My Battle with Macarons.........(2) The French Meringue Method with Fresh Egg Whites

After yesterday's attempt in making macarons......and succeeding it, I am indeed very happy, hehe :) However, I realized that this success is only the beginning, as a total success in 'Macaron Making' is not only to have a mac with feet, but the overall form of a macaron has to be standard, in order to have a perfect match when pairing them together, and also to have a perfect texture in and out ....for example, a friend told me that a macaron is supposed to be crispy on the outside (the shell part) and 'chewy but not wet' in the inside. Moreover, the inside should not be 'hollow' as some of mine actually turned out that way yesterday :(

I have been searching and googling the internet for more background stories of Macarons. OK, I admit I'm a bit obsessed with this little 'yo-yo'.........or 'totally' obsessed with it, :P

I realized that a lot of 'experts' out there do fail once in awhile in their macaron baking , even-though they have been baking it like baking a normal cookie.
I also realized that they stick to the method which they find they are comfortable with. I have also come to know there are in fact 3 methods of making macarons :-

1. French method - this method uses raw egg whites (either fresh egg whites or the most recommended 'aged' egg whites) beaten to a peak (French Meringue) and mix into the almond mixture;
2. Spanish method - beaten egg whites, but with higher sugar content, added to the almond mixture;
3. Italian method - this one uses a cooked sugar syrup added into beaten egg whites (Italian Meringue) and then added to almond mixture.

A lot has been said about the above methods, some mentioned that the Italian method promises a more solid shell but a lower feet, while the French method is more straight forward and promises a higher looking feet, however, the shell sometimes can be hollow.......but no matter which method you opt for, the end result still bolts down to the 'macaronage' stage, where the 'folding' technique comes in.

Anyway, I wish to try all the methods if possible to see the end results and to find one that I am comfortable with. However, this 2nd attempt I chose to use back the French method, but instead, I used fresh egg whites instead.....meaning I just cracked open it from the shell and no aging involve, as I also realized that the 'egg white' is also one of the very often talk about caused of a failed macaron.

I used back the same recipe I did yesterday except for the egg whites. 

Well, like what I did yesterday, I piped all the mixtures on 2 trays of lined parchments papers. This time I also did not use my Mastrad Macaron Sheet as it doesn't fit nicely into the oven, I wanted to stick to just parchment paper this time. I let it sit for 30 minutes plus (about 45-50 minutes) for the second tray, as my oven can only fit one tray at a time. Not being very optimistic (as usual when it comes to macaron), I brought a stool and sat right in front of the oven staring into the window, praying for those 'dainty feet' to appear before my eyes (sounded really crazy , I know).

Yes!! during the 8th minute, those pretty little feet slowly and gracefully raised up from their little skirts. Hehe.........I couldn't believe my eyes and like many have said........I was jumpin up and down (ya, again) and was so thrilled that I have succeeded 2 days in a row!!! WooHoo!! Should I head to the nearest 4D outlet and try my luck? kekeke........nah! just kidding :P

So, waited for them to come out of the oven, check on the shells, pretty crispy and solid.......then broke them in half to check the inside, much better than the previous day I would say........not so much emptiness (hollow) this time :)

I promise to myself that I will try to bake macarons more often now, so that I can master it, and also next attempt, I will try with some flavoring in it.......maybe Mocha! I have so many Macs, for once in my life, that I can play with it..........enjoy my pics ya and hope that they will encourage you to whip up a batch too........don't worry too much about failing or having a feetless mac........try it first, to know what Macaron making is about, and you'll figure out the techniques later, trust me!!~

Till then........enjoy!

Happy Macarons Baking!!

You can even make 'Macaron Pop'....aren't they cute?

My Battle with MACARONS ......(1) The French Meringue Method With 'Aged Egg Whites'

"Love it.......or hate it?"....LOL

Macarons! Macarons! Macarons! Are you scare of hearing this word?  or are you furious with it that you have a 'Love Hate' affair with it, and each time you hear its name, it makes you has goosebumps, but yet you wanted so much to make it and hold it in your hands and feel it melting in your mouth? LOL.......

I totally understand how you feel, as I am definitely one of them!! I hate Macarons! I love Macarons! I wish I can make it! I will make it!! Well, that's what I once said to these 'little monsters' and to myself that one day, I will make them without fail! Well, when I look back at my 'one and only' attempt that I had a batch of macarons with feet was way back last year in May, *sigh*...........see how scare I am to ever again face these little shells? hehehe (kidding)

Well, you might be wondering why out of a sudden I was into making macarons again. Actually I suddenly get caught up with this macaron fever when I recently saw quite a number of blogs and websites with really pretty macaron pictures and all sorts of yummy flavors. It really kills me to even think back my failure in making them.......and I make up my mind that I'm definitely not going to let that failure haunt me and leave a scar in my baking history!! Sound serious huh? LOL.....

So I decided it's time to try test them again since I haven't had any orders in line, I can concentrate in experimenting it again and maybe find out why I failed. I bought my icing sugar, ground almond and a tray of fresh eggs (Grade B). I'm sure a lot of you have ever gone through tonnes of tips and testimonials and advice and 'dos and don'ts' of macaron making. Here are some of the important ones......

What others say:-

1. You must use 'aged egg whites' at least 24 hours. Some even encourage you to leave it at the kitchen counter for about 3 days (wow, I wonder salmonella exist in those eggs or not?!);
2. You must leave the piped macarons for at least 30 minutes or more before putting them into the oven to bake so that there will develop a 'shell crust' before the baking;

And this time I used the very basic recipe from Bakerella, the Queen of Cake Pops and courtesy of Tartlette, the 'Queen of Macarons', hehe.

Basic Macarons.....with Easy to follow steps

110gm ground almonds

200gm icing sugar, sifted

90gm 'aged' egg whites

25 - 50gm castor sugar

Food colouring of your choice (powder/gel /paste)

Let's start:-

 

1. Whisk the egg whites in a standing mixer with a 'whisk' attachment at 'high' until foamy, then gradually add in the castor sugar and continue to beat until glossy- stiff peak form.  Once you reach a stiff peak, stop whisking. *Tip: Check on the peak after every 1-2 minutes.    

2. Put the ground almond and sifted icing sugar in a large mixing bowl, and stir to combine them together.

3. Then add your beaten egg whites into the almond mixture. Start to fold the egg whites to combine it together. 

4. Stop folding halfway to add in your food colouring, then continue to fold until all the ingredients are fully blended. To get the 'right consistency' of the mixture, it's not easy, but here's a guide from Bakerella...... " run a knife through the batter and count to 10, the line should disappear by then, and you have reach the right consistency!

5. Now that you have reach the 'magma' consistency, spoon all the mixture into a disposable piping bag with an open tip "O", and pipe onto prepared parchment paper (I piped mine on the macaron baking sheet that i just bought the other day). The size should be small, about 1.5" inches circle in diameter, as it will still spread a bit and stop.

6. Let the macaron sit for about 30 minutes or more (even up to an hour will be fine) before baking. This process is to let the shell crust and raised during baking, and leaves the 'feet' visible at the bottom! (Happy to hear the word 'feet' or are you already started to pray for it to 'please' appear before your eyes? LOL....I prayed very hard for mine to appear, kekeke)

7. Ok, finally , the waiting is over, now it's time to put the baking tray into the oven! Bake the macarons at a pre-heated of 150 degree Celsius for about 18-20 minutes. *Tips: Please monitor your baking time and temperature, as I find that my oven heat up more at 150 ~C and my macarons burned faster , so maybe a 130 / 140~ C would be better the next round. Check yours!

8. Are you sitting in front of the oven like I did? hehe......See the 'feet' appearing? Yes, they did, right about the 7th - 9th minute........"hallelujah"

 

9. Remove from the oven, and let it cool on completely. Slowly remove them from the parchment paper / silicon mate.

10. You are ready to match your macaron pair, and pipe in the fillings of your choice. I filled mine with 'Chocolate Ganache' and put them back into the fridge stored in an air-tight container, as a lot of people says that the macarons taste better on the second day.........true or false? LOL....find out yourself  *wink*

Finally! Some decent Macarons to pose for my photograph, LOL

And so, this is the 1st battle I had with the macarons after a one year 3 months break from the last attempt. I will be making them more often now, as I still have a lot of gaps and holes to fill and fix........I'm not at all satisfy with my macarons, as some of them are hollow in the inside, the base were not smooth and the inside texture was still not really properly baked............ so, bake with me and we can share the experience together!

Happy Macarons Baking!!

 p/s: Stay tuned for more macarons attempts from me....;)

Strawberry Macarons with Strawberry Jam Filling…….my 4th attempt

Hahahaha, do I sound so 'kesian' when you see my post title "4^th attempt"…..LOL …..No joke oh, this is really my 4th attempt in making Macarons, and you wouldn't believe it when I said my last 3 attempts ended up all in the bin, and it was so heart breaking that I didn't even want to take a picture to show anyone, aiyo L
But as I told myself, I would give it another try , the last one, before I call it 'done' for Macaron for good……….and thank goodness, this Labour's Day sure paid off. It's actually quite funny, when I woke up this morning, I just felt that I wanted to make Macarons today, and I think today is 'D' day for Macaron and I just felt that I will succeed this time……hehe, six sense konon oh……..LOL
I followed this recipe and was really keeping my fingers crossed all the way that this time I'm going to make it right…….no more flop please…….
You wouldn't believe me when I told you that I actually stand beside the oven, staring at the Macarons, waiting for the 'feet' to appear before my eyes and praying really hard……….as my last 3 attempts, all of them ended up without feet, and some even so runny that it doesn't stay in shape when I piped it on the baking paper. Hey, guess what……after 7 minutes inside the oven, and my constant staring at the oven.......the feet slowly, but steadily and elegantly appear in front of me, ARGH!!!!! and I was like………"I did it! I did it! My Macarons has feet, finally !!!!" in the kitchen ,and the kids came running into the kitchen........in a state of shock.......and ask me what happened. I think they must have thought that their Mummy has gone insane…….after a series of baking…....hehe, sorry Angels………Mummy is just too happy and couldn't believe her own eyes, haha ^_^

I strongly suggest you guys to schedule a time to bake some Macarons. It's just so lovely and beautiful just looking at it, and the texture, it's very light-weight, sweet………and I actually don't know how to describe it…….but one word…..it's awesome and lovely and definitely satisfied!! ………yeah, I know, though the chances of failing is a bit on the high side, but hey, I would say, it sometimes depend on individual too. I have seen countless blogs where they got it at the very first time, some on the second at least. So, here's wishing you all - Happy Macaron baking……..I have already schedule my next Macaron appointment, LOL^_^

Here is where I got this recipe……check it out! I followed exactly as stated…….no alteration at all :P

Happy Macarons Baking ;)