I had been wanting to make macarons ever since I saw a picture of them, mostly because there are so many flavor combinations you can create with them, and there aren’t many places to get them around here. The only place I’ve been to that has them is LA Burdick Chocolates in Cambridge, and they call them Luxembourgers.
About a year ago, being impatient, I tried making macarons without the use of almond meal (I made chocolate ones, one version with nutella buttercream and another with mocha buttercream) which turned out disastrously, but still tasty. I knew as soon as I could get my hands on some almond meal, I had to make them correctly.
Chocolate Desserts By Pierré Herme has a recipe for macarons that isn’t in the metric system. That’s one thing I find confusing about most macaron recipes. I figured it would be better to start out with a base recipe that was easier to measure and that I didn’t need a scale for. So I started from scratch on my first real macaron making adventure.
Notes for next attempt: These came out rather flat and cracked instead of smooth and puffy like they were supposed to. I think this happened because I didn’t sift the ingredients as much as I needed to which made the ingredients hard to stir together, and thus caused me to overwhip the egg whites. We shall see what happens on take 2. For the filling, I used a chocolate ganache made of Ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate and heavy cream. Even though these didn’t come out perfectly, they still tasted delicious (really good with ice cream in the middle, actually). I’m excited to try again as soon as I have time so that I can get really good at making them and make more macarons with different flavors and fillings.
Pierre Hermé’s Chocolate Macarons Hermé’s notes that come with the recipe:
“Egg Whites are the key element in this recipe. Take care to beat them until they are only just firm and still shiny, and don’t be concerned when, as you add the dry ingredients, they deflate - they’re supposed to. Knocking some of the air out of the whites is what will give these macaroons their characteristic smooth top. Keep the whites too firm and you’ll end up with meringue.”
- 1-1/3 cups (5 oz.) almond flour
- 2 cups plus 2 T. powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup cocoa
- 1/2 cup egg whites (about 4 large; see step three)
2) Sift the sugar and cocoa, whisk in the almond flour.
3) For this recipe to succeed, you need 1/2 cup of egg whites which means using 3 large egg whites plus part of the fourth egg white. Gently whisk the extra egg white to break it up then measure it out. Bring the whites to room temperature. This is very important to get the most volume out of the whites.
4) Beat the whites at low to medium speed until they are white and foamy. Turn the speed up to high and whip them just until they are firm but still glossy and supple - when you lift the whisk, the whites should form a peak that droops just a little. Leave the whites in the mixer bowl or transfer them to a large bowl and, working with a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients gently into the whites in three of four additions. It will seem like a lot of dry ingredients to go into a relatively small amount of whites, but keep folding and you’ll get everything in. Don’t worry if the whites deflate and the batter looks a little runny - this is what’s supposed to happen. When all the dry ingredients are incorporated, the mixture will look like cake batter; if you lift a little with your finger, it should form a gentle, quickly falling peak.
5) Spoon the batter int the pastry bag and pipe it out on to the prepared baking sheets. Pipe the batter into rounds about 1” in diameter leaving about an inch between each round. When you’ve piped out all the macaroons, lift each baking sheet with both hands and then bang it down on the counter. Don’t be afraid - you need to get the air out of the batter. Set the baking sheets aside at room temp for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven.
6) Center the rack in the oven and preheat at 425F.
7) You should bake these one pan at a time, so dust the tops of the macarons with cocoa powder and slide one of the sheets in to the oven. As soon as the baking sheet is in the oven, reduce heat to 350F and insert the wooden handle of a spoon into the oven to keep the door slightly ajar. Bake the macarons for 10 to 12 minutes or until they are smooth and just firm to the touch. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and turn the oven back up to 425F.
To remove the macaron bases from the parchment - they should be removed as soon as they come from the oven - you will need to create moisture under the cookies. Carefully loosen the parchment at the four corners, and lifting the paper at one corner, pour a little (note: VERY little) hot water under the paper onto the baking sheet. The water may bubble and steam so be careful. Move the parchment around or tilt the baking sheet so that the parchment is evenly dampened, allow the macarons to remain on the parchment, soaking up the moisture for about 15 seconds, then peel the macarons off the paper and place them on a cooling rack.
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8) Repeat the process with the remaining sheet pan.
9) Pipe your choice of filling onto one base and top with second base.
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