... Well maybe not perfect, but it will impress your friends and taste super!
I've tried a few different recipes, and there is conflicting advice out there on the best methods to use.
Even Jade (Mr Cupcake) is rather fond of these despite his not-very-sweet tooth.
I think a good macaroon has three textures (the hard macaroon shell, the soft squidgy macaroon inner, and the soft creamy filling); a flavour that is rich and full but not too sweet; and an appearance which is consistent in terms of size and shape with a smooth, flat surface and a rough 'foot' on the base that gives them a little height.
180g ground almonds
200 g icing sugar
30g cocoa powder
*note: if making a different flavour, use 200g of ground almonds and leave out the cocoa)
Italian meringue:
200g caster sugar
75ml water
2 x 80g egg whites*
*Measure out the egg whites to get 160g (usually about 4 egg whites). You will use this in two separate stages, hence, 2 x 80g.
Chocolate buttercream:
125g unsalted butter
75g icing sugar
50g dark chocolate - I used Lindt 70%
Just to make things confusing, the 'tant pour tant' in chocolate macaroons is not actually equal quantities at all, as you can see in the recipe quantities, but is still called 'tant pour tant'. Got that? :-)
This needs to be whizzed in the food processor and then sieved. The double-combining and sifting is necessary to get a really smooth texture. If you don't do it, your macaroon tops will be lumpy and there's nothing worse than a lumpy macaroon top, as we all know.
Leave this to one side while you make the meringue.
While you are doing this, beat the other half of the egg whites (80g) to stiff peak while keeping your eye on the syrup. Multi tasking!!
You can tell by the look of the syrup what stage it's at. If it is boiling hard and looks as thin as water, it's not ready. When you see the consistency start to change, watch carefully. It gets more syrupy, and the boiling bubbles look glossy and sticky and slower to burst and re-form. Take it off the heat when it gets like this because it can quickly go past soft ball and into the cracking stages of caramelisation - if it starts to colour, for instance, it's gone too far into the caramel stage and you need to start again.
OK so you have taken your syrup off the heat and your egg whites are all whipped up to great heights. Now pour the syrup in a thin stream onto the egg whites, beating all the time. This is a bit counter intuitive to me because I thought the heat of the syrup would cook the eggs and make them scramble, but it doesn't! Magic! Instead, you end up with a luscious glossy smooth meringue, above.
Keep beating until the meringue cools slightly (and beware if you are using a metal bowl the syrup will heat up the bowl, the benchtop, your implements, etc).
One of the benefits of Italian meringue as opposed to French (uncooked) meringue is that its greater stability means it is not as susceptible to 'sinking' when stirred. This means you can stir and combine this mixture thoroughly without fear of destroying its lightness.
I use disposable piping bags from the supermarket. Life is too short to wash out and re-use a piping bag.
I have a sneaky way of filling my piping bag, I sit it inside a large china mug (see pic), this makes it 'stand up' while being filled and makes it a much tidier procedure than trying to stuff it like a dead turkey when it's lying on its side.
Try to be consistent with size: it really helps when you come to sandwiching and filling the cooked macaroons.
There's a bit of magic to a piping bag, it gets easier with practice and it's really worth the effort it takes to learn.
If your piped rounds have obvious peaks on them (like in the one at the bottom of this pic) you can dip your finger in water and gently push the peak down again. The water prevents the mixture sticking to your finger.
Preheat the oven to 150C while they're sitting.
When they've half an hour to sit and think about themselves, put them in the oven for exactly 14 minutes.
When you come to take them out, lift the whole sheet of baking paper off the tray and slide it onto a wet benchtop - this stops them cooking and makes it easier to get them off the baking paper.
After a few minutes remove them from the paper with
a spatula and put them on a baking rack to cool while you make the buttercream filling.
Use an electric beater to beat butter with icing sugar -easier if the butter is at room temperature.
You will end up with a smooth velvety mix, about the consistency of mascarpone - see pic.
Use a small spatula or a knife to spread this buttercream onto the base of a macaroon, then press another macaroon base onto it to create a 'sandwich'.
Repeat until you have completed all your macaroons.
Store macaroons in the fridge in a sealed container - they keep better, and taste better, cold.
When things go wrong... FAQs
They can crack on the top or bubble up from the inside like a volcano. Pic on the left shows a couple of monsters from a recent batch.
They can fail to rise and just be really flat and kind of wrinkly on top like a balding old man. Pic on the right shows you what I like to call the 'flabby skin' look.
Or they can be too puffy and rough and inconsistent in size and texture.
These are classic examples of what happens if you reckon you don't need a piping bag to form circles on the tray - because you're so neat at doing that with a teaspoon :-/
Why did my macaroons crack on top?
You may not have rested them long enough before baking. Resting for half an hour before baking causes them to form a skin on top, which protects them against cracking.
Why didn't a crust or 'foot' form on the base of my macaroons?
You may not have rested them for long enough (see above). You may have over-beaten the mixture, causing it to have little air in it and consequently it didn't rise when baking (this happens more when you use an uncooked or French meringue). Try the Italian meringue method shown above and you may find this problem goes away.
Why are my macaroons all bumpy and rough on top?
You may not have ground or sieved the tant pour tant finely enough. The dry ingredients need to be very finely ground and sieved in order to get a flat smooth surface.
Why are my macaroons puffy/rough/too hard/too flat?
You may have been careless with the quantities of your ingredients. Too much dry ingredient will result in a mixture that is too thick - your macaroons will be very high and rough and chewy; too little dry ingredient and the macaroons will be sloppy and spread too far on the tray, making them very long and flat.
Why didn't my egg whites beat up to soft/hard peak?
You may have accidentally got some egg yolk or oil into the mixing bowl. Egg whites are very sensitive to fats and won't foam up if they have been exposed to them. Make sure your beaters are washed well with detergent, not just hot water, and dry them thoroughly with a clean tea towel before beating your egg whites. When you are separating your eggs, take special care that you don't puncture a yolk into the egg whites. If you do, you must start again with new ones (make a nice omelette for dinner with those ones :-)).
Why did my buttercream separate?
For some flavours of buttercream (like coffee) you may be tempted to add a liquid flavour (a shot of coffee) to the buttercream. You must always add liquid flavour to the icing sugar and make a paste first, then combine the butter with that. Don't pour a watery liquid onto the butter, or the mixture will separate.
When I tried to get my macaroons off the baking paper, they stuck to it and all I got was hard shells with no base. Why?
You may have tried to remove the macaroons before they had 'set' - they need 5-10 minutes once they're out of the oven to firm up a bit. Alternatively, you may have taken the macaroons out of the oven before they were cooked - in which case, they won't be able to firm up. Check your oven temperature and your timings.
When you take your macaroons out of the oven, slide the whole baking paper sheet off the tray and onto a wet bench top or a cake rack. Leave the macaroons there for at least 5 minutes. Then gently peel the baking paper back from one of the macaroons on the edge of the paper sheet. If it peels off ok, repeat with the others, or use a small metal spatula to run under each macaroon to release it from the paper. It's normal to have some stickiness around the base.
Why did my melted chocolate suddenly go grainy and rock hard, and how can I fix it?
Chocolate is a very bad-tempered cooking ingredient. Melting or melted chocolate 'seizes' because moisture gets into it. A tiny drop of water can cause this to happen; so can the substitution of incorrect ingredients with the chocolate (the classic one is substituting margarine for butter; whereas butter will melt smoothly into melted chocolate, margarine will cause the chocolate to seize). The only way to make seized chocolate usable again is to mix a small amount of Copha (solidified coconut oil) into it. When incorporated gently this will slowly un-seize the chocolate but beware, it also affects the purity and the taste.
