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Macaron tips and tricks
Macaron tips and tricks

All Things Macarons

July 13, 2017 Posted by Kyndall @ 6 Cakes & More Recent 16 Comments

This is one of those posts that will be added onto frequently. I believe you can never have enough baking knowledge, especially when it comes to macarons. These little cookies can either make you ridiculously happy, or completely devastated. I know I’ve had my fair share of moments thinking that I would explode if I even heard the word “macaron”. There are so few ingredients in this particular cookie that technique is all it boils down to. Once you get your technique down, then you’ve got it!

Most macaron recipes are very similar. It’s the technique that makes them different. I try to be as descriptive as possible and provide good videos. If you still have questions or concerns, I will be happy to help!

Here’s a link to my recipe and video tutorial for Italian Macarons.

Things I highly suggest owning for macarons:

  • Oven thermometer (a few degrees makes more of a difference than you could imagine)
  • Candy thermometer (for the Italian method)
  • Kitchen scale (I’ve tried weighing ingredients as well as measuring and weighing is the sure way to go)
  • Silpat mat or silicone mat or parchment paper
  • Quality, heavy duty pan (I’ve also heard of people layering 2 regular pans)
  • A Food Processor (I use a Ninja Master Prep)
  • Lots of will power and determination!
         

 

I mention an oven thermometer frequently in my recommendations when baking. Ovens are often calibrated incorrectly. If you want your recipes to bake correctly, you should always use your oven thermometer. I never bake without mine. I use the Italian method, and for this you will need a candy thermometer. I know there are macaron recipes that go by measurements. I’ve never successfully produced a macaron this way. I highly suggest weighing your ingredients out. Silicone mats and parchment paper will yield different “feet” on your macarons. I prefer the silicone mats. This is just my personal preference. You can find heavy duty pans easily that won’t break the bank. These will distribute heat more evenly and if your oven happens to have a “hot spot” it will help combat it. Don’t give up! Take lots of notes and make little adjustments as needed.

Aged egg whites vs Fresh egg whites:

Personally, I’ve never aged my egg whites. I can still produce a proper macaron with good feet and no hollows. I think this advice is a lot like mine. Some people have always aged their egg whites so that’s what they suggest. We usually stick with what works. Not aging them works for me, so that’s what I do.

Boxed egg whites vs Fresh egg whites:

I’ve actually made macarons with both. I can’t say definitively which works best because I was also still working on my technique. I will say that currently I use boxed egg whites. Once I developed the technique and recipe that worked for me, that’s what I was using. Remember, sticking with what works?

French method vs Italian:

I’ve used both. I have never produced a macaron with no hollows using the French method. While the Italian method does require a few extra steps, it’s much more stable of a recipe and method. I highly recommend trying this method first. I know it would have saved me a lot of time and ingredients if I would have started with it first. It looks a little daunting, but it’s very much worth the few extra steps.

Sifting vs Using a food processor:

I’ve done both methods here also. I prefer to put my almond flour and powdered sugar into a food processor, pulse for a few seconds, stir, and then quickly pulse again. This yields the best results for me so I recommend doing it that way.

Silpat (Silicone Baking Mat) vs Parchment Paper:

I’ve used (and still occasionally use) parchment paper. I’m not really a fan of it because I find that my macarons don’t retain their shape well and I have to peel them from the paper after their baked. With my silpat, the shells will pop right off with little to no effort and they keep their shape. I do notice that the “feet” will look differently with the silpat than they do with parchment paper. This doesn’t bother me. As long as they produce feet and aren’t hollow, that’s what I’m looking for. With that being said, if you’re making my Chocolate Italian Macarons, parchment paper is the way to go.

Aging your egg whites vs Not Aging:

To be honest, I’ve never aged my egg whites. More times than not, I use mine still cold. Then again, I also usually use boxed egg whites, which is something a lot of people don’t do. Like I’ve said, these are just things that I do to produce fluffy macarons.

More tips and troubleshooting:

  • Make sure your equipment is clean. If there is any grease or residue in your mixing bowl, your egg whites will not whip up correctly. For this reason I discourage using plastic bowls. Metal or glass is definitely the way to go. You can take a bit of white vinegar or lemon and wipe your bowls out before using. This will wipe away any residue that may be there.
  • After piping your shells, bang your pan on the counter a few times, spin the pan around, and bang a few more times. If any air bubbles remain, you can pop them with a toothpick.
  • Dry your shells 20-30 minutes or until they’re no longer tacky when touched lightly.
  • Let your shells cool on the silpat (or parchment paper) completely before attempting to remove. Once they’ve completely cooled they should pop right off. You can bend the silpat (or parchment paper) away from the macarons to help if they don’t release on their own.
  • The color of your baked macarons will be slightly lighter than the batter. However, be careful not to add too much coloring as this will affect the liquid ratios of the batter. I prefer Wilton gel colors or Americolor for my macarons.
  • I always used bottled water for my sugar syrup. Where I live we have hard water and it always makes my sugar water mixture crystallize. I recommend using bottled water whenever possible.
  • If you find that your shells aren’t drying fast enough (or just taking much longer than they should) you can use a fan to help. Obviously you don’t want turn the fan on high, just a little extra air flow going their way will help dry them.

     

 

Tags: italian macaronsmacaron troubleshootingmacaronsno hollows
16 Comments
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16 Comments

Leave your reply.
  • Sam
    · Reply

    December 12, 2020 at 4:16 PM

    Hi Kyndall,

    tried another Italian macaron recipe a few weeks ago and the macarons looked and tasted great but were hollow. This morning I tried your recipe and NO HOLLOWS (YAY!) but all my macarons cracked.. I tried leaving them to dry for 10, 30, 40, 50 and 1 hour and half.. that didn’t work, I also have a thermometer inside my oven to make sure I’m reaching right temperature. Do you have any idea what could have gone wrong or what else makes macarons to crack?

    • Kyndall @ 6 Cakes & More
      · Reply

      Author
      December 14, 2020 at 1:30 PM

      Hi Sam! If you’re letting them dry and they’re still cracking, definitely try lowering your oven temp (especially if you’re using a convection oven). I hope that helps! πŸ™‚

  • Stephanie
    · Reply

    December 11, 2020 at 5:52 PM

    Hi. Do you do anything different in your recipe while using carton egg whites? (ie. whipping the egg whites longer, etc?)

    I’ve finally been able to get little to no hollows with your recipe and I would love to be able to use carton egg whites to save myself from having to crack so many eggs.

    • Kyndall @ 6 Cakes & More
      · Reply

      Author
      December 12, 2020 at 8:32 AM

      Hi Stephanie! I don’t do anything different. I don’t use the carton whites with the French method, only Italian. Make sure all your equipment is clean and free of any residues especially when using the carton whites. Also, adding 1/4-1/2 tsp of cream of tartar will help! πŸ™‚

  • Caroline
    · Reply

    May 21, 2020 at 1:00 AM

    Dear Kyndall,

    Yes, I have an oven thermometer. It was reading at 150 degree celcius. I had baked at this temperature before, it gave me nice feet. Now, the feet will rise upwards and lift up from the silicon mat like the mat has lost its stickiness. Then the feet went outwards a little. Inside was still a little sticky. But no hollow. So when I bite it, it’s a soft bite.

    • Kyndall @ 6 Cakes & More
      · Reply

      Author
      May 21, 2020 at 10:49 AM

      Ok. I’d try wiping your mats down with a bit of vinegar as well. πŸ™‚

  • Caroline
    · Reply

    February 26, 2020 at 6:02 PM

    Hello!

    My oven is a small one that can only only hold up to 37cm in length of the baking tray. I use convection baking mode and I place my rack in the middle. My oven tend to have a variance of 10 degree difference. It could never reached the temperature that I wanted after my 3rd batch of baking.
    I tried baking at 140 degree celcius , but oven thermometer reads as 130. Baked at 20minutes and inside is still not cooked. I set at 150DC, my oven thermometer reached 140DC after 8-10 minutes. Baked for 18 minutes, colour is not fresh, yellowish tone and inside is fully baked but have hollow. I set at 160DC to achieve 150DC and baked for 14mins. It turn out fully baked and no hollows. Colour still oxidised.

    I have used a baking tray to over the top . Colour is slightly better. But still yellowish and blotchy. My oven does not have a preheat mode. I had to set my oven to 1 hour baking time so that I can find the right temperature to put in. The moment I saw that the temperature hit 150, I put in immediately and set my own timer for 14 minutes. After when my 1 hour is up, i tried to set another 1 hour to bake for my next few batches, i can never reach the same 150DC again. I had to set to 180DC and wait for a Long time for it to reach 150 – 160 DC to bake. This can cause my macaron to be over baked or cause my macaron to be darker.

    Kindly advise. I feel like throwing away my 2 year old oven.

    • Kyndall @ 6 Cakes & More
      · Reply

      Author
      February 27, 2020 at 7:31 AM

      Hi Caroline! I’m so sorry to hear that. Unfortunately without being able to bake at a consistent time and temperature, there’s not really a way to make them work out. 150DC is the temp you should be using. The color oxidizing has more to do with the brand of coloring you’re using than the oven or temperature. I prefer using Americolor. Having the correct oven temp will make the difference between full and hollow macarons, as well as things like the browning, fragile tops, wrinkly shells, and many other problems. I’m sorry that I don’t have a better answer for you.

      • Caroline
        · Reply

        March 2, 2020 at 5:44 AM

        Hi Kyndall,

        I guess I will just have to see it turn 150DC and just put it in the oven. Sometimes i have to increase to higher temperature just to reach 150dc. it will move plus minus 5dc in the midst of my baking. good thing is that i finally get no hollows. I got my crunchy top and my chewy centre. When i put my macarons with Swiss meringue cream in the fridge, they harden. So when I take them out to eat, the top is hard and the middle is chewy hard.. Is it normal? I bought the famous macaron that uses garnache as the cream base, i left it outdoor for more that 6 hours and then i put back in the fridge, the macarons are still soft and have that top crunch. So ever ready to eat. So where did mine go wrong?

        • Kyndall @ 6 Cakes & More
          · Reply

          Author
          March 2, 2020 at 7:23 AM

          Hi Caroline! Macarons are best eaten at room temperature. You can absolutely store them in the fridge or freezer, but they should be brought back to room temp before eating. I don’t think you went wrong anywhere as that’s pretty much the general rule with macarons. πŸ™‚ I hope that helps. Don’t give up and stay creative! These are finicky cookies but once you get all the kinks out for your oven and environment they stay pretty consistent. You got this!

          • Caroline

            May 20, 2020 at 5:28 AM

            Hello Kydall,

            I have been baking at 150 degre celcius and 14mins. Seems like my inside shells are still sticky. I dun not understand why my macarons when baking, it rose nicely, then after that,it got a lot of air pockets, then my macaron shells started to lift off from my silicon mat leaving only the middle part of the macaron in tact with the silicon mat. It is as if something is blowing my macaron shells from all sides except the middle. Is there something wrong with my silicon mat? I had us them to bake cookies and I had washed them throughly until there is no more oil.

            My end product of macaron is the feet spread out and inside sticky. The shape of the macaron shells is nice with no hollow. But inside not dry but sticky, chewy when bitten. Do yo think my spread out feet is due to too much air in my macaron shells?

          • Kyndall @ 6 Cakes & More

            Author
            May 20, 2020 at 12:02 PM

            Hi Caroline! Are you using an oven thermometer? If your feet are spreading outwards during baking then it sounds like your heat is too high. I’ve done a few macaron troubleshooting posts that can help as well πŸ™‚ You can find them here (clickable link) –> Community Questions

  • Elizabeth Harvey
    · Reply

    January 5, 2020 at 6:30 PM

    Just confirming that you have used boxed egg whites? By this do you mean the frozen pasteurised egg whites that you can buy in the freezer section of the supermarket?

    • Kyndall @ 6 Cakes & More
      · Reply

      Author
      January 6, 2020 at 7:22 AM

      Hello again! You can used fresh or boxed for the Italian macarons. I buy them in liquid form in the dairy section. Just make sure they real egg whites with no additives or you’ll have problems with them. πŸ™‚

  • Monette
    · Reply

    May 22, 2019 at 4:53 AM

    Do you use convection oven?

    • Kyndall @ 6 Cakes & More
      · Reply

      Author
      May 24, 2019 at 8:25 AM

      Hi Monette! More often than not I use my residential conventional oven. I do own a small countertop convection oven, but I don’t use it often because I can’t make a lot in it. Thanks πŸ™‚

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