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Macarons – Using the French Method

Last week we made Macarons using the French Method.  I’ve been making macs for about 3 years now, and I’ve been grateful that they have always turned out well.  A girl can only get so far on a wing and a prayer though, so I headed over to Sur la Table late in June for a real, live, macaron class.

To say the class was life-changing would be an exaggeration, but man, it was definitely nice to be able to actually see and feel the consistencies of the merengue and batter live and in person.  I love baking and decorating classes and this one was no exception!

I also went LIVE on Facebook last week to demonstrate, and it was an early Saturday/Sunday morning kind of thing – that means I was rushing to go live for my small band of dedicated followers and therefore am resplendent in all of my no-makeup glory.  The macarons are what matter though, right?   RIGHT?!

Regardless of your perceived skill, regardless of whether you have make-up on, you should definitely give Macarons a try.  They are such glorious little rounds of deliciousness!

Before I get to the videos, if you want to try some of the Amoretti Blood Orange, just click the link to head over to their site and pick some up!  I don’t get paid by Amoretti, I just love this stuff 😉

Here’s a video how the batter should look

Yeah, that video is HUGE in size – hah!  Well, at least you can see exactly what I’m talking about!

Making the Macaron Shells

Filling the Macarons

Print Recipe
 Macarons - French Method
Delicious Macarons
Prep Time 15 Minutes
Cook Time 14 Minutes
Passive Time 1.5 Hours
Servings
Macarons
Ingredients
Macaron Shells
  • 7 Oz Powdered Sugar
  • 4 Oz Almond Flour Ground Fine
  • 4 Oz Egg Whites Aged (by weight)
  • 1/8 tsp Cream of Tartar
  • 3.5 Oz Granulated Sugar
Blood Orange Ganache
  • 4 oz Dark Chocolate Good Quality, Finely Chopped
  • 4 oz Heavy Whipping Cream
  • 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
  • 1 tbsp Blood Orange Paste Amoreti Brand
Prep Time 15 Minutes
Cook Time 14 Minutes
Passive Time 1.5 Hours
Servings
Macarons
Ingredients
Macaron Shells
  • 7 Oz Powdered Sugar
  • 4 Oz Almond Flour Ground Fine
  • 4 Oz Egg Whites Aged (by weight)
  • 1/8 tsp Cream of Tartar
  • 3.5 Oz Granulated Sugar
Blood Orange Ganache
  • 4 oz Dark Chocolate Good Quality, Finely Chopped
  • 4 oz Heavy Whipping Cream
  • 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
  • 1 tbsp Blood Orange Paste Amoreti Brand
Delicious Macarons
Instructions
  1. Pulse almond flour and powdered sugar in a food processor to remove any lumps. Set aside.
  2. Put egg whites and cream of tartar in stand mixer and whip on #4 until frothy.
  3. Rain the sugar in a slow steady stream while continuing to whip, change speed to 6 after all sugar is added.
  4. Sift flour and almond mixture 3 times to ensure that all lumps are removed.
  5. When merengue is at the stiff peak stage, turn off mixer and remove bowl. Clean off whisk to get all of the merengue into the bowl.
  6. Add one half of the dry ingredients to the merengue and fold until combined.
  7. Add remaining dry ingredients to the mixture and fold gently until the mixture reaches a lava-like consistency. What you're looking for is a mixture where the batter will fall back in on itself when drizzled from a spatula.
  8. Pipe the macarons onto a cookie sheet covered with a silicon mat or parchment. I use a #12 tip for this.
  9. Tap the cookie sheets on the counter several times until the tops of the macarons are smooth and there are no air bubbles.
  10. Rest the macarons until the tops get a thin skin on them and they are no longer shiny (this can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, depending on your humidity)
  11. Place the Macarons (only 1 sheet at at time!) in a pre-heated 300 degree oven on the middle rack.
  12. Back for about 14 minutes, turning the macs halfway through. Note, this time can vary depending on your oven temp, humidity and all kinds of factors - you may need to experiment!
  13. Cool on the cookie sheets - if the Macarons are baked properly, they should pop right off the sheets when they are cool.
  14. Fill each pair of shells with your choice of filling.
Blood Orange Ganache
  1. Finely chop the dark chocolate and place in a bowl.
  2. Heat the cream to just before boiling (it should be steaming) and pour over the chocolate. Let sit for about 2 minutes.
  3. Whisk the chocolate and cream until melted and smooth.
  4. Add the butter and whisk to combine.
  5. Add blood orange paste and whisk to combine.
  6. Let the ganache set until it has reached a piping consistency. Similar to buttercream.
Recipe Notes
  1. This is simply one method of making Macarons.  There are 3 more methods that we'll be trying in coming weeks - Swiss, Italian, and Broma.
  2. Getting your batter to the correct consistency takes practice!  I've been making these on and off for about 3 years, and I finally believe I've gotten it right -
  3. Macarons are finicky.  If they're not right the very first time you make them, don't despair!  Chances are they'll still taste good, so eat them!  Once you're totally buzzed on the sugar, try again 🙂
  4. If you want colored macarons, add the coloring (gel or powder only) to the egg whites when they're at soft peak stage.
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Putting it Together – Frost it Upside Down!

by Posted in Tutorials, Videos Tagged , , , , 4 Comments

Frost it upside down?  What kind of sorcery is this?!  It’s actually a pretty simple and effective technique to get smooth sides and clean edges.  So far in the April series of videos, we’ve created tutorials for creating a Simple, Delicious, Modified Box Cake; Easy and Fresh Strawberry Filling; and Light & Fluffy Swiss Merengue Buttercream.  This is the week that we put it all together and by using the upside down method, we achieve a gorgeous, professional quality, finish.

Before we get into the tools and the video, let me say that as I’m editing these I’m definitely noticing a difference in both me and Ana during the taping.  We’re both just a little more relaxed, Ana is participating (watch her hand, as she grabs some cake scraps and listen her her moans of what I can only assume is ecstasy as she’s eating it behind the camera) and we’re both having a better time overall – Thank goodness – that “deer in the headlights” look had to go!  The editing still needs work, I’m starting to get the hang of it, and will be working to improve the transitions for the May batch of videos, we certainly hope you’re along for the ride!

There are some tools I use every single time I frost a cake (you recognize a lot of them from Rho’s Top Tools for Home Bakers – Part 2, and they’re linked here again for convenience:

Also, as a bonus – if you’re interested in that GINORMOUS serrated knife I show at the beginning of the video, it’s from Fat Daddios.

I hope you enjoy the tutorial!  Please don’t be shy about questions or comments, either here, or on our Facebook page, we love to see your finished products and chat with you about ongoing projects or questions!