Macaron 102 - Step by Step Tutorial for Making Macaron Shells

This post is part 2 of 3 for the series Macaron 101. The first post covered what is a macaron, the equipment and ingredients needed for baking a successful homemade macaron.

Ingredients for Making Macarons at Home

Clockwise: aged egg whites, powdered sugar, almond meal, gel food colouring and albumen mixed with extra fine sugar.

This will make about 40 macarons (approximately 80 shells depending on size).

• 100g Aged Egg Whites
• 225g Powdered Sugar
• 125g Almond Meal
• 5g Dehydrated Egg White Powder
• 28g Extra Fine Sugar
• Gel food colouring

Directions for Homemade Macaron Shells

1. Measure all ingredients with a scale.

   

   All ingredients are measured with a scale.

2. Process almond meal and icing sugar in the food processor. Sift the blended almond meal and powdered sugar through a fine mesh. If there are any large lumps of almond meal, place it through the food processor again.
   
   
   
   
3. Attach whisk to the stand-up mixer and place 100g of egg whites into the mixer bowl. Whisk at low speed.
   
4.  Beat egg whites at low speed (2 on Kitchen Aid). When egg whites are foamy (mousse-like) add in the dehydrated egg white powder (albumen) and granulated sugar mixture. Add in two drops of gel colouring (note: colour of shells will lighten after baking). Increase speed on Kitchen Aid to 4 and beat egg whites until "soft peaks" form (see picture below). To test if meringue is at the correct stage, do a check by stopping the mixer and tilting the whisk back to check the firmness of the peak. If a small peak forms on the end of the whisk, then you are done. Ensure that the meringue is not too stiff or foamy since that means you have gone too far. You have now made the "meringue" stage of the macaron.

   

   Add gel food colouring to your egg whites and form the meringue for your egg whites.

5. Slowly incorporate the almond meal sugar mixture, by mixing 2 tablespoons at a time to the meringue in a clockwise direction. For a visual demonstration of the mixing technique, see this video clip.  Note: I found that splitting the mixing into six parts (with each part being approx. 2 tablespoons) and mixing a certain number of turns helps to achieve the best macaron shells.  This step is probably one of the most crucial steps in making macarons; also known as the macaronage process.
   Beyond Umami's Macaronage Mixing Guide
   1st part = 16 turns
   2nd part = 11 turns
   3rd part = 14 turns
   4th part = 11 turns
   5th part = 11 turns
   6th part = 23 turns
   

   

   Incorporating almond meal sugar mixture to the meringue.

6. Once the mixture feels and looks like magma (flows slowly) transfer it to a piping bag. Here is another short video clip showing the consistency of the macaron batter.

   

   The meringue batter should flow like batter after the macaronage process. 

7. Prepare the baking sheets by lining either silicon mats or parchment paper. Pipe each macaron shell by piping down into the try and then a quick twist to the right to finish piping a macaron shell (See video clip for demonstration of piping). Each tray should fit approximately 30 shells (for medium sized shells). Firmly rap the tray on the floor or counter to get rid of any air bubbles inside the shells. This is called "tamping". Use a toothpick to pop any air bubbles on the surface of the macaron shells. Poking the air bubbles is essential, otherwise you get volcanoes instead of smooth macaron shells (take a look at this video for further explanation). Allow the trays of macaron shells to rest for at least 30-45 minutes in a draft-free place until a skin forms on the top of the shell and it is dry to the touch (note: resting times can change depending on humidity).

   
   

   

   Macaron shells piped and resting on thicker baking trays.

8. Preheat the oven anywhere from 270-295 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature that you bake your macarons at may depend on what type of oven you have.If baking in a regular oven at 295F put one tray in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the tray (by now the feet should have formed) and bake for another 10 minutes.If baking in a regular oven at 270F (which is what I've been baking my macarons since I moved), bake the shells for 30 minutes one tray at a time.If baking in a convection oven, preheat your oven to 280F and bake for 12-15 minutes. They will be done when there is a firm crust on the top and the sought after ruffled edge; otherwise known as the pied (feet in French).
9. Take out of oven, allow macarons to cool. Bake the next tray.

   

   After the macaron shells are out of the oven, allow them to cool before you take them off the mat. 

Stay tuned for the final post where we will make the Pumpkin Spice buttercream and assemble the macarons! What is your favourite macaron flavour? Let me know in the comments below.

Next post: pumpkin buttercream making and assembling of the macaron

Macaron 101 - What's in a Macaron?

Close-up of a Pumpkin Spice Macaron.

Macarons are a delicate looking French dessert that I, like many, are enthusiastic about. I've loved macarons ever since I laid eyes on them, to the point that I wanted to make them myself at home. Fast forward past many macawrongs and after some successful macarons later, I've found a recipe that works. This post along with the subsequent two posts will be about the macaron making process and tips.

These macarons were created as my fall macaron flavour - pumpkin spice buttercream!

Equipment for Making Macarons at Home

First off to making macarons successfully at home you will need the following equipment:

• A kitchen scale  (Crucial for measuring to the exam gram.)
• Food processor (For finely processing the almond meal and icing sugar.)
• Fine mesh sifter
• At least 2 Heavy commercial jelly roll pans (43 x 31 x 3 cm) (Helps to prevent macaron shells from burning.) 
• Stand mixer (A hand mixer can also be used.)
• Piping bags
• Large round piping tip (I use a Wilton 1A tip.)
• Parchment paper or Silicon Mats (at least 3 silicon mats for a batch of macarons)
• Toothpicks

Ingredients for Making Macarons at Home

Materials for making macarons at home: mixer, piping tip, and piping bag.

This will make about 40 macarons (approximately 80 shells depending on size).

• 100g Aged Egg Whites (2-3 days in airtight container at room temperature.)
• 225g Powdered Sugar (Also known as icing sugar.)
• 125g Almond Meal
• 5g Dehydrated Egg White Powder (Also known as albumen.)
• 28g Extra Fine Sugar (I often make my own by processing granulated sugar in the food processor.)
• Gel food colouring (Using gel food colouring is better as it does not add any extra liquid to the macarons.)

Tips for Making Macarons

So, you are probably wondering why the ingredients need to be measured to the exact gram with the kitchen scale. One key factor to making a successful macaron is to keep the proportions the same every time you make macarons. By keeping all ingredients exactly the same, it will be easier to trouble shoot when your macarons become a macawrong. I have found that aging egg whites from real eggs helps with the creation of the meringue. Storing the almond meal in the fridge prior to using it to bake macarons is better as it prevents the almond meal from going rancid. I usually take the almond meal out and let it come to room temperature before using it to make macarons.

Lastly, using albumen (powdered egg whites) helps to stabilize your meringue. The albumen blended with some extra fine sugar is added while the egg whites are forming the meringue.

What to Look for in a Macaron

Now that we've covered the equipment and ingredients that are needed for making macarons, we are ready for the next step! Check back for my next post on making the macaron shells. In the meantime, what is your favourite macaron flavour? Leave a comment below!

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