This has been a long time coming and it’s finally here! I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be starting a new string of posts under a series entitled “A Year in Macarons” where I’ll be experimenting with (and subsequently sharing) different macaron flavors each month! Some flavors might be fairly standard fare, others might require a little more thought. Either way, I’m super excited to begin this journey and share it with everyone!
My interest in baking homemade macarons began about a year ago. Since then, I’ve made a handful of successful (and some not) batches of the almighty French dessert, but I’ve recently decided that I want to take this hobby to the next level and learn to perfect the handmade technique. The only way of doing that? Practice. And if there’s practice involved, might as well make it interesting and mess around with new flavors as well!
So that’s where we are now, in the first installment and the first month of “A Year in Macarons.” To kick off the series, I made a batch of coffee macarons featuring a flavored buttercream. (Fun fact: September 29 is National Coffee Day!) These delightful little confectionaries are a wonderful accompaniment to a hot cup of coffee, and what better pairing then a coffee-flavored macaron!
Despite my best efforts, I accidentally created cookies that were a little too large. Oops. But they were still downright delicious, and I’m pleased to say that all of my taste-testers agreed!
I hope you’ll laugh at my mistakes and failed undertakings throughout this next year. I’m certainly looking to better my macaronage technique, take many pretty pictures, and share the entire ordeal with you in the process!! And if you have any objections, say them now or forever hold your peace… drop me a line in the comments below, I’d love to hear your thoughts! Happy baking :)
-pfht
- 100 g egg white, aged 3-5 days
- 40 g caster sugar
- 125 g almond flour
- 200 g confectioner sugar
- 2 tbs espresso powder
- 1 pinch salt (optional)
- 1/2 c butter unsalted, softened
- 1 1/4 c confectioner's sugar
- 1 tsp espresso powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Measure out dry ingredients using the food scale. Let egg whites sit until room temperature. Meanwhile, pulse together powdered sugar and almond powder in food processor until well blended. Add in expresso powder and pulse a few more times until blended.
- Meringue--In a very large bowl, whisk the room temperature egg whites, caster sugar, and salt (optional) into a meringue. I’ve found that it takes me about 7-9 minutes to completion, and I break it down into three basic steps: [1] Starting on a low-speed setting, whip the egg whites with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes until frothy, adding ⅓ of the caster sugar and a pinch of salt along the way. [2] Move mixer to med-speed setting; continue whipping egg whites another 2-3 minutes until soft peaks form, and add half of the remaining caster sugar along the way. [3] Move mixer to high-speed setting; whip egg whites 1-2 minutes and add the remaining caster sugar along the way. Move mixer to highest speed for last minute until firm peaks form.
- Be careful not to over beat the egg whites! You will know when your meringue is ready by checking to see if (a) nothing falls out of the bowl when you turn it upside down, and (b) the meringue remains in the whisk/beater when you stop the mixer.
- Fold in the mixed and sifted dry ingredients into the meringue; this is the actual macaronage step. I find that it takes me anywhere from 40-50 folds (and I actually do keep count) to achieve the right consistency. Folding doesn’t require gentleness; the macaronage process requires one to “beat” out the air from the eggwhites. When a shine develops and the consistency resembles lava or thick pancake batter, macaronage is complete. I’m careful to count the folds in order to not overmix!
- Transfer macaron batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip (I use the Ateco #11 round). Pipe even circles on prepped baking sheets lined with Silpat-like mats. For even circles, I count out 1-2-3-4 while piping to help ensure more even batter distribution for each circle. It’s not a foolproof solution, but it works surprisingly well! Alternatively, there are templates that can be used and placed under the Silpat-like mats for additional assurance.
- Knock the air bubbles out! To prevent cracking and empty shells, the extra air bubbles have got to go! In parallel, drop the fully-piped baking sheet from a 4-6 inch range onto a counter or table that can withstand an impact. Do this three times, rotate the sheet 180-deg and do so three times again. It’s loud and might seem excessive, but seeing those tiny bubbles rise to the surface and pop make it all worth it.
- Let the shells try in a dry place. The top coat of the shell should be dry to the touch; no batter should stick. This may take anywhere from 30-120 minutes. I tend to wait at least an hour to ensure a hardened shell. Drying the shell is required for a smooth shell and macaron feet to form without cracking. Bake too soon before the shells are dried and the shells will crack—I’ve had this experience once or twice before and it’s the last thing you want to happen after having invested so much work into preparing the shells leading up to the baking.
- Pre-heat the oven to 320º F. Bake for 15-18 minutes, rotating the sheet a touch more than halfway through the baking process after feet have formed. While I prefer to bake each sheet individually to exercise greater control over each, but in the interest of time, I have tried baking both together (on middle/bottom rack and switching them halfway through) and have found success.
- Remove shells from oven and let it cool completely before removing/peeling from the mat. Be sure to let them cool completely, as premature removal will result in decapitation—the “cap” of the macaron shell will literally come off, leaving the base/crinkly feet on the mat. No bueno :(
- As shells bake/cool, prepare the buttercream frosting.
- Whip softened butter on medium-high with an electric mixer for 3-5 minutes.
- Slowly add in powdered sugar and beat together with butter in low-medium speed until creamy. I add in about a quarter of the sugar, cream until well incorporated, and repeat until all of the sugar has been added.
- Increase speed to med-hi for another 5 minutes until fluffy. Add in vanilla and espresso powder about halfway through this process. The buttercream becomes increasingly light and fluffy as you whip.
- Fill the buttercream in a pastry bag fitted with a piping tip (#11 Ateco, I use the same one for the macarons) in preparation for assembly.
- Sort and match macaron shells into pairs of roughly equal size.
- For each cookie pari, pipe a generous amount of buttercream onto the flat side of one cookie. I pipe a border around the perimeter of the cookie, before spiraling in and filling the center.
- Place the accompanying cookie on top and optionally twist the cookies in opposite directions to help distribute the buttercream throughout the macaron. Repeat for remaining cookies.
- Store assembled cookies in an air-tight container in the fridge for 12-24 hours. This allows the flavors and ganache to penetrate through the entirety of the macaron, enhancing both the texture and flavor of the eventual tasting experience!
- To serve, remove from refrigerator and let the macarons warm to room temperature prior to enjoying. (Hint: if it's crunchy when you bite into it, it's probably still too cold)
- Food processor
- Flour sifter
- Electric Stand Mixer/Hand Mixer
- Food Scale (in grams)
- 2 Silpat-like baking mats
- 2 half-sheets baking sheets
- pastry bag and piping tip (#11 Ateco)
congrats,looking forward to more macarons series,green tea perhaps?.
I used to make them 1/3 1 success then I gave up,ill write instead haha.
Xoxo Bing.
http://www.bingyourstyle.com
These French cookies are definitely tricky… I’ve had some failed macaron hiccups in the past, too! And as it happens, I made a batch of matcha green tea macarons a while back that are my favorite to this day :)
PS: I love your writing!
I love your beautiful macaron pictures! You should do a video of you making them or maybe snap some pics of the process! One day I will make some successful macarons… See you soon on campus!
That’s an awesome suggestion, Eann! Definitely plan on creating some vlogs at some point in the future :)
That’s a good look! ;)
Have a nice weekend :)
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Hi Sandra, thank you so much for stopping by pfht! You’ve got such a cute blog yourself :)
Thank you so much! These were very simple to make! First time trying to make a cookie like this. I used coffee extract instead of the espresso powder (which went horribly wrong when I added it to the dry ingredients and accidentally made marzipan which I had to sieve back into small pieces). But other than that one blunder, these came out fantastic.
Hi Ben– that’s so wonderful to hear! I’m glad you were able to enjoy them even after the coffee extract incident! It’s so interesting how finicky macarons can be; baking truly is a science!
what size should the espresso powder be? like espresso fine, or like turkish? Not sure which size to use to bring out the flavour
Hi Louis– thanks for stopping by! The powder should be fairly fine; I use the brand Medaglia D’Oro which should be easily found in grocery stores or online! Hope this helps and let me know how they turn out if you give these macarons a try!
-E
You don’t say how much cream to use for the filling. It’s not listed in the ingredients, yet you say in one step to add the cream.
Hi John– thanks for taking a look at the recipe! You’re absolutely right, there is no cream needed in the recipe; the “cream” in the directions refers to the “creaming” process of beating butter and sugar together until creamy in texture. I’ve updated the directions :)
I’d love to hear how this turns out for you if you give it a go!
– Eunice
Are these gluten free?
Yes! These are absolutely, 100% gluten-free! Macarons are one of my favorite gluten-free desserts :)
Just made these few days ago and they turned out fantastic! This is only my second time making macarons and the first time was a barely edible failure so I was super happy to find and succeed with this recipe. Few notes: I use a small electric bench oven and baking two mats of macarons at the same time didn’t work out well. The sheet which was on the top first and later on the bottom turned out great, not a single cracked or uneven shell, but the sheet that was on bottom first and on top last was pretty bad. Almost all of the shells swelled up and then a lot of them cracked. Also I’m living in China and sometimes it’s a bit tricky to find all the exact right ingredients. I couldn’t find any caster sugar (confectioners and caster sugar are synonymous here) so I used confectioners for both. I couldn’t find any espresso powder so I used instant coffee and I think it could’ve been better. Is it possible to use normal grinded coffee? Or does it have to be instant? Thank you so much for this recipe. I’m totally hooked on making macarons now.
Hi Ida! Wow.. I’m so happy to read this and am glad that my recipe worked well for you! Hopefully baking the sheets off one at a time next time around will do the trick! My first thought for subbing caster (superfine) sugar would be regular granulated sugar; since confectioners sugar has a small amount of cornstarch in it, I’ve never tried for a meringue but I’m glad it worked well for you! And I think you made the right call for using instant coffee; normal coffee grounds would likely be too coarse and wouldn’t dissolve in water (while espresso powder does much like instant coffee). Thank YOU for making this recipe and taking the time to leave a comment :)
Easy and delicious recipe thank you.. only change I made was to sift the icing sugar and almond meal 4-5 times and removing the coarse almond granules. Probably faster to use a food processor!