Foolproof French Macaron easy recipe step by step

Let me present you my foolproof French Macaron easy recipe step by step.

For starting a little of the history of the macaroon which is one of the favourite cakes of the French. Its history is a perfect illustration of the excellence of French gastronomy. From now on, you have the possibility to cook them on line with me!

During the Renaissance, they appeared in France from Italy thanks to Catherine De Médicis at the time of her marriage with the Duke of Orleans, the future king of France. It’s on the occasion of the wedding of Duke Anne de Joyeuse, that Catherine de Medici served the famous cupcakes.

Then we find it again in the history of gastronomy at the wedding of Louis the  XIV, (the Sun King) who was lucky enough to be offered it for his wedding. 

And these small cakes remained at the court of Versailles where they were Marie Antoinette’s, favourite sweets. 

The period macaroon was also prepared with almonds, sugar and egg whites, but it was then in the form of a simple cookie. 

In Paris, it was only in 1830 that the Parisian pastry chefs decided to assemble them two by two by filling them with a small jam called “ganache”. Then, the Ladurée store, one of the most famous, popularized it by naming it “Le Macaron Parisien” (The Parisian Macaroon).

Foolproof macaron recipe
Foolproof macaron recipe, step by step, easy recipe!

Why are the macaroons round?

There is a legend around the round shape. The story of the macaroon tells that a monk used to knead marzipan shirtless. One day, very tired, he fell from exhaustion and left a trace of his navel on the dough. At that moment, the macaroon took the shape of a circle.

The technique is important in this recipe and you need some tools for having foolproof French Macaron

A scale

In pastry making, we can never repeat it enough, you have to be precise in your weighing. In fact, baking requires chemical reactions that are too complex to be obtained by doing a little bit of work. That’s why you need a precision kitchen scale.

If the precision is accurate to the gram, it’s already very good, but if you can get it to a tenth of a gram, it’s even better!

For the macaroon :

– if you put too many dry ingredients (almond powder and sugars), you usually end up with a very dense and dry finish,

– if you put too much wet ingredients (the egg white), you get flat shells without a collar.

In short, have a precision scale, it will be useful for all your desserts! As you can see in all my recipes, I don’t put too many eggs or centilitres of liquid because they are too approximate values in general. Whereas the grams, we all have the same (at least proportionally), like that, we limit the risks of missing!

A food processor or a blender

The blender will allow us to refine to the maximum our dry ingredients to be incorporated into the preparation, namely powdered sugar and almond powder. The more “fine” ingredients we have, the smoother and shinier our macaroons will be.

On the other hand, you should not heat the mixture. Indeed, if we heat the almond powder, we risk to bring out all its fat and to transform it into praline.

This is why :

– always mix the almond powder with powdered sugar,

– we mix in small, rapid jolts rather than by too long phases which will heat up the mixture,

– I prefer to use do use a food prossessor rather than a blender (too powerful with risk of heating) .

A sieve

Once our dry ingredients have been refined to the maximum in the blender, we pass them through a sieve to separate the grains and remove any “large pieces” that may remain, always with a view to having a smooth and shiny shell.

The aim is to have as little loss as possible at the end of this step, so we will pay particular attention to mixing the dry ingredients before sifting them.

French macarons ingredients:

Foolproof French Macaron easy recipe step by step: there are only 4 ingredients in this easy recipe.

-120g of white eggs around 3 large eggs.

-120g of powdered sugar ( 1 cup+1/4).

-50g of powdered sugar (1/2 cup).

-120g of almond flour ( 1 cup+1/4).

-1 teaspoon of baking soda or tartar.

Foolproof macaron recipe step by step: ingredients
Foolproof macaron recipe step by step: ingredients.

The meringue

Put the 3 egg whites in preferably a metal bowl with a narrowing bottom.
Take care that it is impeccably clean. An impurity could prevent the meringue from setting.
Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda or tartar.
and a few drops of lemon

Beating the eggs to snow is to incorporate air inside, it is a chemical reaction. 

As soon as the eggs have gone up it is necessary to stop beating them otherwise they could go down again. 

The eggs must be at room temperature and the ideal is even to have separated the whites from the yolks 2 weeks before mounting the meringue (you can keep them in the fridge in a closed box).  Pierre Hermé or Ladurée would even recommend separating the white from the yolks 2 weeks before the preparation.

The container to whisk the eggs is in metal and deep with a hen’s bottom.

It must be very clean, because if it is greasy, the eggs will not be able to go up in snow.

Why don’t the egg whites go up?

For perfect egg whites, there are some basic rules to follow! 

Here they are for having foolproof French Macaron easy recipe step by step

Favour eggs that are about a fortnight old. Age your egg whites. Separate the eggs, place the whites in a clean glass, cover with plastic wrap, and let them hang out in the fridge for a few days before using. This will dehydrate them and make them perfect for macarons. Eggs that are too fresh are denser and harder to work with.

Choose a large, spherical bowl. A cul-de-poule is perfect. Use clean utensils! The fat on the whisk or in the bowl will prevent your whites from snowing up.

Beware of egg shells and yolk in the white. Separate the whites from the yolks with delicacy and meticulousness.

By hand:

Whisk your egg whites with quick and energetic movements. Keep a regular rhythm until you obtain a texture that is both firm and foamy. Your egg whites are sufficiently stiff when they cling to your whisk and form small peaks.

With an electric mixer:

Start beating your egg whites at minimum speed and gradually increase the power. This way you will create air bubbles, and your snow whites will be airier. Once the egg whites seem to be stiff, turn the container upside down. If the preparation doesn’t tip over it’s a success!

Don’t beat your whites too long, or they will become grainy and fall over.

Baking soda for firm whites. One teaspoon is enough and your egg whites will be a success.

If you need to sweeten your egg whites (for a meringue for example), add sugar when the egg whites start to foam.

Your whites do not rise?

It’s probably because some yellow fell into the bowl during the separation. Yellow is a fatty substance that prevents the whites from rising. But don’t panic, each problem has its solution. All you have to do is pour a few drops of lemon juice into your whites. The acidity will trap the fat and allow your whites to rise perfectly. It’s magic!

Your snow white is too liquid?

Don’t worry! Add a small spoonful of cold water and beat again. Start slowly, and then increase the speed slightly. Your whites will tighten and the texture will be much firmer.

Did your white snow fall back?

You have raised them too early before incorporating them into your preparation. Once again, lemon juice is the solution! Pour a few drops and beat your whites again, slowly, to make them rise.

Macaronner

This is the best known and most technical term to be assimilated in the recipe of macaroon shells, it is the fact of macarooning the preparation. It is the most crucial step to make a successful macaroon.

Once all the ingredients of the recipe are incorporated, ( add almond powder+icing sugar in the white) you must work energetically on the preparation with a maryse (or a horn, depending on taste) to soften the dough. It must become smooth and shiny in the end.

To do this, start from the center at the bottom of the bowl with your maryse and go upwards, crushing the preparation against the sides of the bowl (from the bottom to the center upwards on the sides), while turning the bowl at the same time. 

Avoid air incorporation as much as possible, so do not lift the preparation too much while mixing. The aim is to “break” the whites without making them fall down too much, which would make the preparation liquid.

In the end, we must obtain a dense and uninterrupted ribbon of macaroon paste.

Macaroner

Preparation: foolproof French Macaron easy recipe step by step

Fill a piping bag with the preparation and form small domes of 2 cm width (be careful, they spread out) by spacing them well and by placing them in staggered rows so that they do not stick together when baking. Then let the macaroons rest in the open air for at least 30 minutes to allow them to crust.

Foolproof macaron recipe, step by step, easy recipe!
Put the macaroon dough in a piping bag and sharpe the biscuit

Cooking

In a preheated oven at 150°C or 300°F for 12 minutes add your macaroon domes in parchment paper. Do not use silicon mat. After 6 min open your oven to chase the humidity inside and to it again after 4 min

Superimpose the tray with the domes on two other baking sheets or on the drip pan and bake at 150°c for 12 minutes. The use of several baking trays will promote the formation of the attractive carcass collar of the macaroons. Once the macaroons are cooked, let them cool for a few minutes in the open air. Then pour a little water between the baking sheet and the baking paper and wait about 1 minute before gently peeling the macaroons. Let them cool completely by placing them upside down on a wire rack.

foolproof macaron recipe: how to make the domes
Foolproof macaron recipe: how to make the domes

The ganache, last step

The ganache is the last step of this foolproof French Macaron easy recipe step by step

My favourite ganache is with mascarpone ( 100g), some drops of my favourite extract( 3 drops or more depending on your taste) and some icing sugar( 50 g: 1/2 cup).

If you don’t have mascarpone you could use Philadelphia cream cheese.

For a chocolate ganache the easiest ganache is with 100g of chocolate, 2 tablespoons of butter, 100g of creme fraiche 1/2 cup of powdered sugar.

All my ganache recipes are listed on my recipe on ” improve your macarons with my best ganache recipes”

The macarons will be best after 2-3 days resting in the fridge.

If you over-bake the shells and they’re too crisp, brush the bottom with some milk before assembly to soften them up.

Foolproof macaron recipe
Foolproof macaron recipe, step by step, easy recipe!

You just did your macarons and you have folks leftover. There are some solutions looking at my recipes. You could make a crème brûlée or a Sabayon, don’t you think you could?

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