Tuesday, March 20, 2012

The wonderful world of MACARONS!!

I'm not sure how my love of macarons started... I remember eating my first macaron in Sydney at Lindt cafe a couple of years ago. They were called "delices" so I didn't know I was eating a macaron but I loved the texture.. how they were crispy on the outside but chewy and soft on the inside. Then masterchef came about and the whole macaron craze started because of the Macaron tower created by Adriano Zumbo!! I had friends over for dinner one night and that's when we decided we would try to bake the infamous MACARONS! I remember following the recipe to the TEE! sifting the almond meal and icing sugar 10 times to make sure there were no lumps .. xD they semi-worked.. I think we undercooked them because they were a bit hard to take off the baking paper. After that.. I didn't try them again until I found a recipe in a macaron book and again with friends (you need the support you see :P) we tried to make chocolate macarons.. and THEY WORKED! we were so happy! That's when the idea of a macaron business started... and who knew it would end up where it is now? (ok so it's not a big business as such.. but i do sell to friends ^^)
pyramid of macarons ^^
anyways after much experimenting and optimising with oven temperatures, egg white textures, flavours.. I thought I had the perfect macaron recipe. Until I met a friend at work who also baked macarons! Hers were so lovely and perfect!! so of course I asked her for the recipe ^_^ and she kindly gave it to me... they were FAIL PROOF (well nearly...) and I've stuck with the same recipe since! The thing I love is that these are "lazy baker's" macarons ^^ and the recipe is really easy to remember!
When I saw that this month's Aspiring Baker's challenge was for Macarons I was so HAPPY =D and good timing too because I had to complete a BIG ORDER of 120 macarons last week~ for a friend's luncheon event at uni.. pretty exciting :D I made 5 batches: chocolate, mocha, green tea, vanilla and strawberry. So now I will share with you all the "not-so-secret" macaron recipe! special thanks to Steph for sharing it wiith me :) :)

So here is my entry for Aspiring Bakers #17: March Macaron Madness 2012 hosted by Alan of Travellingfoodies.
Macarons for ASA luncheon event
Macaron Recipe (makes ~ 50 macaron shells)

Ingredients
125g almond meal
125g pure icing sugar
125g caster sugar
3 egg whites
Flavouring of choice

1. Sift almond meal and icing sugar into a large bowl.
2. Add half the caster sugar to the egg whites and beat with electric beater till thick and white (~3-5 min).
3. Gradually add the rest of the sugar while beating. The mixture should be glossy and thick but not stiff peaks. When you lift the whisk it should leave a ribbon trail.
*EGG WHITE TEXTURE is IMPORTANT* 
  • If egg whites are too thick - macarons are grainy and not smooth
  • If egg whites are too thin - macarons are flat and do not rise much
4. Fold in the almond meal/icing sugar mixture into the egg whites using a spatula. 5. Add any flavourings you like.. e.g. cocoa powder... green tea powder.
5. Pipe or spoon 4cm circles of mixture onto lined baking trays. Leave to rest for 30min-1 hour (you should be able to touch the macaron shells and they shouldn't be sticky).
6. Pre-heat oven to 170oC for 5 min then turn down to 140-150oC. Bake one tray at a time on the middle shelf for 12-14min.
7. watch the macarons RISE!!!! take out of oven and allow to cool before trying to lift them off the tray.

so HAPPY to see them RISE =D


8. make filling: dark chocolate ganache - place 100g of dark chocolate and 80g of thickened cream into a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Melt and allow to cool in fridge before use. (white chocolate ganache: 100g white chocolate + 50g cream)
9. Sandwich 2 macaron shells with filling and serve. (Macarons actually taste better the next day so you may have to be patient and wait to taste these lovely morsels =p)
piping the chocolate ganache~
Once I got the hang of making macarons, I decided to get a little more creative and made different shaped ones ^^ So far I have Hello kittyrons, Pandarons and Fishyrons~

*meow* hello kittyrons ^^

Pandaron!!.. <3-shaped nose =p
brown bearon :)
pandarons!!!
hellokittyron and pandaron version 2
Happy macaron baking =) I would love to hear more suggestions on what other shapes or flavours I can make :)
Macaron

18 comments:

  1. amazing (: well done! could try lemon? avocado? blueberry? salted caramel? coffee?

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    1. thanks~! still have to try yours one day =p yup! new flavours coming out!! ^^

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  2. sorry I'm a novice, how to judge how much flavouring to add? eg matcha powder?

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    1. Hi Kelly,

      No worries! so for a batch I usually put a teaspoon of flavouring when it is powder form e.g. cocoa powder or green tea powder. After you have mixed it together, you can always add more if you think it needs it, but it's hard to take it out once you have put it ><"

      with liquid flavours, I find 1/2 teaspoon is sufficient. Hope that helps =)

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  3. Cute and adorable. You are very creative!

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  4. omygosh baking tray!
    You are so much more talented than me please! Macarons?? I have tried them 3 times and failed all three times! I don't know why but they always end up being undercooked with no feet:( Besides, they are incredibly sweet! hahaha, i totally need to try one of your macarons!
    Thanks for stopping by, looking forward to the day you try baking strawberry shortcake!
    -SimplyBakes

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  5. hi, love your macarons! am trying out your recipe and have a question regarding oven temperature. you say preheat oven to 170 then reduce to 140 degrees baking one tray at a time. does that mean after taking out the first tray i have to increase temp back up to 170, put second tray in and reduce again? thanks!

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    1. Hi!! so glad that you are giving these macarons a go =D =D

      no you just have to preheat to 170oC then reduce to 140oC and leave it at that temperature when you put the second tray in. Remember all ovens are different.. so i'll guess you'll find out x) Let me know how it goes!

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  6. hi baking tray,
    thanks for the tips regarding oven temp. this was my fifth attempt at making macarons. My previous attempts failed miserable - no feet, hollow, cracked you name it.. but using your recipe they came out great! i succesfully made salted caramel macarons with a nice crisp shell, chewy interior and feet! thank you so much.. am interesting in ordering your macarons. how do i go about it? i live in inner city melbourne..

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    1. I'm so happy to hear that it worked =D =D yeah the recipe is pretty much fail proof! Wow! and salted caramel! Yum! thats a flavour that I really want to try!

      Ok well just send me your order to trazbone@hotmail.com (specify flavour and # of macarons) and we can organise a time that I can pass them to you :)

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  7. hi baking tray,
    have successfully made macarons once now but am having trouble with hollow shells/air pockets - driving me nuts!! some recipes say whip eggwhites till stiff peaks, some say not stiff but thick and glossy. I have tried both ways and have mixed batter 'till "lava like" consistency. Plus i make sure i rap my trays. They come out looking perfect but have air pockets. Help!! Any tips?

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    1. Hi Anon! Thanks for dropping by. Yes, I know each recipe varies a lot but I have always whipped my egg whites until thick and glossy, not stiff peaks. Especically for this recipe its at the "ribbon stage". I find this works well and I don't get the air pockets that often. However, I must admit sometimes I do get the air pockets and I have no idea why ><"
      sorry... not much help..

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  8. Thanks baking tray. Will try again and fiddle around with my oven temperature. I think it may be running a little cold. Have just purchased an oven thermometer so i'll see how it goes.!

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  9. i LOOOVE macarons so i'm glad that i stumbled upon your blog! despite hearing how hard it can be to make them, i might just have to give it a try some time haha

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    1. Who doesn't love macarons!? XD hehe.. I really hope you give them a go! They are really not as hard as what you think! Just gotta overcome macaron making fear :)

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  10. Hi! Your macarons look amazing :) I would like to try your recipe, but can you, please, tell me how much does 3 egg whites weight? In grams?

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  11. Can I use a muffin tin to get them all the same size

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