Recipe review: mastering macarons

Macarons have been the most intimidating thing on my to-bake list for a while. Everyone I have asked about making them has cautioned me of the difficulty — and horror — of preparing the tiny delicious dessert sandwiches.

For some reason, one particularly stressful afternoon I decided to do what I normally do in stressful situations: take a break to cook/bake. I also decided to suck it up and spend some extra money ($5 on a food scale and $7 on a candy thermometer, not to mention almond flour) and I went about tackling a reliable-looking Pinterest recipe. (Insert the “dun dun duuuuun” here.)

If you haven’t already heard, I will be the first to say they take a lot — a lot of tools, specific ingredients and patience. Oh, so much patience. I was terrified of them not turning out, but to my surprise, they did. I’m already crafting my next macaron experiment. I think if you’re up for a challenge and own or have access to a standing mixer (I don’t, so it was extra tricky.) then go for it.

Skill level: Expert

Tastiness: 10/10

Yields: About 2 dozen sandwich cookies

Ingredients

212 grams almond meal
212 grams confectioner’s sugar
82 and 90 grams egg whites, divided
236 grams granulated sugar, plus a pinch
158 grams water

(A food scale is necessary. Ingredients must be exact or they will not turn out.)

Buttercream or ganache for filling — I included the strawberry buttercream filling I used following the macaron recipe.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the middle of the oven. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine the almond meal and confectioners’ sugar. Whisk together to blend and break up any clumps. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in 82 grams of egg whites. Blend into the dry ingredients until evenly mixed. The mixture will be thick and paste-like.

Meanwhile, combine the sugar and water for the syrup in a small saucepan over medium-high heat with a candy thermometer clipped to the side. When the temperature is around 200 degrees, combine the 90-gram portion of egg whites with a pinch of sugar. Begin whipping on medium-low speed. Continue whipping the whites on medium speed until they form soft peaks. If soft peaks are achieved before the syrup reaches the target temperature, reduce the speed to low to keep the whites moving.

Once the syrup reaches 248 degrees, immediately remove it from the heat. Increase the mixer speed to medium and pour the syrup down the side of the bowl in a slow drizzle until fully incorporated. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and whip the meringue until stiff, glossy peaks form. (If you are going to add color to the macaron shells, this is the time to do so. Gel or powdered food colors should be used.)

Add one-third of the meringue mixture to the bowl with the almond mixture. Fold in gently until the mixture is smooth. A bit at a time, gently fold in the remaining meringue until the batter is smooth and runs in thick ribbons off of the spatula. You may not need all of the meringue, so add it gradually. (I typically use most but not all of it.) Add the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a plain round tip with about a half-inch opening. Hold the bag perpendicular to the baking sheet about a half-inch above the surface of the pan. Steadily pipe rounds about 1 ¼ to 1 ½-inches in diameter. The batter may create small peaks immediately after piping, but if it is the correct texture, these will smooth themselves away after a minute or two. If the batter is too stiff, the peaks will remain and the tops of the shells may not be totally smooth. If the batter is too thin, the rounds will spread further.

Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 325 degrees. Bake for 9-12 minutes, until the tops are smooth and set and “feet” have formed around the bottom. Let the shells cool just briefly on the baking sheet, maybe five minutes or so, and then peel away from the parchment. They should come away easily and fully intact. Transfer to a cooling rack. Repeat as needed with the remaining batter, replacing the parchment paper with each batch. (Bring the oven temperature back up to 350 degrees before baking a second sheet, and proceed as before.) Once the shells are baked and cooled, match them up in pairs by size and sandwich with the filling of your choice. Store in an airtight container.

Now for the easy part, prepping the buttercream:

1 heaping cup diced strawberries

1 cup butter, softened

3 ½ cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Place the strawberries in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Use a sieve to strain out the seeds and place the strawberry puree in a small pan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and stirring frequently, cook until it reduces by half. Remove from the heat and cool completely.
2. Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add 1 cup powdered sugar and the vanilla and beat on low until combined. Add in ⅓ of the strawberry puree and beat to combine, followed by 1 more cup of powdered sugar. Repeat with another ⅓ of the puree and 1 cup of powdered sugar. Add in the remaining ⅓ of the strawberry puree, beating until combined, and then the remaining ½ cup of powdered sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Add a few drops of red food coloring if desired to enhance the color.

Good luck on this adventure. If your macarons totally fail, the buttercream also tastes great on cupcakes.

I adapted recipes from annie-eats.com and tasteandtellblog.com

— Mikayla Kapp is a sophomore majoring in graphic design. Her least favorite things to bake are Cake Pops. Email her at mikaylakapp@gmail.com.