Macarons have a reputation for being almost impossible to make yourself, but I promise
with this recipe you’ll nail it.
Welcome to recipes by Carina where I show you how to make classic and simply delicious
recipes, make sure to subscribe for a new video each week.
To start off our macarons we’ll need a medium sized mixing bowl.
Pour into that bowl 3/4 of a cup of ground almonds, almond meal or almond flour.
These most of the time are exactly the same thing.
More specifically you want blanched almonds - it will be a pale yellow shade instead of
deeper colour - which means the skins have been removed.
You can ground whole almonds if you would like for this recipe, but I always have ground
almonds on hand for baking
If you would like the full recipe for these Macarons it will be on my website as well
as the full measurements in the description box below.
I’ll also have a link for the equipment you’ll need for this recipe including my
favourite piping bags and the piping tips for macarons.
You’re also going to need 1 cup or 125g of icing sugar, powdered sugar, or confectioners
sugar.
These are all the same thing, just again different names.
You’ll notice I give the ingredient measures in metric and imperial - grams cup and ounces
- because I know everyone uses a different way of measuring.
Here is the first tip I have for you when making Macarons - you need to add the sugar
and ground almonds to a food processor.
This as well as removing clumps will ground down any large pieces of almond or skin that
may have made it’s way into the bag, it’s also a super easy way of mixing the dry ingredients
together.
If you don’t have a food processor and you want to make macarons I would strongly advise
you to get one, mini ones work perfectly, they’re not too pricy and so versatile for
making sauces, emulsions, and just finely chopping things.
If you don’t want to get one the other option is using a finely meshed sieve, but you stay
may run into problems not getting the right texture with this.
Pulse the machine a few times, just enough until you can see the sugar and almonds are
combined.
Remove the lid and pour the ingredients back into the bowl.
Set it to the side while we prep the egg whites.
One great thing about macarons is they’re naturally gluten free and you can also easily
make a dairy free filling.
So if you’re looking for something that can fill those two food restrictions macarons
are always a favourite choice.
In two bowl divid 2 whole eggs, placing the yolks into one and the egg whites into another.
I find it easiest to switch the egg between the two sides of the shell to divide it but
if your not to great at this crack each egg into the larger bowl then simply scoop out
the eggs yolks with your hands.
As long as your gentle they shouldn’t break apart.
Alternatively you can use an egg separator, they are a tonne of different ones but they
do work well.
Cover your egg yolks and place them into the fridge to use later - either add them to scrambled
eggs or you can lemon curd which is a perfect filling for macarons.
Pour your egg whites into a large bowl if your using a hand mixer or the bowl of you
stand mixer.
Making a meringue by hand is very difficult and time consuming so I would recommend to
use some kind of machine for this.
Start to beat the egg whites on medium or hight speed until they get frothy - usually
about 30 seconds or so.
Add a large pinch of salt, about 1/2 teaspoons worth to the egg whites on continue to beat
on a high speed until they become opaque - basically until you can no longer see through them.
We’re going to make a meringue here a mixture of egg whites and sugar whipped together.
Measure out 1/4 cup or 50g of white granulated sugar.
While your mixer is still on high speed slowly start to sprinkle in the sugar, we don’t
want to add it all at once as this can cause the egg whites to collapse.
As the sugar is incorporated you should start to see the egg whites becoming whiter, fluffier
and shinier - these are all great signs.
After a few minutes when your meringue is at the soft peak stage, this means when you
remove the beater from the egg whites, a peak forms but the tip falls back down, add your
flavourings and colours.
For this recipe I’m sharing with you how to make strawberry macarons but you could
easily change that to lemon, orange, almond, mint or anything else.
I’m adding a teaspoon of strawberry essence and a few drops of red food colouring.
Important tip with colouring is stick to gels, these are stronger in colour, don’t fade
while baking and won’t change the consistency.
Beat again on high speed for 2-4 minutes until your meringue is at the stiff peak stage.
The peak should form when removing the beater but the tip shouldn’t fall down.
Also you should be able to tip the bowl on top of your head or just upside down without
anything falling out.
Now is the important part - the macaronage which is incorporating the dry ingredients
into the egg whites perfectly to make macarons.
Sounds so simple but this is probably the most important part of making macarons and
where most get it wrong.
Start by adding about a third or half of your egg whites to the dry ingredients and mix
to incorporate.
You don’t need to be too gentle here as we actually want to beat some of that air
out of the egg whites.
Just make sure you’re mixing everything evenly.
When you’ve incorporated the egg white add the remaining and continue mixing.
Getting all the dry bits at the bottom of the bowl and on the sides.
You’ll notice at this point the mixture is quite thick.
What we’re trying to do here is continue mixing, removing air from the egg whites.
This causes the consistency of the batter to thin down - the hard part is getting it
perfect.
Over mix and you’ll need to start again.
Check the consistency every 3-4 mixes, you’ll see here when falling of the spoon it kind
of comes down in clumps.
This is too thick - we want it to mimic that classic flowing lava - but what does that
actually mean?
Flowing lava isn’t a great way of describing something as most of us don’t know exactly
what that looks like.
But let me show you.
You want to be able to make figure eights with the mixture.
You want it to slowly flow off the spoon but not break apart.
This needs the smallest amount more mixing as the it keep breaking.
A few more mixes and it’s perfect.
The only way your going to get your macarons perfect is by making them a few times, I’ve
had my fair share of failed batches.
Have this video open when your doing the final mix and check the consistencies match up,
that’s my best advice for you.
Scoop your macaron batter into a piping bag, fitted with a round tip - I’m using a wilton
number 12 tip but anything thats about a 1/4 inch or half a centimetre will work.
Pipe your macarons onto a lined baking sheet, it’s important not to use any grease with
these.
To stop the macarons moving around on the tray, pipe a dot onto each corner to stick
the paper down.
There’s fancy sheets you can buy that have pre drawn circles to get your macarons even,
of course you can use these but it’s pretty easy to get them right without.
Pipe your macarons in lines, about 2 to 3 centimetres or and inch apart.
You want them to be about the same in diameter 2-3 centimetres or an inch as they will spread.
Pipe straight down to get an even circle, when it gets to the right size stop piping
and quickly pull up.
There will be a small tip on the macaron but this will fall down as they settle.
Next important tip when making macarons is to tap the tray, don’t forget this step.
Rap it on the work surface about 5 times, this helps remove any air bubbles as well
as spreads the macarons.
Let them rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes or until you can touch the tops
without it sticking, this means it has formed a skin.
Skip this step and your macarons are far more likely to split at the top and not have perfect
feet.
Place your macarons in the centre of a preheated 150 degree celsius or 300 degree Fahrenheit
oven for 15 minutes and don’t open the door during this time.
Let them cool completely before filling, they should peel easily off the baking sheet.
There are many different fillings you can choose for your macarons depending on what
flavour they are, buttercream, ganache, lemon curd, or even a fruit preserve.
I’m sharing with you how to make a simple and easy vanilla buttercream which will pair
perfectly with these strawberry macarons.
In a large bowl if you are using a hand mixer or the bowl of your stand mixer add half a
cup of 110g of room temperature butter.
With your mixing on high, beat the butter for about 5 minutes or until it has doubled
in volume and is much paler in colour.
Add your powdered sugar in thirds, you’ll need 1 and half cups or 190g, and beat well
until it is fully incorporated.
Lastly add about 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and beat for another few minutes.
Pipe about a tablespoons worth of buttercream or any other filling you have decided to use
onto your half of your macarons and top with the second half, pressing down to until the
buttercream comes to the edge.
These are best the day after you make them, but there are no rules so enjoy them immediately.
Please let me know of any other flavours you would like a recipe of in the comments below
and remember to subscribe for new recipes every week.
Thank you for watching and I will see you in my next video.