Yields:
24 Servings
Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 2 Hr
Cook Time:
12 Mins
Total Time:
2 Hr 12 Mins
Welcome back to another delicious lactose free recipe. For this weeks recipe we are kicking off Halloween season with these bright spooky macarons.
Macarons are one biscuit that I have a love-hate relationship with. On one hand they are so cute and delicious, and on the other hand they are a huge pain to bake. You may think you have made the perfect batch until you take them out of the oven and a horrible monstrosity is staring back at you taunting all your efforts. Lucky for you I know some key tips to help you create some perfect macarons.
As always, I have tested this recipe many times and found it to be successful providing you keep to the recipe. Seriously, please keep to the recipe. This recipe is lactose free providing you use the right ingredients.
To decorate I have used my go to buttercream icing by ‘Over the Top’. It is a fantastic dairy free icing that is easy to work with. You can find this brand at various baking suppliers.
I have researched and found a lot of tips in order to perfect the perfect macaron so hopefully you don’t make the same mistakes I have made.
- Make sure the egg whites are room temperature before you start the meringue.
- Follow the recipe exactly. There is very little wiggle room to play around with quantities or ingredients. If you do so there will be issues.
- When you separate the yolks from the whites make sure there is not a single speck of yolk in the whites or the whites will not whip up properly.
- Place the egg whites in a clean, dry bowl. If there is any grease or water residue in the bowl the whites will not whip.
- Whip the meringue to stiff peaks NOT soft peaks. As soon as you reach stiff peaks stop whipping. A over whipped meringue will ruin the cookies.
- Measure every ingredient a few times to be extra sure there is the right amount.
- Make sure the oven is the correct temperature. The one thing you do not want is a brown macaron. You can check if your oven is accurate with an oven thermometer.
- Over mixing and under mixing. When mixing in the almond and icing mixture it is important to make sure it is mixed just enough. If you undermix it then the macaroons will be cracked and lumpy. Overmix and the macaroons will be flat with no feet. The perfect spot is when you can pick up a spoon of the mixture and drag it into a perfect figure eight position. If it breaks, then it is not mixed enough. Do not go crazy and beat the mixture to death. If that happens the meringue will collapse, and the mixture will become very runny.
- To achieve a smooth top make sure you sift and blitz the icing sugar and almond meal in a processor. The mixture must be fine, any lumps will show on the top of the cookie.
- Let the cookies sit on a tray for at least 30 minutes before you put them in the oven. After the 30 minutes are up gently press on the top of a cookie, you should feel a thin film on top and it won’t be sticky.
- Use food gel not liquid for colouring.
- If you want to add sprinkles test them out first by making one cookie. I learnt this the hard way. I had made a perfect batch of macarons and I ruined half of them by placing a heart sprinkle on top. The sprinkles melted and I was left with macarons that had giant holes in them.
- Use a silicon mat or a template to help keep the cookies even.
- After piping. Tap the trays on the bench a few times. Bubbles will appear. Use a sharp knife or skewer to break them.
- After baking leave the macarons to cool down before attempting to remove them. Remember even after baking they are very delicate.
Ingredients
Adjust Servings
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Macarons
- Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 150 degrees Celsius (300f). Grab two baking trays and baking paper.
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In a bowl combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour. Sift it two times.
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Throw away any large lumps. A fine mixture will help to create a smooth top. You can discard a tablespoon of lumps, anymore and it will compromise the mixture.
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In a dry and grease free bowl beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the salt and cream of tartar. Add in the sugar a spoonful at a time.
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Beat until the meringue forms stiff peaks.
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Add in the black gel food colouring. Whip for a small amount or time until the colouring is mixed in. Grab a small spoon of the meringue. Dab some of the meringue into each corner of your baking trays. Place the baking paper on top. This helps the paper stick to the tray so that it won’t move during piping.
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To check to see if your meringue is at stiff peaks simply hold the beater up. If the meringue says straight, it is at stiff peaks. If it bows, then it is at soft peaks and needs to be whipped longer.
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Gently fold half of the almond mixture into the meringue.
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Fold in the remaining half of the almond mixture. Be careful not to over or under mix.
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You want to be able to take a spoon of the mixture and swirl it into a figure eight pattern without breaking.
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Transfer into a piping bag fitted with a round Ateco 6 piping tip or equivalent. It is easier to put the piping bag into a glass to help it stand up. Another trick is to use a clean bobby pin above the piping tip to keep the mixture sealed until you are ready to use it.
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Start in one corner of the baking tray. Pipe small circles. Make sure to keep a gap in between them. Fill up the trays with the macarons.
- Gently tap each tray on your work surface a few times. You will notice there will be a few air bubbles. Get a skewer and swirl it around to break and fill in the bubbles.
- Let them sit out for 30 minutes at least. They need to dry out a little bit and become tacky to the touch. It should not stick to your fingers. If they do stick, then they need to be left out for longer. This is a really important step. They must have the tacky non sticky top, or they will not form the iconic macaron feet.
- The weather will affect how long this takes. On a warm sunny day, it can take 30 minutes. On a rainy cold day, it can take up to 3 hours, which sadly I know from experience.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes depending on the size. Touch the top of the macarons. If you have made them successfully, they will have developed feet. When you touch the top, they should not move around on the feet, and they should sound hollow.
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Let the macarons cool down and transfer onto a clean tray. Turn half over.
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To decorate grab three small bowls. Add several tablespoons of icing to each. Colour one bowl green, one purple and the last one orange. Mix well.
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Roll out a piece of cling wrap. Make sure both sides and weighed down with something. Spoon out a thin line of each colour.
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Roll the icing up in the clingwrap so you can see all three colours. Make sure the end is open so the colours can come through.
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Cut the end off a large piping bag and fit with a Wilton 1M piping tip or equivalent. Place the icing into the piping bag. Squeeze so the icing comes out of the clingwrap and into the piping bag and you can see all the colours. Do a few test pipes until you can see all the colours clearly when you pipe.
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Grab the macarons. Pipe little swirls onto the overturned macarons.
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Place a macaron on top.
- Congratulations you have made delicious lactose free Halloween macarons.
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Serve, devour and enjoy.
