French Macarons (Confectionary)

by - 9:05 PM


Ingredients:
1 cup powdered sugar or icing sugar
3/4 cup Almond Flour (Ground/Powder)
2 egg whites room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Your choice of Food coloring (optional)

Lemon Yoghurt Buttercream Filling:
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp Yoghurt
100g or 7 tbsp softened unsalted butter
1 tbsp lemon juice

For my first attempt, I think it is not a very difficult to make confectionary in contrast to what I've heard about the many pitfalls of the Macarons shells making process. The ingredients I would say is quite easy to obtain. The Almond flour is rather an expensive item as here in Tallinn, they can be found at 300grams for 6 Euros! I've bought one kilogram at once and I think I will make a lot considering how wonderfully these Macarons melts in your mouth! It is truly a great creation by the Italian Chef of Catherine de' Medici in France.


However, it could be because of the freshness of the eggs (the way the meringue is made), because of the humidity, the dehydration timing to create a 'skin' for the formation of the 'feet', the oven's heat distribution, the success of the macaron can be different. That makes the making of Macaron challenging


This is one of the best 'How To Make French Macarons' video recipe. It is very easy to follow and it uses only 2 eggs, and yields about 50 Macarons shells.



French Macarons:

Have ready three baking sheets (make sure they have flat bottoms (no warping) lined with parchment paper. To make all the Macarons the same size, there are basically 2 methods.
I am using the Silicone Baking Sheet for 42 Heart-Shaped Macarons. The dimension of the baking sheet is 40 x 30cm and it has 42 heart-shaped marks. The dimensions of each mark: Length 3.8 x Width 3.5 cm. Each turn of baking in my case is about 36 because my oven baking tray is not allowing the entire Silicone Baking Sheet to sit in.

 It is possible to just bake on parchment paper. So the second method is simply to draw 20 circles (3 cm diameter) and spacing 5 cm apart and turn the paper onto the next side to guide you for piping the Macaron shells.

 Preparation of Macaron Shells:
  1. Place the ground almonds and confectioners sugar in a food processor and process until finely ground (about 1 - 2 minutes). Sift the mixture to remove any lumps.
  2. In the bowl of your electric mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment (can use a hand mixer), beat the egg whites and a few drops of lemon juice, on medium speed until foamy. 
  3. Gradually add the granulated sugar, and continue to beat, on medium-high speed, until the meringue just holds stiff peaks (when you slowly raise the whisk the meringue is straight up, no drooping, called a 'beak') *Be aware to not overmix the meringue or it will 'break'.
  4. Then, in three additions, sift the ground almond/sugar mixture over the meringue. When folding, cut through the meringue and then fold up and over, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. 
  5. Once the almond mixture is completely folded (called macaronage) into the meringue (the batter will fall back into the bowl in a thick ribbon) it is time to pipe the Macarons.
Piping of Macaron Shells:
  1. Fill a pastry bag, fitted with 1/2 inch (1 cm) tip, with about half the batter. Pipe about  3 cm rounds onto the parchment paper, using the circles you've drawn as a guide. 
  2. Then gently tap the baking sheet on the counter to break any air bubbles (can also break air bubbles with the end of a toothpick). 
  3. Let the Macarons sit at room temperature for about 30-60 minutes (depending on the temperature and humidity of your kitchen) or until the tops of the Macarons are no longer tacky.
  4. Preheat your oven to 150 degrees C with the oven racks in the top and bottom third of the oven.
    Bake the cookies (two sheets at a time) for about 14 - 16 minutes. The Macarons are done when you can just barely separate the cookies from the parchment paper. 
  5. Remove from oven and let the Macarons cool completely on the baking sheet placed on a wire rack. 
Filling:

  1. Place the two egg yolks into a sauce pan
  2. Use a whisk to break it up.
  3. Add the granulated sugar, whisk until combined.
  4. Add Yoghurt and drops of lemon juice and mix.
  5. Place the saucepan on medium heat, cook for a few minutes until a custard consistency.
  6. Take it off the heat and cool it.
  7. Add unsalted butter at room temperature.
  8. Whisk.
  9. Place it into a pastry bag. Chill it in the fridge.
    Assembly of Macarons:
    1. To assemble the Macarons, take two cookies and sandwich them together with your filling (place filling on flat side of cookie). 
    2. Popular choices are a Swiss buttercream frosting, lemon curd, chocolate ganache, jam, or dulce de leche (Caramel). 
    3. While you can serve the Macarons the day they are made, these cookies really need to mature for a day or two in the refrigerator. Best served at room temperature.
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