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 make. 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 your efforts. Luckily I have some key tips to help you create some perfect heart and flower macarons.
Macarons are hard to make but once you know all the tricks and know what to look for then you will be fine. 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.
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 absolutely no wiggle room to play around with quantities or ingredients. If you do so there will be issues.
- Measure every ingredient a few times to be extra sure there is the right amount.
- Make sure the oven is the exact temperature. The one thing you do not want is a brown macaron. It is always nice to check with a handy 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 under mix it them 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.
Design
These macarons are heart and flower shaped. You can easily find a pattern on google images. Just make sure you place the design into a word page to make sure it fits onto a a4 piece of paper which in turn will fit on the tray you pipe the macarons onto.
Print out your design onto a a4 piece of paper that easily fits in the tray you are using.
Use a large baking tray and spray with cooking oil. Place the a4 piece of paper onto the bottom of the tray making sure that is in place. Spray the design with more cooking oil and line the tray with baking paper. Make sure you press down, so the design is clearly visible.
Ingredients
- Decorating
Instructions
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Macarons
- Preheat your oven to 150 degrees Celsius.
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Print out your design onto a a4 piece of paper that easily fits in the tray you are using. Use a large baking tray and spray with cooking oil. Place the a4 piece of paper onto the bottom of the tray making sure that is in place. Spray the design with more cooking oil and line the tray with baking paper. Make sure you press down, so the design is clearly visible.
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In a bowl combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour. Sift it two times, throwing away any large lumps (up to 2 tbs) A fine mixture will help to create a smooth top.
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In a dry and grease free bowl beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the salt and cream of tartar. Once mixed in start to add in the sugar slowly, a spoonful at a time.
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Keep mixing until the meringue thickens.
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Beat until the meringue forms stiff peaks.
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Add in several drops of the food colouring.
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Fold the almond mixture into the meringue. Be careful not to over or under mix. 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 12 tip . It is easier to put the piping bag into a glass to help it stand up. Another trick is to use two clean bobby pins to keep the mixture sealed until you are ready to use it.
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Start with the heart design. Start piping in the top right corner of the heart. Drag the mixture down easing up pressure as you go.
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Do the same thing on the other side. Fill the tray up with hearts. After that is done tap the tray hard in your bench a few times.
- You will notice there will be a few dark spots and 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.
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Moving onto the flower design. This requires the same technique as the hearts. Start by piping a dot into the top petal. Gently bring the mixture off while easing off pressure until it reaches the centre. Then stop piping completely.
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Do this for all of the other petals. Keep going until you have a tray of flowers.
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After that is done tap the tray hard in your bench 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.
- Again, let the macarons sit out at room temperature 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.
- 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. To decorate I decided to cut out a small circle of fondant and placed it into the centre of the flowers. The hearts I kept plain.
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Let them cool and pipe any filling you want onto them. I just used a simple vanilla buttercream that is made by ‘Over The Top’. It is lactose free and available at most baking suppliers.
- Congratulations you have now made adorable and delicious macarons.
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Serve, devour and enjoy.
