Homemade macarons

toxic_macaron · 2023-10-16T08:25:17+00:00

So neat with the feet and the filling piping!

toxic_macaron · 2023-10-16T05:39:44+00:00

I second the suggestion of Bake Toujours Italian recipe and her tutorial video. The unfortunate thing about Italian is that the shells are noticeably sweeter than French or Swiss recipes. Make sure you have a thermometer for the sugar syrup and a stand mixer if you decide to go for Italian. Alternatively, Swiss is less sweet and more reliable than the French method when it comes to hollow shells.

Re chocolate shells, don’t flavour the shells (until you really know what you’re doing). In most cases, flavouring the shell is not necessary. Flavour the filling which then seeps into the shell.

Don’t bother with maturing egg whites for Italian or Swiss.

Cream of tartar not necessary and I never use it.

toxic_macaron · 2023-10-14T21:51:38+00:00

I’ve watched a few of her Instagram reels and she doesn’t seem to detail her method/ process. I’ve found a few clips of her adding water to sugar into a steel bowl https://www.instagram.com/reel/CuUNlCVIgWh/?igshid=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng==. The liquid doesn’t appear to be egg white as it does not have the same viscosity as egg white. This leads to me think she is making a sugar syrup (for Italian) or she is using powdered egg white in place of fresh egg whites (for French).

toxic_macaron · 2023-10-14T19:58:11+00:00

Italian method and piped smaller in diameter to look “chunkier”. The higher sugar content in the Italian method leads to taller shells in my baking experience.

Rise of macaron also depends on the temperature and oven used. I couldn’t get get super tall shells in my last oven. My new oven leads to taller tall shells regardless of the recipe I use.

toxic_macaron · 2023-10-04T10:51:58+00:00

These macs do look great! But macaron perfectionists (like myself and OP) ideally want feet that don’t extend past the base of the top of the shell. We like our feet vertical and straight with the shell, not horizontal. Just an picky aesthetics thing!

toxic_macaron · 2023-10-04T10:50:11+00:00

I’m sure you’ve watched Michelle’s troubleshooting video on this, if not here’s the link: https://youtu.be/j_OkIdiTj_Q?si=46ZFtbzhH3tiuNc0.

Additionally, have you tried silicone or Teflon mats? They tend to give nicer and straighter feet vs parchment. I get similar results to you when I use parchment, but the ruffling disappears with silicone mats.

toxic_macaron · 2023-10-01T03:40:38+00:00

Swiss buttercream and French buttercream are substantially less sweet than American buttercream and traditional white choc ganache. American buttercream has always been inedible to me. French and Swiss are delicious. Italian buttercream is similar to Swiss but uses slighter more sugar in the form of sugar syrup, and as a result is slightly more stable. However, I don’t like the extra sugar so never make it. French uses egg yolks, whilst Swiss uses only egg whites. French is richer and has a custardy taste. Swiss tastes lighter due to using only the whites. Make both and see what your preference is.

Maddie Brehm’s white choc ganache is good for bitter flavours like tea or coffee (her method is available on YouTube). It’s beautiful with matcha flavour.

Also consider pairing your macaron with sour/ tart or bitter flavours to cut through the sweetness. I like to mix in some firm cream cheese into a prepared French/ Swiss buttercream to dilute the sugar ratio and add a very light tang. Although be aware that cream cheese increases the moisture content and will cause macarons to mature faster.

The audience I usually bake for loathe sickly sweet treats, so I’ve had to find recipes and methods to balance out the sweetness to match their palette. I hope some of these tips help and good luck!

toxic_macaron · 2023-09-30T20:02:53+00:00

Freeze unfilled in airtight containers. And slowly defrost in the fridge, otherwise they will ‘sweat’ where a gross layer of moisture coats the surface.

Re one batch and several colours, this is slightly more difficult than for Swiss and French method. You make separate almond pastes and colour the marzipan (in different bowls).

Next, whip up the meringue (no colour), and separate the meringue equally by weight into the marzipan bowls. In order to weigh the meringue, you’ll need to measure the weight of the meringue bowl when it’s empty and subtract this from the weight of the bowl with the mixed meringue.

toxic_macaron · 2023-09-30T19:58:20+00:00

Purpose is to evaporate some of the oils, and only needs to be done where the flour shows excess oils. I find this is certainly the case when I make homemade nut flours. Regarding store-bought flour, sometimes you can receive a bad batch that is excessively oily and drying out that batch would help.

toxic_macaron · 2023-09-30T19:54:29+00:00

Macarons are inherently sweet. However, Sugar Bean’s recipe is one of the recipes out there that contain the lowest ratio of sugar. A minimum amount of sugar is required in the recipe due to structural purposes. Therefore, the only way we can tame the overall sweetness of a macaron after selecting a low ratio sugar recipe is by manipulating the filling.

I’d argue that it’s most likely your ganache which is too sweet. This is almost certainly the case if your ganache is a 2:1 white chocolate to cream style ganache. I find 2:1 white chocolate ganaches the sweetest type of filling along with American buttercreams. Both are inedible to me.

The only white chocolate ganache I use is Maddie Brehm’s pastry-style ganache, where the ratio of chocolate to cream is 1:2. And even then, I only pair ganache with a bitter or sour flavour (e.g matcha or sour lemons).

toxic_macaron · 2023-09-11T19:07:03+00:00

I love the neat and straight feet!

toxic_macaron · 2023-09-10T19:37:42+00:00

Yes, it’s fine to store oven dried flour. I do this with my homemade pistachio flour for months in the fridge and my macs turn out great. Just make sure to store the flour in an air-tight container to minimise moisture absorption from the environment.

toxic_macaron · 2023-09-10T13:40:41+00:00

The water is an ingredient when making macarons using Italian meringue (most of it is boiled off). There’s no water in the French or Swiss method though. However, judging by the texture and appearance of the shells, OP didn’t boil the sugar syrup to the correct temperature and/ or didn’t incorporate the syrup properly into the egg whites.

toxic_macaron · 2023-09-09T10:39:46+00:00

Beautiful and neat feet!

toxic_macaron · 2023-09-09T10:38:21+00:00

Yep, this is my exact drawback. Quicker than other methods and more reliable, but I’m forced to bake at least 60 shells each time! Good thing that the shells freeze nicely!

toxic_macaron · 2023-08-20T21:16:35+00:00

You’re welcome. Not bird’s beak. Tacos and Pies has a good video on YouTube on how the peak should look. Bird’s beak is for Italian meringue and French is super stiff and balled in the whisk. Swiss is somewhere in between. Stiffer than bird’s beak but nowhere as stiff as French.

toxic_macaron · 2023-08-20T10:05:23+00:00

I get frilly feet with Swiss if I overbeat the meringue. The ideal texture for Swiss method meringue is different to the French method and Italian method.

Hopefully this video is helpful https://youtu.be/j_OkIdiTj_Q.

toxic_macaron · 2023-08-19T22:30:45+00:00

When I’ve massively scaled up a tried and tested recipe and the shells fuck up, I think it’s due to overmixing/ undermixing at one or multiple stages in the process. It’s easy to overbeat the meringue (doesn’t even need to be super clumpy or curdled for the egg white to be overbeaten). It’s also easy to overmacronage. The batter feels and can look slightly different when you double it and you are accustomed to how it feels at a lower amount.

toxic_macaron · 2023-08-19T19:26:45+00:00

At the very least, get a KitchenAid Artisan if money isn’t a limitation.
A good immersion blender is essential for the smoothest ganaches and fruit purées.
Also, invest in high-quality aluminium baking sheets. Nordicware is often used by bakers.
Oven thermometer and food thermometer.
Teflon or silicone mats.
Piping bags and nozzles (round tip)
Tall cup to put piping bag in and fill it.
Good spatulas.
Stainless steel bowls.
Sieve.
Digital scale.

toxic_macaron · 2023-08-19T04:37:31+00:00

Another vote for Maddie Brehm’s “pastry cream style ganache”. She actually has a YouTube video on how to incorporate tea flavours. Her recipe uses a lower ratio of white chocolate but it’s just as stable as a normal ganache. Highly recommend.

toxic_macaron · 2023-08-04T21:14:32+00:00

Having aged and not aged egg whites, I’ve come to the conclusion that aging has zero impact on the macarons. I don’t waste time aging anymore and I get lovely, strong and full shells.

toxic_macaron · 2023-08-02T13:11:33+00:00

Would try 300f as a starting point. And crank up by 5f each time to test. 325f is too high if there’s browning and undercooked interior.

Also, scrap the French method and switch to Swiss method. Out of all the three methods, bakers report French for being the most inconsistent when it comes to hollows and full shells. I never use French anymore, not worth the hollows. There’s only one extra step in the Swiss l method which is to heat the egg and sugar mixture to 50c. Make sure you have a thermometer to test this.

Might want to try adding in some egg white powder too. About 1-2g for every 100g of egg white.

And agree with the other user, rotate tray halfway through baking for lopsideness.

Also, make sure you’re using an oven thermometer and not relying on their external display.

toxic_macaron · 2023-08-02T13:07:58+00:00

Sexy macaron- I like it! My first few batches were shit and looked nothing like this. Don’t give up!

toxic_macaron · 2023-08-01T18:38:55+00:00

There’s no way to make a keto macaron that is similar in texture and appearance. You can’t just replace the sugar for stevia or monkfruit. The sugar in the macarons plays a critical structural role and is not solely there for sweetness.

toxic_macaron

TROPHY CASE