French Macarons (Italian Method)

Remember how you make New Year's resolutions every year? Sometimes there are success stories and more often than not, there are somethings that don't really work out.  Well every year I set out to accomplish a few new culinary challenges.  I don't quite believe in New Year's resolutions that you have to maintain all year long, such as some unrealistic diet or exercise regimes, besides I personally think all things should be in moderation. But I do believe in setting yourself goals and giving yourself a realistic timeframe in order to achieve them.  I have a few culinary goals that I set for myself and in December 2011 I had aimed to one day make French macarons.  (For those of you who aren't familiar with this cookie, it is a almond meringue sandwich cookie with filling on the inside and it has a light crisp exterior with a slightly chewy center due to its filling.) I set this goal for myself not because I was in love with macarons but I saw it as a challenge.  I had heard through various blogs that it was rather tricky to make and I felt super impressed by anyone who had ever tried to make them.

Even though I live in Montreal, I don't get to eat macarons THAT often.  Actually I think that my first taste of a macaron was only a few years ago after my best friend had brought some back from Paris.  I knew of them but never had them.  I did enjoy it a lot and liked the idea that you can be really creative with the flavour combinations because the cookie itself gets most of its taste from the filling, whether it'd be a fruit curd, cream or ganache.  Then I got the opportunity to sample some macarons from Point G that were more fresh and those were divine!  It was after that point that I started to have more of an interest in trying to make it myself, especially after discovering that even though these lovely cookies were accessible to me, they were ridiculously expensive at nearly $2 per macaron!!  I then tried some homemade macarons that were delicious and a bit bigger than the typically small macaron.  After seeing that others could succeed, I figured that I could do it too.

The journey was not an easy one.  This is why I'm sharing all of my experience so that others could learn from it and it could serve me useful if ever I may need to modify a recipe or techniques.  I like the idea of a blog in order to document all of this.  To sum it up, I based myself on Annie's Eats blog which had a recipe that was based on Tarlette's the French method, in which dry ingredients are added into a meringue.  I had mixed results but not consistent results.  I decided to leave it out of my blog until I had really consistent results that had a better texture and shape.  The chocolate macarons below were great but nearly a third of the batch was not presentable.

These are chocolate French macarons with chocolate ganache.  

These are strawberry French macarons with strawberry curd.

As you can see, the "feet", in which the macarons rise from look messy.

Then many months later there was a new tutorial for macarons using an Italian method in which a hot syrup is poured into egg whites and then is added to the dry ingredients.  This yield more consistent results that I was looking for.  I also preferred the overall taste and texture of these cookies.  Although, I did have one bad batch but I've learned how to correct that since then.  This new method involves a few extra steps but it doesn't require aged egg whites or a super long waiting time before placing it into the oven.  My only recommendation to add to the recipe is to make sure that the consistency is right so that it won't spreading or peak once the circles are piped.  Essentially, you want it to have a few ribbons to pool at the bottom of the the bowl when lifting the spatula before piping your rounds.

My biggest tip would be to make these ahead of time, especially if you're planning on serving them for a party.  I recommend making the cookies and the filling on separate days and then filling them the eve of your party.  I sometimes bake the cookies over 9 minutes to ensure that they are cooked through and don't stick to the paper or silpat.  As a result, they can sometimes be a little on the dry side.  However, if you let it sit with the filling, it will moisten over time to develop that perfect "chewy" interior.  The actual meringue cookie can be kept for one week if stored in an airtight container.  Once they are filled, they should also be stored in the fridge.  I advise letting the cookies come to room temperature for 30 minutes prior to serving them.  Bon appetit!

Below are a few pictures describing the process but you can also access Annie's Italian method tutorial for a more complete guide.

I feel that it is imperative to weigh your ingredients beforehand.  I love this OXO scale!

The dry ingredients are mixed together in a bowl.

A portion of the egg whites are then mixed into the dry ingredients to form a thick paste.

The syrup should be heated until 248 degrees.  Careful, it will be very hot and bubbly!

The hot syrup is then poured into the egg whites, with the mixer running, and then whipped on high until stiff peaks form.

I folded the meringue into almond paste until the right texture was achieved.

I piped my circles on a silpat mat.

My first batch was less successful because the mixture was too thick and didn't flatten out when baking.  If ever you notice this while piping let the cookies stand for 15 minutes before placing it into the oven.  However, if the mixture is too thin it will spread and will not appear uniform.

I had fun experimenting with macarons and am now feeling much more comfortable making them.  Below are a few variations of the basic recipe.  This is where I feel I can get my creative juices flowing and try new flavour combinations.

French macarons with coconut buttercream filling.

French macarons with raspberry curd.

For my birthday I decided to split a recipe into two different flavours.  On the left, the classic recipe with a few drops of red gel food colouring added to the meringue before being mixed with the almond paste.  On the right, the classic recipe but with 1/2 tablespoon of powdered sugar replaced with Dutch cacao in the dry ingredients.

I felt that the pink macarons turned out really well because they were baked on the silpat mat.  They maintained their circle shape very well.

They also have smoother bottoms than their parchment paper counter parts.

Chocolate vs. Pink

 I prefer using a pastry bag to fill in my macarons if I'm using buttercream.

Mocha French Macarons

Chocolate cookie with espresso-chocolate-amaretto buttercream

Strawberry Cream French Macarons

Pink cookie with strawberry buttercream

 Wouldn't these Pretty in Pink macarons make anyone's heart melt on Valentine's day?  They are just lovely!

Basic French Macarons
Yield: about 2 dozen sandwich cookies

Ingredients
212 grams almond meal
212 grams confectioners' sugar
82 and 90 grams egg whites, divided
236 grams granulated sugar, plus a pinch
158 grams water

Buttercream or ganache, for filling


Preheat oven to 350 F and place a rack in the middle of the oven.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat.  In a large bowl, combine the almond meal and confectioners' sugar.  Whisk together to blend and break up any clumps.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in 82 grams of the egg whites.  Blend the egg whites into the dry ingredients until evenly mixed.  The mixture will the thick and paste-like.

Meanwhile, combine the sugar and water for the syrup in a small saucepan over medium-high heat with a candy thermometer clipped to the side.  When the temperature is around 200 F, combine the 90 gram portion of egg whites with a pinch of sugar.  Begin whipping on medium-low speed.  Continue whipping the whites on medium speed until they form soft peaks.  If soft peaks are achieved before the syrup reaches the target temperature, reduce the speed to low to keep the whites moving.

Once the syrup reaches 248 F (approximately 7 to 10 minutes after reaching 200 F), immediately remove it from the heat.  Increase the mixer speed to medium and pour the syrup down the side of the bowl in a slow drizzle until fully incorporated.  Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and whip the meringue until stiff, flossy peaks form.  (If you are going to add colour to the macaron shells, this is the time to do so.  Gel or powdered food colours should be used.)

Add one third of the meringue mixture to the bowl with the almond mixture.  Fold in gently until the mixture is smooth.  A bit at a time, gently fold in the remaining meringue until the batter is smooth and runs in thick ribbons off of the spatula.  You may not need all of the meringue, so add it gradually.  (Usually most of it is used, but not all of it.).  Add the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a plan round tip with about a 1/2-inch opening.  Hold the bag perpendicular to the baking sheet about 1/2-inch above the surface of the pan.  Steadily pipe rounds about 1 1/4 to 1/12-inches in diameter.  The batter may create small peaks immediately after piping, but if it is the correct texture these will smooth themselves away after a minute or two.  If the batter is too stiff, the peaks will remain and the tops of the shells may not be totally smooth.  If the batter is too thin, the rounds will spread further.

Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 325 F.  Bake for 9-12 minutes, until the tops are smooth and set and "feet" have formed around the bottom.  Let the shells cool just briefly on the baking sheet, maybe 5 minutes or so, and then peel away from the parchment.  They should come away easily and fully intact.  Transfer to a cooling rack.  Repeat as needed with the remaining batter, replacing the parchment paper with each batch.  (Bring the oven temperature back up to 350 F before baking a second sheet, and proceed as before.)  Once the shells are bake and cooled, match them up in pairs by size and sandwich with the filling or your choice.  Store in airtight container.

Source: Annie's Eats and originally from Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller and Sebastien Rouxel