Have you ever found yourself craving anything sweet?
Maybe it's that time of month again when all you want to do is stuff your mouth with everything that you get your hands on. Or well, maybe, you are just like me, who has passion for baking.
I have probably seen all You Tube videos on the right way to bake the French Macaron, but really, to make one, patience is a virtue!
Well, here you go, I hope you guys get inspired to put on your apron and start practicing your way to creating your home-made french macaron.
When you reach the stiff peak consistency, here comes the crucial part, the MACARONAGE process. This will make or break your attempt to create the perfect macaron.
Sift together your confectioner's sugar and almond meal (again, you cannot skip this process, there is no shortcut to this) and slowly add this to your meringue mixture. mixing it together making sure to be careful not to over mix or under mix. How do you know, well, you will know if you are in the right consistency when you lift your spatula, the mixture flows down in soft ribbons. Some say that it should flow like a lava. I cannot really tell how long it will take to get to this consistency, because I really base it on the look and feel of the flow of the batter.
At this point, you can start adding food coloring to your mix, be informed that it is best to use gel food color, but if this is not readily available to you, you can opt to use a liquid food color. you can also add your preferred flavoring.
As for me, I used a red liquid food coloring as I don't have any gel food color on hand. I suggest that you put color a small amount at a time. remember, when your macarons are baking, color also fades. so, if you want an intensely colored macarons, be sure to give it a heavier tint.
Now, macarons have a distinct shape.
It's the only cookie that has a "foot." It has a shiny shell that is very delicate to the touch but when you sink your teeth into it, it has this soft, sweet and chewy center.
In order to successfully have these characteristics, one must have patience.
Using a round tip, hold your piping bag directly above your Silpat or your baking sheet about less than an inch away. With a light, steady hand, carefully pipe the batter onto your baking sheet, making sure that forms a standard size circle.
The secret to getting a "foot" are the following crucial steps:
1.) Tap the pan on the table at least 3 times to allow the air bubbles to come out. this will prevent your macarons from cracking.
2.) Let the batter sit for about 30-40 minutes until it forms a shell, that when touched, the batter is a bit hard. This is the most perfect time to pre-heat your oven.
Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius, as soon as your batter forms a shell, pop these babies to the oven and pray that you have properly mixed your batter. Bake it for about 12minutes. Ensure that your oven is not more than 180 degrees because too much heat could cause your macarons to have a hollow shell.
You want macarons to have just the right feet height, very tall macarons means hollow shells. The photos above are my first ever macarons, it looks gorgeous, but really, it is hollow and brittle.
Some important tips to make sure that you make perfect macarons every time is to ensure that you have high quality almond meal/flour. Some bake-supply stores sell very cheap almond meal, thus resulting to a frustrating "foot"-less macaron. This is probably because the "almond" meal you have just purchased is not entirely made of almonds. In the Philippines, the average Kilo of Almond Meal costs around Php700.00. Any less cheaper than that is probably trash.
Now, if yours didn't come out perfectly the first time, don't fret, you are not alone. I am pretty sure there are a lot of us who became frustrated one time or another. Remember, practice makes perfect. Here's a helpful link on how to trouble shoot your macarons at home. It helped me a lot!
***UPDATE***
I was so frustrated with how my macarons turned out, which was why I made it a point to attend french macaron making class this Summer (using French Method).
Here are a few highlights, and mind you, my macarons are a little crunchy on the outside and really soft, chewy and not too sweet on the inside.
So, what are you waiting for? Bring out your aprons and whip up a macaron recipe! Explore the many ways on how you can delight your palette with this scrumptious and lovely dessert! Have I mentioned that you can fill it out with almost anything? Fruit jams, chocolate ganache, nutella spread, cream cheese, caramel, and the list goes on and on and on!
Maybe it's that time of month again when all you want to do is stuff your mouth with everything that you get your hands on. Or well, maybe, you are just like me, who has passion for baking.
I have probably seen all You Tube videos on the right way to bake the French Macaron, but really, to make one, patience is a virtue!
Well, here you go, I hope you guys get inspired to put on your apron and start practicing your way to creating your home-made french macaron.
MACAROON vs. MACARON:
.jpg) |
| photo credit: lovelylittledetails |
- Macaroon is usually made of desiccated coconuts mixed with condensed milk and egg yolk. This is a very sweet treat that can be bought at a very cheap price at your local bakery. (My favorite is from Goldilocks)
- Macaron (single "O" ) is said to have derived from France. It is made of egg whites, sugar and most importantly almond meal (almond meal is simply almonds crushed into powdery consistency). It is a very delicate dessert that when done wrong could be too sweet for a picky palette.
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| photo credit:tenentstrainingacademy |
Since i discovered this dessert, I have found myself in search of the best tasting macaron in the country. I tried Tous Les Jours, Le Petit Artisan, French Baker, Bizu, Sweet Bella, Empire and Bar Dolci. Each averaging Php30.00-Php40.00 a piece depending on the flavor.
I have even subscribed to Macarons By Tiffany in IG, a Hawaii-based home-baker of the most perfectly shaped and flavored macarons my eye's have ever seen, a box of 12's costs $20.00. Too bad that I couldn't order and have a taste of her magnificent creations.
So what attracted me to this little dessert you say? Look at it! It's colorful shells and delectable filling says it all!
I will now share with you a very simple recipe I learned from You Tube, maybe you too can be a macaron artist after this.
There are two ways to bake a macaron, the French method and the Italian (Meringue) style. This blog will teach you the easiest style, the French Method. It is easier and less time consuming. But if you really want to perfect it the first time, maybe you can try the harder, Italian Method. Here is a blog post that I stumbled upon when I was searching for the best macaron-making method.
INGREDIENTS: (What I follow)
2 large (or 3 medium) room temperature egg whites (they say that "aged" egg whites are better)
1 tsp. cream of tartar (optional, this makes the egg whites stable)
1/4 cup caster sugar (try to use caster sugar than the regular granulated ones)
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar (no other alternative)
1 cup almond flour/meal (if you can't find one, you can just buy blanched almonds and process it in the food processor until it turns into fine powder)
food coloring (your choice, but i suggest you use the gel type)
PROCEDURE:
Using a very clean metal mixing bowl (I mean very clean! No traces of water, etc.) pour your egg whites and cream of tartar, using a hand mixer (or a stand mixer) mix these two ingredients until bubbly. What I usually do is I mix these using a wire whisk because it's crucial not to over mix your batter.
Sift your 1/4 cup caster sugar (yes, you need to sift your sugar if you want this to be a success) and slowly add it to your egg white mixture and beat until it forms stiff peaks. This usually takes around 8 mins (or less) be sure to check the egg whites from time to time to avoid over mixing.
 |
| egg white starting to foam |
 |
| almost there! =) |
As soon as stiff peaks form (how do you know you ask? well, you will feel that there is "resistance" in the mixture when you press your hand mixer into it. When you bring it up, the peaks that you see in the above photo will not "bend" rather will stay straight.)
When you reach the stiff peak consistency, here comes the crucial part, the MACARONAGE process. This will make or break your attempt to create the perfect macaron.
Sift together your confectioner's sugar and almond meal (again, you cannot skip this process, there is no shortcut to this) and slowly add this to your meringue mixture. mixing it together making sure to be careful not to over mix or under mix. How do you know, well, you will know if you are in the right consistency when you lift your spatula, the mixture flows down in soft ribbons. Some say that it should flow like a lava. I cannot really tell how long it will take to get to this consistency, because I really base it on the look and feel of the flow of the batter.
At this point, you can start adding food coloring to your mix, be informed that it is best to use gel food color, but if this is not readily available to you, you can opt to use a liquid food color. you can also add your preferred flavoring.
As for me, I used a red liquid food coloring as I don't have any gel food color on hand. I suggest that you put color a small amount at a time. remember, when your macarons are baking, color also fades. so, if you want an intensely colored macarons, be sure to give it a heavier tint.
Now, macarons have a distinct shape.
It's the only cookie that has a "foot." It has a shiny shell that is very delicate to the touch but when you sink your teeth into it, it has this soft, sweet and chewy center.
In order to successfully have these characteristics, one must have patience.
Using a round tip, hold your piping bag directly above your Silpat or your baking sheet about less than an inch away. With a light, steady hand, carefully pipe the batter onto your baking sheet, making sure that forms a standard size circle.
The secret to getting a "foot" are the following crucial steps:
1.) Tap the pan on the table at least 3 times to allow the air bubbles to come out. this will prevent your macarons from cracking.
2.) Let the batter sit for about 30-40 minutes until it forms a shell, that when touched, the batter is a bit hard. This is the most perfect time to pre-heat your oven.
Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius, as soon as your batter forms a shell, pop these babies to the oven and pray that you have properly mixed your batter. Bake it for about 12minutes. Ensure that your oven is not more than 180 degrees because too much heat could cause your macarons to have a hollow shell.
You want macarons to have just the right feet height, very tall macarons means hollow shells. The photos above are my first ever macarons, it looks gorgeous, but really, it is hollow and brittle.
Some important tips to make sure that you make perfect macarons every time is to ensure that you have high quality almond meal/flour. Some bake-supply stores sell very cheap almond meal, thus resulting to a frustrating "foot"-less macaron. This is probably because the "almond" meal you have just purchased is not entirely made of almonds. In the Philippines, the average Kilo of Almond Meal costs around Php700.00. Any less cheaper than that is probably trash.
Now, if yours didn't come out perfectly the first time, don't fret, you are not alone. I am pretty sure there are a lot of us who became frustrated one time or another. Remember, practice makes perfect. Here's a helpful link on how to trouble shoot your macarons at home. It helped me a lot!
***UPDATE***
I was so frustrated with how my macarons turned out, which was why I made it a point to attend french macaron making class this Summer (using French Method).
Here are a few highlights, and mind you, my macarons are a little crunchy on the outside and really soft, chewy and not too sweet on the inside.
So, what are you waiting for? Bring out your aprons and whip up a macaron recipe! Explore the many ways on how you can delight your palette with this scrumptious and lovely dessert! Have I mentioned that you can fill it out with almost anything? Fruit jams, chocolate ganache, nutella spread, cream cheese, caramel, and the list goes on and on and on!
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