with the consistency.

Next up was the making of the meringue.  This involves cooking sugar and water on the stove, while using a candy thermometer to ensure that it reaches 245 degrees F.  In the meantime, I started whipping the aged egg whites.  Once they formed soft peaks and the syrup was hot enough, I added the syrup (slowly) to the egg whites and continued whipping until the meringue was stiff and glossy.


After that, I added fresh room temperature egg whites to the almond and powdered sugar mixture, and then folded in the meringue mixture in three batches.  After filling a pastry bag with the batter, then piping out the macaron shells on a silpat-lined baking sheet, I let them sit for 20 minutes before baking.  This is supposed to give them a nice shell, and also help in forming the "feet" (the puffy, frilly bottoms that form while baking).


After the macarons were finally done baking, I was a little disappointed when I pulled them out of the oven.  While the tops were smooth and pretty, the bottoms barely had the "feet" that I was looking for.


But once I tasted them, I didn't care.  The texture of the macarons blew me away!  They had a lightly delicate crisp shell, yet they were super tender and soft on the inside.  My husband pointed out that they were like biting into a toasted marshmallow, similar in that there was a thinly crispy exterior, with a soft and airy interior.


I could have eaten them all plain, but I decided to fill my macarons with chocolate ganache, although next time I might try a flavored buttercream of some sort.  Maybe I'll also try aging my egg whites the full 48 hours, to see if that helps with forming the "feet".  I can't wait to experiment with different colors and flavors too!


24 comments:

  1. This is the first picture I've seen with a bite taken out of the macaroon. It's genius. I have never been able to eat macaroons b/c of the eggs, so I have no idea what everyone means when they talk about the texture. this picture far surpasses any words I've heard or read. thanks!

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  2. Amazing! I am very impressed! I have never seen homemade macaroons looks so good! They are pretty much as perfect looking as the Laduree macaroons you buy in France! Well done :))

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  3. Incredible! Am itching to try this. Love anything with almonds.

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  4. So gorgeous. This is my favorite treat, but I have been afraid to try to make them.

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  5. Way to go on your first attempt! They look so pretty! Now you'll be addicted to making them :)

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  6. I just had a French macaroon for the first time from a local bakery in North Carolina! Thanks for posting!

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  7. Your pictures and description of the process finally 'humanize' macaroons for me. Bravo!

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  8. Les photos sont magnifiques et vos macarons semblent délicieux.
    Your pictures are wonderful and your macarons seem delicious....

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  9. I just got a Kitchen Aid mixer...and am excited to try to make my first batch of French Macaroons... I am afraid...and know it takes many people several attempts before they get it right.
    Congrats on getting them so close to perfect on the first attempt!!!!

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  10. Beautiful job on these. They look elegant and delicious.

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  11. I have been thinking about making them too, I guess I need to get on it, LOL! These are soooo beautiful! Congrats on the top 9 on FoodBuzz:-)
    Take care,
    Terra
    www.cafeterrablog.com

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  12. thanks for all the wonderful comments everyone! :) i'm ecstatic that i made it on foodbuzz top 9!!!

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  13. Wow your macarons turned out amazing. I am not nearly close enough to ready to try and make them, but I am DYING to try. I haven't ever had one, so when people talk about it I have no idea what they mean! Great job and congrats on top 9!

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  14. these macarons look stunning! Great Post and congrats on being named Foodbuzz's Top 9!!! That is a pretty cool honor!!!

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  15. your macarons looks perfect! congratulation for the top 9! i made it to yesterday, and its pretty amaizing!

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  16. @shannon - thank you! yes it's a super cool honor, and i still can't believe it happened! :)

    @juliana - wow congrats to you too! your pie looked delicious!

    @bigfatbaker - you should try! it's definitely a different kind of baking for me (very precise -you'll need a kitchen scale), but very rewarding!

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  17. magnificent recipe, ageing for up to 90 mins will result in a more dull lustre of the shell, but more pronounced feet

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  18. do you think you could post a recipe? n__n these look DIVINE!

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  19. Gorgeous photos! With my first batch of macarons, they didn't have any feet at all, but I found double-traying helped me. I don't even age my egg whites at all and I still get feet with this method. Good luck with your future batches!

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  20. @rachel - sorry for the delay! the recipe is from a book that is in french, but send me an email and i can send you my loose translation of the recipe.

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  21. These look gorgeous! congrats on foodbuzz, that's awesome :)

    Sweet Sarah french macarons and more
    sweetsarahshop.etsy.com

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  22. Hello.this is amazing.i wish i am adventerous enuf to make these.do you mind sharing the recipe with me?
    Chuppakidz@gmail.com.tq

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  23. Hello! this look amazing, can I have the recipe? thanks!!!

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    Replies
    1. my mail is cupcakesbymartha@yahoo.com.ar
      Tanks!!

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