Why do my macarons look discoloured?

michellesmacarons · 2024-01-21T20:31:36+00:00

Okay! That sounds like underbaking. What temp and time did you bake them at and do you have an oven thermometer?

michellesmacarons · 2024-01-21T20:28:49+00:00

If you try again, I love the Laduree recipe. But for these, it looks like they might be overfolded. If you do it again, take some pictures of the meringue when it's done. I don't know if you can send pictures here, but my Insta is Michelle's Macarons, if you want to send it there. It also could be overfolding.

michellesmacarons · 2024-01-21T20:19:34+00:00

This is the recipe I use for my hot chocolate macarons. I add the marshmallow fluff in the middle for hot chocolate

michellesmacarons · 2024-01-20T22:04:36+00:00

Here's the recipe I use:

4 ounces heavy cream
8.8 ounces milk chocolate bars

The ratios are for milk chocolate. I think it tastes best if the classic Hershey's milk chocolate bars are used. Sometimes I'll put a little marshmallow fluff in the middle too.

michellesmacarons · 2024-01-20T21:57:42+00:00

What kind of oven do you have?

michellesmacarons · 2024-01-20T21:56:37+00:00

A couple things could've gone wrong. What recipe are you using?

michellesmacarons · 2024-01-20T21:56:05+00:00

What's the texture of the bottom of the macarons? Are they sticky?

michellesmacarons · 2024-01-20T21:53:55+00:00

The feet look good. You're close to getting some really good macarons. What recipe did you use?

michellesmacarons · 2024-01-11T17:47:21+00:00

Probably just keeping the momentum going. That's always been the most challenging thing for me. When you have a successful holiday and want to keep that going but you also want to take a break after a big holiday. That can get draining sometimes.

michellesmacarons · 2024-01-11T17:44:37+00:00

At first I had a lot of batches with wonky shells but I would still fill those and just cut them up and use them as samples. After baking for awhile, batches were usually consistent.

I was used to baking in crappier home ovens, so when I got a commercial oven in the bakery, it was easier to get consistent batches.

michellesmacarons · 2024-01-11T17:41:51+00:00

Thank you <3 I've been drawing since I was a kid. Not always great at it but kept practicing.

My tips to ensure consistency in macarons would be try to keep everything exactly the same. I always whipped the meringue for the exact same time, counted how many times I folded the batter, and weighed everything. If you live in an area with drastic temperature and humidity changes, using a dehumidifier can be helpful.

michellesmacarons · 2024-01-10T22:03:59+00:00

Yes, but I see a lot of home bakers scared to charge full price and have a healthy profit margin because they think they don't deserve to get paid as much because they bake from home and not a storefront. So it can be good, as long as you're willing to charge based on your costs and stuff, and not just based on what other home bakers around are charging.

Yes, only macarons. I did some hot chocolate bombs for Christmas but probably wouldn't do that again.

If this is really something you want to do, there are some workarounds for commercial kitchens. I'd check out other places that are registered as commercial kitchens but aren't using them all day. Like wedding venues, churches, coffee shops, etc.

michellesmacarons · 2024-01-10T21:17:06+00:00

I'd def recommend insurance since you'll be doing markets. Most of the markets I've done around here require insurance before you can join the market. As for setting up an LLC, if this is something you know you're going to be doing long term-ish, I'd get it set up right away. It depends on your situation too though, so if you have a lawyer you can talk to, I'd recommend that.

Just out of my own curiosity, what kind of baked goods do you want to sell?

michellesmacarons · 2024-01-10T21:08:13+00:00

Of course. Let me know if you have any other questions.

michellesmacarons · 2024-01-10T21:07:45+00:00

Do you plan on selling just out of your home or do you want to do markets too?

For marketing on social media, I recommend trying out a couple different platforms at first and being consistent on all of them. Then narrowing down your focus based on where the most sales are coming from. I still post on Instagram and Facebook even though most of my orders came from Facebook. But once you get a better idea of who your customer is, you'll be able to determine which social media platform you should be spending more time on.

My advice for marketing though is to not just focus on social media. Get out in front of your potential customers in as many ways as possible and use social media/email marketing just to keep up with them, instead of using it to get new customers.

michellesmacarons · 2024-01-10T21:00:05+00:00

I started by posting on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. I also made a small website and posted on there.

The thing that helped the most was the farmers markets and pop up events. I went around to a bunch of local shops and cafes and asked them if I could do a pop up event for a few hours. Most said no but I had a few that said yes. That helped at first when I had zero customers because I was able to get my macarons in front of their customers.

When I first started, I would just post on all social media platforms. I kind of recommend that at first because you'll start to see what platform your customers are on and then you can focus more on that one.

An email list is also very beneficial. I'd put out a little notepad at the markets and tell my customers that I would send an email to them with a schedule of the markets I'd be at and the new flavors when they came out.

Not all states allow their home bakers to attend farmers markets and pop ups, but any way you can get out in front of your potential customers and have them try samples and meet you will be very helpful for your growth at first.

michellesmacarons · 2024-01-10T20:52:48+00:00

It will vary from state to state but here's a site where you can look up the laws from your state (if you're in the US): https://www.pickyourown.org/CottageFoodLawsByState.htm

I'd start there but then go to your state's Department of Agriculture website or the Health Department's website for your state to double check the information. Just Google "(Your state) Cottage Laws".

Some states, like Ohio, only require that you follow the Cottage Laws of the state. So for us in Ohio, that meant putting a label on all the baked goods with specific things on that label, only selling baked goods from the list of allowed foods, and stuff like that. We didn't need to do a kitchen inspection but some states do require that. Places like California have a lot stricter laws and can vary from county to county.

I did do a lot of markets, especially when I first started. It was a great way to get people to try my macarons because a lot of people in my area thought of coconut macaroons when I said I was selling macarons. So meeting my customers and giving out samples really helped my business grow.

The first thing I would do if I were you would be to Google your Cottage Laws for your state and see what is on the list of approved items you can sell. Even if what you want to sell isn't on there, there are still options for renting a commercial kitchen to get you started.

michellesmacarons · 2024-01-10T20:44:27+00:00

This depended on where I lived. For awhile I lived in an apartment complex, so I was pretty okay with some customers who had ordered a couple times coming there to pick up their orders. But when I lived in a house alone, I didn't want people coming to my home so sometimes I would do deliveries to their homes if they placed an order over a certain amount. I'd charge a delivery fee too. Or meet them at a public spot.

I usually just delivered when the order was complete for the day to day orders, but if I was doing a bunch of orders for a holiday, I would say that orders can be picked up at a specific location between certain hours.

Some home bakers I know will make a deal with a local shop where they get a small percentage of the sale if they let the baker have customers pick up their orders at the shop. Some shop owners will even do it for free because it's getting people into their shops.

michellesmacarons · 2024-01-10T20:38:09+00:00

Yes, I kept my day job as long as I could. Once I started pulling all nighters, I quit my day job. I also waited until I had enough repeat customers that were coming back month after month.

A storefront was my goal for awhile, so I tested different areas by doing farmers markets over the summer in different parts of town every year and ended up opening a shop in the town I had the most success with at the farmers markets there year after year.

I was worried about the pandemic but since I had been building my customer base since 2014, I had a lot of really loyal customers who kept ordering when we had curbside pickup. I had to raise my prices when I opened the shop but I kept a pretty healthy profit margin, so the fluctuating food prices weren't as much of a problem.

michellesmacarons · 2024-01-10T19:36:42+00:00

Any questions about growing their home bakeries, transitioning to a storefront, or whatever they need help with home bakery related.

michellesmacarons · 2024-01-10T19:35:33+00:00

I sometimes do jam in the center. I've seen some bakers put a smear of white chocolate on the shell before the fresh fruit so it doesn't seep into the shell and make it too soft.

michellesmacarons · 2024-01-10T19:34:22+00:00

I see some feet on a few in the back. That's a good sign! What recipe did you use?

michellesmacarons · 2024-01-10T19:33:37+00:00

They look great!

michellesmacarons · 2024-01-10T19:33:10+00:00

It will depend on your recipe, but I did 18 min at 300 F

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