There are countless pages on the internet from macaron makers the world over who happily brag about conquering the elusive 'perfect' macaron. On these pages, you'll find oodles of information and tips and recipes - all of which I am sure work for the person who wrote the article. I have certainly invested a LOT of time perusing these pages and putting their theories into practice. After which, I have to come to one very concrete conclusion. There is no magic method or recipe for the perfect macaron.
The secret of a perfect macaron is simply about practice. Find a recipe you like - and practice it. Over and over. It's pretty futile to keep switching out recipes and methods every time a batch fails you. It's much wiser to stick with it - and just keep practicing. That's how you'll learn most about good 'macronage' (ie: batter). You'll soon know what's overmixed or undermixed - what's the wrong consistency, where is best to bake in your oven - and you'll understand what that mysterious term 'lava consistency' is all about.
My macs still have a bit of variation in thier texture - and things like resting time and the weather can throw mine out - but overall - my macs are generally pretty consistent and I've overcome all the 'beginner' problems like lumpy or dull shells, cracking, uneven colouring and flat, footless shells that you see in the images below.
Here's a few tips to help you muster the courage to give them a go!
The secret of a perfect macaron is simply about practice. Find a recipe you like - and practice it. Over and over. It's pretty futile to keep switching out recipes and methods every time a batch fails you. It's much wiser to stick with it - and just keep practicing. That's how you'll learn most about good 'macronage' (ie: batter). You'll soon know what's overmixed or undermixed - what's the wrong consistency, where is best to bake in your oven - and you'll understand what that mysterious term 'lava consistency' is all about.
My macs still have a bit of variation in thier texture - and things like resting time and the weather can throw mine out - but overall - my macs are generally pretty consistent and I've overcome all the 'beginner' problems like lumpy or dull shells, cracking, uneven colouring and flat, footless shells that you see in the images below.
Here's a few tips to help you muster the courage to give them a go!
The first place to start is with the almond flour. I don't think enough people pay attention to this part. For me - it was a huge turning corner when I finally got this bit right.
1. Make sure you choose a good fine packaged ground almond meal. If it has lots of dark bits or shell in in - choose another brand. You're going to grind it up anyway, but save yourself some trouble and choose one that is already very fine. A lot of popular supermarket brands are quite wet and coarse. I get mine from my health food store.
2. Don't overgrind your almonds in your food processor or they'll get way too oily. Best to undergrind them in the processor and discard chunky bits after sifting them. Note: you may need to process more almond flour after discarding lumps to make sure your measures are correct.
3. Now start seiving the mixture. And seive again - and seive again.
This is the part that can make or break you. I use a triple fine seive to really make my almond flour super fine. The images below show the texture of the almond meal as it moves through this process.
1. Make sure you choose a good fine packaged ground almond meal. If it has lots of dark bits or shell in in - choose another brand. You're going to grind it up anyway, but save yourself some trouble and choose one that is already very fine. A lot of popular supermarket brands are quite wet and coarse. I get mine from my health food store.
2. Don't overgrind your almonds in your food processor or they'll get way too oily. Best to undergrind them in the processor and discard chunky bits after sifting them. Note: you may need to process more almond flour after discarding lumps to make sure your measures are correct.
3. Now start seiving the mixture. And seive again - and seive again.
This is the part that can make or break you. I use a triple fine seive to really make my almond flour super fine. The images below show the texture of the almond meal as it moves through this process.
The other crucial part of making macarons is the macronage (or batter). Undermix and your macs will be lumpy and uneven. Overmix and they'll be flat as a tac with no feet.
You're looking at what happens to the batter when you fold it back onto itself in the bowl. Does it stay there or barely move or take a looong time to disappear? That's undermixed.
Does it disappear or run too quickly? That's overmixed. You need to be looking for the 'lava' consistency. That's when it runs quite freely in ribbons from the spatula - but doesn't immediately dissapear into the mixture in the bowl. It should leave a very fine edge against the mixture in the bowl.
Here's how the stages of batter look.
You're looking at what happens to the batter when you fold it back onto itself in the bowl. Does it stay there or barely move or take a looong time to disappear? That's undermixed.
Does it disappear or run too quickly? That's overmixed. You need to be looking for the 'lava' consistency. That's when it runs quite freely in ribbons from the spatula - but doesn't immediately dissapear into the mixture in the bowl. It should leave a very fine edge against the mixture in the bowl.
Here's how the stages of batter look.
Well, I hope that helped - even a teeny bit. As I said - macs are all about trial and error. Stick with it and you will get them. And best of all - once you do - you open up a whole new world of flavour combos and experimentation so you can master your own truly unique sweet creations!