Macarons

[Stephanie]

Hello,

I have been "trying" to bake french macarons. Does anyone have a good recipe? I made them three times, the third time I came close to the look of them, however they were overbaked. The recipe called to bake them at 350 for 13 mins, which when I read it I knew was too hot. I almost had burnt macarons. I pulled them out because they were browned but after letting them you can see a circle of uncooked macarons. Any tips on the cooking process? And how to get macarons to be fluffy and rise?

 

[ChesterV]

Different ovens bake at different temperatures, even though they may all be set the same.
Different brands bake differently, as do convection, gas, and electric ovens.

The baking times and temperatures are a general guideline, not "set in stone".

It sounds like your oven bakes hotter and/or faster, so your pastries bake on the outside before the inside gets fully baked.

When this happens using recipes, you have adjust your oven settings. In this case, I would set the oven at 315 and see if that works better for you. If not, you have to keep with adjusting the temperature until they come out the way you want them.

As for a recipe.......that would be up to your tastes and what you are looking for.

If you want some professional grade French pastries, then I would suggest googling for some classic pastries by high ranking chefs. Or, if you want home style pastries, possibly look for "old world" pastry recipes.



Hope that helps.

 

[Stephanie]

Thanks Chester. It does help! I appreciate the feedback!

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Hello,

I have been "trying" to bake french macarons. Does anyone have a good recipe? I made them three times, the third time I came close to the look of them, however they were overbaked. The recipe called to bake them at 350 for 13 mins, which when I read it I knew was too hot. I almost had burnt macarons. I pulled them out because they were browned but after letting them you can see a circle of uncooked macarons. Any tips on the cooking process? And how to get macarons to be fluffy and rise?

Try Stella Parks' recipe. I added the link to her blog below. She is one of the editors for Serious Eats, but keeps her blog on the side. She really understands the science behind baking. She worked for years at a bakery where she made macarons every day. The post includes recipes and links to her articles on macarons.


http://bravetart.com/recipes/macarons

Couple of things I learned that seems to help:

1. Stabilize your meringue with cream of tartar. I use 1/2 teaspoon in a batch. Not only does it stabilize your meringue but you can't really over beat and dry them out with cream of tartar. As a general rule with any meringue, I use 1/8 tsp for each egg white. Cream of tartar makes a big difference in the quality of the meringue.

2. Deflate your batter properly. It's crazy that you need to whip those egg whites to perfection, only to fold them to deflate them. Keep folding until the batter flows like lava when you tilt the bowl. If you're not sure what flowing lava looks like, Google for videos of lava flows. I know that sounds like a crazy analogy, but I found the movement of the batter is a good indication of whether or not you have deflated the egg whites enough during folding. You need enough air bubbles in the egg whites to give the rise, but too much air and you get a hollow shell.

3. Rest until you have a good skin. 20 - 30 minutes. This is where I disagree with Stella Parks. She says the rest isn't necessary. I believe it's necessary. If there's a good skin on top it forces the steam to go out from the bottom. That helps to form the feet and give the rise.

4. Mandolin brand almond flour... when a pastry chef told me that this flour makes a difference I thought, "yeah right, almonds are almonds." The grind is so fine and the flour is so fresh it really makes a difference. Hands-down the best almond flour I've ever used. Their almond paste also hands-down the best I have ever used. Problem is it's only available through the company or through restaurant supply stores to the trade. Link below.

https://www.mandelininc.com