Macarons aids

A delicious ganache with a fruity center or a delicate buttercream between two crispy, perfectly formed shells - macarons delight with their wonderful taste and elegant appearance. This originally French pastry, known for its high quality, is now available in numerous variations all over the world. In addition to their reputation as a particularly elegant gift, these little treats are also known for their elaborate preparation. In fact, you need a good recipe, the right tools and ingredients, a little skill and often a pinch of luck when it comes to the environmental conditions. But with these prerequisites, any amateur baker and pastry chef can create wonderful macarons.

Tips and tricks - How can you make delicious macarons?

As already mentioned, creating perfect macarons is a fulfilling but not entirely undemanding task. However, with a little practice, the right recipe and the right tools, even this can be achieved. Although there are hundreds of different recipes, the basic ingredients are almost always the same. Classic macaron shells consist primarily of very fine almond flour, powdered sugar or a sugar syrup, a little baking powder and very stiffly beaten egg whites. The shells can be modified with flavoring, cocoa nibs, food coloring or different types of nut flour; vegan versions often use aquafaba as an egg white substitute. The choice of the best recipe depends on the success of the production process, of course, but also on your own preferences.

If you would like to learn our in-house recipe, we would be delighted to welcome you to our macaron course. The entire process, including the correct piping technique, the use of various additives such as colors and flavors and the production of several delicious fillings will be practiced and demonstrated. You will benefit a great deal from the course, as you can always learn from an expert. Professional confectioners, chocolatiers and bakers teach the right techniques and are on hand with help and advice on all our courses. Even more sophisticated creations such as macarons are easy to make with this introduction, you can ask all your questions directly and are then able to make the delicacies in your own kitchen. In our store right next to the course location, you will also always receive expert advice on all our products.

Making the macaron shells

Flavoring, dry ingredients and food coloring can be used to give the basic dough that certain something. However, this should hardly change the consistency. Liquid or powdered food coloring and a lot of flavoring would result in a dough that is too dry or runs. Therefore, only use pastes and gels to color the meringue and add the flavoring carefully.

There are a few small things to bear in mind during production if you want the shells to be perfect. If you have trouble separating eggs cleanly, we recommend using an egg separator, as you really need pure egg whites. The egg whites should always be beaten until stiff in a completely fat-free bowl. Fat from the bowl or the egg yolk would prevent the egg whites from becoming completely firm. We recommend using stainless steel bowls, as these are easier to get completely clean. We also recommend using a hand mixer or food processor on a medium speed. It is almost impossible to achieve the desired result with a whisk or similar appliance. If you are working with a syrup made from sugar and water, a sugar thermometer will help you to get the perfect temperature for a nice stiff beaten egg white. Almond flour and, if necessary, powdered sugar must also be sieved very finely. If the granules are too coarse, they will be clearly visible on the surface and lumps will have a negative effect on the consistency. Therefore, sieve the whole thing very finely first. You should not stir the mixture too firmly, otherwise the air in the mixture will be lost and the dough will collapse. The dosage of baking powder can also be a little tricky. Too little leads to a flat shell with no cavity, while too much turns the shells into a mini volcano during baking, which cracks open at the top and allows the air to escape. Here you need to train your eye to recognize the optimum knife point, or you can use a precision or fine scale. These can also weigh very small quantities precisely. If a minimum weight is required for full precision, only a few grams of powdered sugar can be added. This makes the measurement for the baking powder very accurate.

Dressing on a silicone baking mat

Then prepare a disposable or reusable piping bag with a 10 mm nozzle. Fold over the top edge and place the bag in a liter measure or piping bag holder. This makes it easier to fill the bag and scrape out the dough bowl with the rubber scraper. The edge is then folded up again and twisted in so that the mixture no longer leaks out.

You can now place your silicone mat on a wire rack or a normal or perforated baking tray. When it comes to silicone baking mats, you can choose between variants with grooved edges and flat silicone mats with a pre-drawn pattern. The former are particularly suitable for beginners, but of course also serve professionals very well. Their big advantage is that the dough only melts up to the edge. The macarons are therefore perfectly round and always the same size. Alternatively, you can also use baking paper. It is best to place a piece of paper with printed circles underneath for piping and remove it from the tray before baking.

Always make sure to hold the piping bag vertically. The opening should hover 1 cm above the mat throughout, then pipe a nice shell with even pressure. The piping nozzle ensures that the shape is even all around. For the small version, the mixture does not quite reach the first ring, for large shells it goes slightly beyond this. Once this is achieved, the pressure on the bag is released and the nozzle is removed from the dough with a short, circular hand movement. If the dough is a little tight at the end, it can easily be pushed down in the flat piping bag with a dough spike so that the entire baking mat can be filled. The mat with all the ready-dressed dumplings is then either lifted directly at the corners or tapped on the table several times with a little vigor using the baking tray or rack. This allows the mixture to spread evenly, fills the grooves perfectly and the surface is nice and smooth. On baking mats without a border, they should all run the same amount and still be the same size.

Finishing the macaron shells

If desired, you can now sprinkle some decorations on half of the bowls; suitable ingredients can be found in the corresponding category. The bowls should then be left to dry for about an hour, or longer if the humidity is high. After this time, you should be able to run your finger over them without the dough sticking. If this is not yet the case, you can simply leave them to rest a little longer or put them in a drier place. Refer to the recipe for the optimum oven setting, temperature and baking time. In pastry shops, the shells are placed in an oven whose middle section is constantly rotating. This makes them perfectly even. Unfortunately, this function is not available in your own oven, so you have to try it out. In some ovens, baking works without any problems, in others the macaron shells benefit from being turned once. In any case, you can first preheat the oven according to the macaron recipe with convection or top/bottom heat. If everything works perfectly, you can take the crispy shells out of the oven with nice little feet and without cracks or large air bubbles and set them aside to cool.

Fillings

There is also a huge variety of delicious recipes for fillings. Traditionally, flavored and often colored buttercream is used. Chocolate ganache can also be used as a filling. In both cases, the center can be filled or left empty and then filled with fruit jelly or similar. This adds a little extra freshness to the crispy almond macarons. Get creative and try different combinations. Jam, curd or caramel can also be used as a sweet center.

Prepare another piping bag to pipe the filling. This time it should be a disposable piping bag, as the piped mixture will not be baked again before eating. Use a 5 or 8 mm round nozzle, depending on the size of the macaron shells. Then fill in the buttercream or ganache and pipe either as a continuous surface or as a ring along the edge. A small spoon, a cornet with a large hole or a small piping bag is sufficient to pipe jam with pieces in the middle. A dropper bottle or plastic bottle can be used for jelly, caramel and other fillings that are very flowable and later become a little firmer. These are perfect as you can add small quantities in a very targeted manner. The bottle can also simply be put away from time to time without anything leaking out. If there is still some left over at the end, you can leave the mixture in the bottle and use it as a practical jam dispenser for your breakfast rolls or to decorate your next cake with fine caramel strips.

Then place a second, decorated bowl on top of the macaron as a lid. They are then ready to be served or packaged as a gift or souvenir. There is very practical packaging in the online store that is ideal for macarons. The treats are at their best 1 to 2 days after making, but they still taste heavenly even after that. If you are transporting them, we recommend a cool bag on hot summer days, especially if they are filled with buttercream. Then nothing can go wrong, so give it a try and create your own macarons!