In my travels in the past year I picked up a small book called “i ♥ macarons” by Hisako Ogita. This book has really detailed descriptions on how to make macarons and fillings.
Hisako describes 2 methods for making macarons: The meringue method and the second is the Italian meringue method.
The two recipes have a lot more steps that one I had tried before. I set out this time to try the meringue method.
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| Macarons Part 3 – i ♥ macarons |
For this recipe I used:
85 Grams of Ground Almonds
150 Grams of Icing Sugar
3 Large Egg Whites
65 Grams of Sugar
5 ml of Vanilla
I started by marking circles on a sheet of parchment paper using a 2″ cookie cutter and a marking pen. Be sure to turn the parchment over!
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| Macarons Part 3 – i ♥ macarons – Drawing Circles |
In the small bowl of my food processor I further ground the almonds and the icing sugar together.
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| Macarons Part 3 – i ♥ macarons – Further Processing the Almonds and Icing Sugar |
After processing I sifted the almond mixture twice. Ensuring the resulting flour was as fine as possible.
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| Macarons Part 3 – i ♥ macarons – Double Sifting the Amonds |
In the bowl of my mixer I beat the egg whites while slowly adding the sugar.
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| Macarons Part 3 – i ♥ macarons – Egg Whites and Sugar |
I continued beating until stiff peaks had formed.
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| Macarons Part 3 – i ♥ macarons – Stiff Peaks |
I scraped the edges of the egg whites with a large spatula and mixed in the vanilla at the same time. Next I added 1/2 of the almond mixture and gently folded it in.
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| Macarons Part 3 – i ♥ macarons – Adding the Almonds |
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| Macarons Part 3 – i ♥ macarons – First Almond addition just mixed |
I then added the rest of the almond mixture and folded again. And here is where I learned a new term: macaronage. This is where you fold the batter 10 times after the almonds have been incorporated. No more than 10 though!!
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| Macarons Part 3 – i ♥ macarons – Final Almond addition and Macaronage |
Once fully combined I added the macaron batter to a pastry bag.
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| Macarons Part 3 – i ♥ macarons – Getting the Pastry Bag Ready |
This mixture was a little runny and a little easier to control while piping. I gave each pan a couple of solid raps on the counter to release any air bubbles. Then I let the macarons rest for 15 minutes while the oven heated to 375˚ F.
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| Macarons Part 3 – i ♥ macarons – Pans Resting for 15 Minutes |
I baked the macarons for 11 minutes and they were pretty dark. The recipe stated 15 to 18 minutes. The recipe time was probably right for macarons where the batter was thicker.
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| Macarons Part 3 – i ♥ macarons – Just out of the Oven |
This recipe for macarons did not work for me either! The results were none the less tasty!
Time to try something new.
Baker’s Notes:
- as mentioned in a previous post, it is really difficult to over beat sugar and egg whites – this was undoubtedly a factor in my experience
- I still think being close to water plays a role in the making of macarons
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| Macarons Part 3 – i ♥ macarons – The Book |
