O….M….G! This was the hardest recipe I have made yet for my blog! These Lemon Macarons were two days in the making. I really didn’t think that I would ever get one good macaron to share… but I did! Two days and Three batches later. I almost gave up, but I didn’t.
I first attempted to make Macarons three years ago. I found a recipe, followed it exactly and they came out pretty good. A little too big, but they had feet…. the main determining factor to Macaron success! So, I tried it again a few days later and… they looked awful! Big puffy and no feet. I decided that everyone was right. It was impossible to make Macarons!
Fast forward three years and a baking blog later. I’ve been seeing so many pictures on social media of people making Macarons. I knew I had to try this again. So, I looked at a few recipes and watched a couple of videos and I thought I had it.
After I whipped up all the ingredients and piped them on the silicone mats on the baking sheets, I put the 2 trays in the oven and when they should have been done, I looked in the oven and the bottom pan was burned and the top wrinkled with no feet! Not even one little toe! I was devastated. I thought I had it in the bag.
I didn’t want to give up. That night, I tried again. For the Second batch I used a different recipe. The first recipe the ratio was one part powdered sugar, one and a half parts almond flour. This time most recipe I found were two parts powdered sugar and one part almond flour.
Half way through whipping the egg whites, I added the yellow gel paste. Then I noticed that the egg whites stopped getting fluffy. No matter how long I left the mixer on, they never got peaks. I threw them out and started again. This time I waited until the egg whites were at their peak before adding the color. This worked. I folded in the flour mix, put it in a pastry bag and started to pipe the rounds. I noticed that the batter seemed a little thin, but I kept going. After letting them rest and get their skin, I baked them, one pan at a time, used the convection at 275 degrees… all Macarons cracked on top! Great… I put in the Second pan regular bake at 300 degrees. When done, half were cracked, the others had a little bit of feet. I knew I was close. I think I folded the batter too much. You can’t under fold and you can not over fold. I also think I didn’t whip the egg whites enough.
So, I Watched more videos on making Macarons and troubleshooting. YouTube is such a great resource.
The next day I attempted the Third batch. This time I used Wilton’s Macaron recipe. I made sure to whip the egg whites until I lifted out the whisk and there was Meringue stuck to it. I also watched a video where the person said to fold the batter about 45 times. So, I counted to 40 as I folded. When I reached 40, it looked like the melted lava people talk about. I folded 2 more times to be sure. I filled the pastry bag and piped. This time, the batter was a little thicker than the last time. That got me hopeful. I baked the first pan at 275 degrees for 17 minutes. When I took them out of the oven, I held my breath and. Voila! No cracks and plenty of feet! I did it! Finally.
One of the videos said to double pan them, which I forgot to do this last time, so I did it for the second pan. What a mistake! They looked good, but with less feet. When I tried to take them off, the bottoms were raw. Maybe this was because I baked them at 275 degrees. I’m not saying that this method doesn’t work. It just didn’t work for me.
I should also mention that during my firs attempt, I had the pan drying for over 2 hours and there es still no skin on the Macarons. It was like I just piped them on the baking sheet. It was also raining all day. Who tries to bake Macarons during the rainiest week of he year? .. me! Crazy! So I looked up how to dry them faster. I found a Post by The Kitchen Guardian on “Drying Macarons, What the Textbook Didn’t Tell You.” She spoke about drying Macarons during wet weather and just speeding up the drying process. She says to put your oven on 160c, which is about 350 degrees Fahrenheit. When it gets to that temperature, turn off the oven and open the oven door. Place the Macaron trays on the oven door for about 15 minutes (I did it for about 10) rotating the trays half way through. After this, the Macaron shells will be dry. And guess what? They were! It took 10 minutes when I was already waiting 2 hours during a rainy day! I couldn’t believe it! After baking, they actually had feet even with using this method. Thanks Kitchen Guardian!
I’m going to continue working on these until I really get it right. To be continued! Lol
Lemon Macarons
Ingredients
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup almond flour
- 3 egg whites (room temperature)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- yellow food coloring
- orange food coloring
Lemon Curd
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 whole eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 stick butter
Instructions
- Sift confectioners’ sugar and almond flour together, discarding any bits of almond flour that are too large to pass through the strainer. In a large bowl, beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt on high speed until foamy, then with the mixer running, slowly add the sugar. When the mixture reaches soft peaks, add vanilla and color. Continue whipping just until mixture forms stiff peaks.Gently pour the almond mixture over the whipped egg whites so they don’t deflate. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the almond flour mixture into the egg whites until the mixture holds a 10 count, meaning when batter falls from the spatula to the bowl it takes about 10 seconds until it fully blends into the rest of the bowl in the batter. This way, the almond mixture is fully hydrated but egg whites still retain some air. The mixture is thick enough to pipe without running everywhere, but the peak at the top of each piped cookie will fall on its own, making a perfectly smooth cookie. This takes about 45 turns, but depending on how aggressively you fold, it can be more or less.
Transfer the batter to a decorating pastry bag with a 1A tip. Pipe 1 inch rounds of batter onto the parchment lined pans, spacing at least 1 inch apart. Tap the pans hard on the countertop 4-5 times to release trapped air, and then let sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes or until the unbaked macaron form a skin and do not stick to your finger when touched. Allowing the macaron to crust over is what leads to their signature “feet,” the holey ring that arises during baking at the base of each cookie.
Bake for 17 minutes on a shelf in the center of the oven. If baking 2 pans at a time on different oven racks, rotate the pans from bottom to top midway through baking. There isn’t a great visual on how long to bake macaron. When underbaked, the centers can be wet. When overbaked, they start to brown slightly and become very crunchy instead of crisp on the top with a softer interior.
Cool the macaron completely on a cooling grid before sandwiching with your filling. Makes 36 to 48 sandwiched cookies.
Lemon Curd
- In a medium heatproof bowl, place eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and heavy cream and whisk to combine. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (bain-marie). Cook on moderate heat, whisking constantly, until mixture becomes thick, about 10-15 minutes. It should coat the back of a wooden spoon and leave a clear pass if you run your finger through it. The curd will thicken more once cooled.Remove from heat and immediately strain mixture through a sieve. Add butter, a few cubes at a time, and whisk until completely melted and incorporated, and mixture is smooth. Allow to cool to room temperature, then place in the refrigerator overnight.
Anthony’s Almond Flour 2lbs
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