Marvelous Macarons

Macarons, just what is it about you?

At the kitchenware store where I taught pastry, macarons outsold all other classes. That includes artisan bread, handmade chocolates, croissants, eclairs and apple pie.

If this is your heart’s desire, buy a digital scale and pull out the mixer.

Let’s get into this.

Macarons are not difficult to make, but good prep matters. Mac recipes are expressed in ounce weights, not cup or teaspoon measures, so plan to weigh your ingredients. Here are two good mac recipes for home use.

Plain Macarons

6 ounces powdered sugar

4 ounces almond meal such as Bob’s Red Mill or in bulk section

3 ounces egg white, room temp (about 3 eggs needed)

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

pinch cream of tartar

¼ teaspoon food coloring gel (optional)

To flavor this basic ratio of ingredients, add a teaspoon of cinnamon or espresso, up to 1 tablespoon of ground ginger or up to 2 tablespoons of finely ground, freeze-dried fruit such as raspberry, strawberry or blueberry, available from Whole Foods, Central Market or Trader Joe’s.

For liquid flavorings, plan on no more than ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract, lemon extract and so on. Be careful when adding lavender (too much can make the mix taste soapy) or rose extract (strong flavor). Liquid flavorings are added to whipped egg whites. More on that in a moment.

Chocolate Macarons

6 ounces powdered sugar

4 ounces almond flour

1 ounce Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)*

4 ounces egg whites

3.2 ounces sugar

pinch cream of tartar

*The espresso powder helps add depth to the chocolate flavor.

Tip: The cocoa powder does act as a drying agent, so don’t be surprised if this mixture takes longer to mix than other recipes and feels much stiffer.

Here’s how either recipe comes together.

Prepare dry ingredients

In a mini chopper or food processor, pulse all of the almond meal and about 1/3 of the powdered sugar (no need to measure, just eyeball it) until finely ground. Now add this mixture to a mixing bowl, along with the rest of the powdered sugar. Add all other dry ingredients (such as cocoa powder if using, spices like cinnamon, coffee or ginger). Sift this dry mixture 4 times between the bowl and a piece of parchment or another bowl. Set aside.

Prepare wet ingredients

1.    In stand mixer fitted with a whisk, add egg whites and turn on the mixer to medium speed (speed 4 on a KitchenAid). No need to wait; once the eggs are going, add the sugar and cream of tartar or pinch of salt (if recipe uses). Whip 3 minutes. Use a timer!

2.    Raise speed to medium high (speed 6-7), whip 3 more minutes.

3.    Raise speed to highest number, whip 3 minutes (note: a Breville stand mixer takes less time and you may not need the full final 3 minutes). Use your eyes to judge when you’ve whipped enough, but this 3-3-3 tip should work well and prevent overwhipping. Look to see if the meringue you’ve just made is bunching up in the whisk attachment. If so, you’re done.

4.    Now add food color and/or flavorings. Whip on highest speed after adding, about 1 minute to fully incorporate. Please don’t try adding a liquid flavoring or food color earlier when whipping, or the egg whites may not fully whip. 

5.    How much food color to add? Up to and about ¼ teaspoon. Same goes for liquid flavorings. Macs don’t like moisture, and added gels (don’t use the watery food colors) and liquid flavorings do add moisture that can cause issues (especially how long the macs take to dry, and whether the batter becomes too thin).

Once you’ve whipped the egg whites and sifted the dry ingredients (that wasn’t so hard, was it?), you’re ready to combine the two.

Folding step, or macaronage

1. Using a rubber spatula, fold the egg whites into the dry ingredients, counting strokes. If using half a recipe, count to at least 25 strokes, see if the batter is loose like lava. If not, keep folding, scraping down sides, too. When spatula is lifted, batter should fall back into the bowl within about 20 seconds, then disperse gently. If peaks form from lifting spatula, batter has not been folded enough. *It is better to underfold than overfold, which results in flat disks. This could take 50 strokes, or even 100 for a full batch. Chocolate batters take more strokes than other batters.

2. Once you’ve decided the batter’s folded enough, it’s time to pipe out macs. It helps to use a tall glass to set your pastry bag in, so your hands are free to scoop batter directly from the bowl into the bag. Don’t try to lift the batter with the spatula or you’ll bet batter everywhere including your eyebrows. Hold the bowl, scrape into the bag. Proceed.

1.    3. Place batter in a pastry bag fitted with a small Wilton No. 12 tip. (Tip: It helps to have a paper template with drawn circles, which you’ll place under parchment on a sheet tray. Those grocery store rolls of parchment don’t work well because they tend to buckle under drying macs and change their shape. Cut sheets into flat rectangles for use on the baking tray). 

2.    4. When the bag is halfway filled (don’t overfill the bag, trust me), twist the top of the bag as tight as you can, then apply gentle pressure by squeezing down. Here’s a visual: It’s not like squeezing a cow’s udder, where the fist is thumb’s up. Your thumb should be to the side of your hand, like a fist bump. Pressure on the bag comes from squeezing it inside your fist, with the top of the bag sticking out the side. Maintain that tight twist, that’s a key step.

3.    5. When ready to pipe, get the baking sheet close to your body; don’t reach with your arm or you may end up piping everything at an angle (and they bake off with a slant). Aim for the center of the circle – about ½ inch up from the paper, and hold the bag straight vertically. If you pipe at any angle other than straight up, the macs can bake at a slant. Also, do not pipe in swirls; allow the batter to gently flow until you reach the edge of the circles, then think the word “stop” so you cease piping. Don’t keep piping as you pull the tip away or you’ll create peaks. Just tip the bag slightly and release. Tip: If you do have small "nipples" after piping, worry not. They may sink back into the batter, or you can disguise them in the decorating stage. Just don't try to wet your finger and push them down; that's like adding a burn mark (remember how they hate moisture)?

4.    6. Once all circles are piped, gently rap pans against the table to dispel air bubbles. GENTLY. Why people drop the pans from on high, I don’t know.

5.    Mark the time on your parchment, set macs aside to rest.

Rest macarons before baking. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Macs need to rest at least 30 minutes, until they are gently dry to the touch. If they’re sticky, do NOT bake them yet. (See photo) Some macs may take an hour to dry, depending on how much food color and/or liquid flavoring you added. Why rest the macs? So they develop a skin on top. Once they hit the oven, heat transferring up through the bottom of the pan has no place to go and starts pushing out the side of the mac, giving it the characteristic “foot” or ruffled edge that gives it true beauty.

See what happened here: These macs did not rest and had no skin, so when exposed to heat, their tops sauntered off, thinning the batter on the bottom and burning it. They also have a visible nipple peak, so they weren't mixed quite long enough. Because their tops burned, too, after they thinned out, the attractive green color was lost. Quelle dommage!

Bake at 325 for 13 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. 

This is a best estimate, based on success in my kitchen and in the kitchenware store’s oven. Your oven will be different, so watch your macs. Do not allow them to brown on top. You may need to drop your temperature or bake slightly longer. I prefer the baking cycle versus convection, because convection fans can blow the tops sideways.

When removing macs from the oven, place the pan on a wire rack and allow everything to cool, pan and all. If you try to lift the macs, they’re still fragile and can break. Once cool, pull the paper away from the macs and place them on the cooling rack.

A note about Aging Your Macs: On baking day, they taste crunchy and sometimes sticky on the teeth. Fill them, refrigerate them or freeze them, and on Day 2, moisture from the filling will have migrated via osmosis into the shell, creating that softer sandwich mouthfeel we all prize. If you freeze or refrigerate macs in advance of serving, leave them out about 20-30 minutes at room temp to soften the buttercream.

Need a good buttercream to go with them? Thought so. By the way, macs are sweety sweet, so try using a citrusy or acidic filling such as a raspberry buttercream or good jam. The Caramel Buttercream below goes well with chocolate.

Caramel Buttercream

*If this buttercream feels too slack, add about 4 tablespoons more of butter. Kitchens and weather conditions may vary.

2 ounces water

13 ounces sugar

3.5 ounces water (second use, you need both waters at different stages)

2.5 ounces heavy whipping cream, room temp or slightly warmed

4 ounces egg yolks

1-2 teaspoons sea salt or to taste (optional)

13.5 ounces butter, softened, not cold, not melted

1.    In a large saucepan, cook the FIRST WATER and sugar on medium heat, washing down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush and water (to help prevent crystallization) until boiling. Cook to caramel stage, about 320 degrees or honey-colored. Remove saucepan to a large bowl containing cool water and shock bottom of pot in water to stop cooking process. Allow caramel to cool to about 250, then add SECOND AMOUNT of water and heavy cream, stirring with a rubber spatula. (CAUTION: mixture may bubble up.)

2.    Cook mixture over low heat until the mixture is smooth, stir in salt if using, set aside.

3.    Using a stand mixer with a whip attachment, whip egg yolks until light and in “ribbon stage,” about 2-3 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, carefully pour in the hot caramel down the side of the bowl. Continue whipping until mixture has cooled to about 85 degrees. This could take 10 minutes.

4.    Begin adding chunks of butter, incorporating each into the mixture before adding more butter. If the finished mixture looks too soft, chill in the refrigerator before using.

5.    FIX THIS: If the buttercream looks “broken” like a sauce, try whipping it on high speed a few minutes. If it doesn’t come together, set a pan of water on the stove and heat to simmering. Place the mixer bowl over the simmering water and whisk until mixture comes back together, making sure to only do it as long as the mixture isn’t melting. It does seem counter-intuitive to whisk the mixture over steam heat, but it works.

6.    Store buttercream in refrigerator until ready to use. To soften before using, whip it by hand with a whisk, or gently rewarm over a pan of simmering water, whisking as you go.

Salted Caramel
(adapted from the fine work of Mia Ohrn in the book "Macarons, Cupcakes and Cake Pops," Sterling, 2011)

1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp
1 teaspoon flaked salt (such as Maldon)

1. Blend the sugar, syrup and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, washing down the sugar crystals on the sides of the pan as you go, using a pastry brush with a little water; keep brush out of cooking mixture. (The purpose of this step is to prevent sugar on the sides from forming a chain of crystals that connect up with the mixture, causing crystalline formation and grainy texture.) Once the mixture is boiling, stop washing down the sides. 
2. Simmer until the mixture becomes golden brown, but keep your eye on it. You're looking for the color of honey. Too light, and you miss out on flavorful carmelized notes. Too dark, and it will taste burnt. If the flame or stovetop heat is uneven and parts of the mixture look golden before others, gently tilt and swirl to distribute the sugar evenly. This should only take a few minutes.
3.  Carefully stir in the cream (it may bubble up on you), then the butter. Continue to cook slowly until the mixture thickens slightly. On a thermometer, you're looking for soft ball stage, about 240 degrees.
4. Remove from heat, stir in the salt. Let the caramel cool completely, overnight at room temp is best. This is a very hot mixture; resist the urge to touch it and taste it. After cooling, store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Why I like it: Awesome flavor, and it becomes firm enough to pipe. It doesn't goo crazy down the sides of the mac.

Decorating

So why stop at plain macs when you can glorify the tops as you would cookies? Play with adding colored sprinkles to the tops right after piping (so the sprinkles stick while the mac is still wet), drizzle the baked macs with melted chocolate or even dip the tops in melted chocolate, then sprinkle with more chocolate shavings, nuts or toasted coconut. Attach candied edible flowers, rose petals or chocolate garnishes.

Shoot, pipe some buttercream on the top, something other than the filling.

I like to go crazy, dividing a recipe in half and coloring a half batch, then piping the colored batch over the plain discs (or vice versa). The effect is marvelous. Use a smaller tip for the piping.

 Send me your marvelous results, won't you?

 

Sweet macs at the Bosie Tea Parlor in New York's West Village, featuring a simple top decoration.