Macarons - French Style (With Photo)

[cookie1]

To dry the macarons you leave them on the bench for 30 or so minutes. To check if they are dry enough touch them gently. They shouldn't be sticky.
Passionflower how did yours turn out?

[Frozzie]

i lovvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvve macarons..so delishessly yummy!!! and from the big french houses they are not only delish and often unique but quite pretty ....can be quite expensive though...its about the only patisserie that charges so much...often a couple of euros for one little macaroon but mmmmmmmmmmmm

[passionflower]

They are very special treats and I would pay 8 euros to get an exquisite macaron any day. I tried so many and La Duree are THE BEST ones for my taste, every time I am in London I make a point of getting a box to eat(small box of 4 or 6) and a box to take home and eat the next day(different flavours)  .
Ok so I have had about 80% rate of success with this recipe today, COULDN'T whip my egg whites in the Thermie though at least I think speed4 is too high ended up doing them by hand .
They didn't turn out perfect but they were very nice crunchy on the outside and nice and soft in the centre. They are very temperamental and I have learned lots from this experience, will deffo do them again with some more adventurous flavours, I kept them simple this time in the name of practise.
I only have one piping bag and I was to lazy to wash and dry it after piping the macarons so my filling is a bit messy.

 

[Cornish Cream]

Wow!! I think they look perfect passionflower.

[passionflower]

Thank you Denise they were very nice but they had no heel which told me I left them drying to long (about 45 min), also some of them cracked so not quite there yet but I will persevere with them they are very temperamental, I am glad they're not easy to make as I would be the size of the White House.

[Frozzie]

i know young chefs come from around the world just to learn how to cook these... often they draw perfect little circles all over a piece of baking paper on a tray and when pipe the mix into the circles they then tap the whole tray very gently on the bench to get them all perfectly the same size..they look pretty good monica...sure not like those perfect glossy little bites but pretty damn good for a first time...!!

[cookie1]

Well done passionflower. They would still taste lovely but I can understand you wanting them to be perfect. DD bought an expensive macaron the other day and she said it was horrid. Then a friend bought her some back from Lindt in Melbourne and she was happy. I really must try some again.

[Bedlam]

Cookie, I have just read through all the macaron thread. I haven't had time to try cooking yet but the recipe from my class was a little different. We made an Italian meringue ( with a sugar syrup instead of sugar) and the chef said you must use old egg whites for the meringue. Have you tried again?

Monica, your look wonderful.

[cookie1]

Yes Denise I made some on the weekend. I used a recipe that had been succesful for me before and they taste nice but are not beautiful to look at. I somehow got too much heel  on them. DD decided she could do better than me so she made some on Sunday. Not a great success either. They can be very hard to get exactly right. Even the weather can effect them.
We really love them so will keep trying.
I made pink and filled them with buttercream flavoured with a few defrosted raspberries. The tang with the sweetness is lovely.

[Sarah-brisbane]

Well, after tasting a macaron for the first time just last week, i started looking for recipes as its disgusting what thy charge for them. Now, they taste wonderful, but they are a lil flat. I am wondering if the extra liquid from the food colouring made the mix a little wet and if i perhaps increased the dry ingredients a little it might be better next time. I am hoping t master them so i can do a Macaron tower/tree for Christmas eve dinner

[cookie1]

When I attended Trissa's class in Sydney that was one thing she said to be wary of. I've actually just bought some oil based powders to use for macaron colouring.
I hope it all works out for you.

[Frozzie]

over here you can buy different powder colourings and its what they use in macaroons and not liquid colourings..;im sure professional patissieres use whatever they want but most amateur cooks use powder colourants..they are pretty easy to find online if you cant find them locally!  Also you dont need to use much as often the powder colourings are quite intense 

[Tasty]

Ooo these look great - might just make them with my leftover eggwhites.

[CreamPuff63]

I have never made macarons before, but would dearly love to. I got the latest "Lakelands" catalogue and there is a silicone macaron mould.I was wondering if buying one of these would make a challenging task into a foolproof task?

This is what the blurb says: "They say presentation is everything, and this handy mould ensures your macaroons are evenly shaped and sized so they look as though they've come straight from a patisserie! Easy to clean and store, its one baking addiion that no macaroon lover should be without. Makes 28 macaroon halves." Its 8 pounds, so about AUD$17 (not taking into account postage)

Sounds tempting doesn't it, but I am hesitant because it sounds too good to be true thatyou may still need a real knack to it??? 2 cents worth from anyone would be appreciated.

[Nik2WIN]

I was really good the other day when the Lakelands catalogue was delivered ... I put it straight in the recycling bin.

Lakelands is absolutely great but full of stuff that you didn't know you needed and as I couldn't think of anything I needed right now I thought it best to stay ignorant 

Nik