What is a macaron?
A macaron is a French sweet meringue-based cookie. Macarons are made with egg whites, granulated sugar, confectioner’s sugar, and blanched almond meal. Buttercream, ganache or jam is normally sandwiched between two macaron cookies. There are so many flavor choices when it comes to macarons, like chocolate, coffee, pistachio, salted caramel, lavender are some which I’ve tried!
The mark of a true macaron is the ridges formed at the circumference which is known as the foot” or “pied”. This is the most daunting part of making the perfect macaron, which all boils down to the correct mixing time of the meringue with the almond flour and sugar mixture.
Is it a macaron or macaroon?
Both are different, I’ve discussed the differences in my eggless macaroon post, you could have a look at it here.
Italian macaron vs French Macaron
The basic difference in both the recipes is the way the meringue is prepared. For the French macarons, meringue is prepared by simply beating the egg whites with sugar until it forms stiff peaks. The dry ingredients are then folded with the meringue mixture. For the Italian macarons, meringue is prepared by pouring the boiling sugar syrup into the egg whites. This process cooks the eggs whites as they are whipped making it more stable than the French meringue. If you are a beginner at making macarons, I’d suggest you start with the French macarons. Next, on my list would be to attempt the Italian macarons.
I wanted to make these for quite some time now and came across several recipes, however, the steps and skills involved in making these really made me apprehensive. So finally today I decided to attempt making these tricky cookies, and I can very gladly say that I did manage to create one of the world’s most intricate cookies in my very first attempt, although not as perfect, but almost there, don’t you think so??? A special thanks to Stephy for this easy French macaron recipe, and also helping me out with a few queries. Recipe adapted from stephysweetbakes
How to make French macarons?
1.Sift the Almond Flour and Confectioner’s sugar. Whisk well to incorporate. 2.Take your stand mixer bowl and wipe clean with a dab of vinegar to ensure its clean. Add egg whites. Attach your whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites until foamy, about a minute or so, then slowly add the sugar. Whisk until stiff peaks are formed, about 4-5 minutes. This is the meringue. At 3 minutes, add the gel coloring. 3.Add a third of the meringue to the flour and Confectioner’s sugar and with a rubber spatula fold. Repeat until all is added. 4.Fill a piping bag and prepare a baking sheet or two with baking paper or method of choice. Pipe around 2-inch circles. Use a french macaron piping template for convenience. Bang the pans on the counter top a couple of times all around to get rid of bubbles. 5.Preheat oven to 325°F. Let the Macarons dry on your countertop for about 20 minutes until the shiny surface becomes dull and a skin is formed. 6.Turn down your oven to 300°F and bake the Macarons for around 15-16 minutes. Let cool for at least 10 minutes. For the Vanilla buttercream 1.Cream the butter, add vanilla and mix to incorporate. Add sugar a couple of cups at a time until all is added. Adjust your milk and sugar to achieve a medium consistency. 2.Now just add buttercream in between two Macarons and savor all the goodness with each bite!!
NOTES 1.The critical part to make a perfect macaron: you do not want to OVERMIX and you do not want to UNDERMIX. Both could play failure. The consistency you want will be a lava flow, thick with a slow drip. 2.Do not skip the step of sifting the almond flour and sugar, it is necessary for a smooth finish. 3.I Baked in batches, so my other batch was sitting on the countertop for 40 minutes, and turned out well. So don’t rush through the first batch when it’s baking. 4.For a better visual understanding of the whole procedure, I would suggest you view this YouTube video
HOW TO MAKE FRENCH MACARONS?
I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to share your feedback with photos and suggestions to me at [email protected] You can also follow me on : Facebook Pinterest Instagram Twitter Regards, Freda
