Oh, my Macaron!
First I would like to warn all the sweet toothies out there! This will make your mouth water like a waterfall :)
Macarons are one of my favorite treats. They are delicious little pieces of art that come in a huge variety of flavors. One of my favorite is the pistachio. I love everything pistachio.
I have tasted many different macarons, Laduree, Pierre Herme, Breuniger, unknown brands that were gifted to me by fellow sweet tooth/teeth fans. I've tasted good and bad ones. I decided that it was time to try to make some of my own. Little did I know that it was quite the challenge that I gave myself. After failing a couple of times, I am proud to present you my perfect macaron!
My Macaron Story:
Where shall I begin? First thing that I did was enter the digital video world: YouTube. When you search for macarons, a lot of videos are shown. I clicked on: Beth's Foolproof French Macaron Recipe and gathered all the ingredients that I could find. She describes the making process very accurately and warns you for all the things that can go wrong. And boy they do! Very few people can get it right from the first try. My macarons looked like burger buns. They were huge! The butter cream (of which I am not a fan) was a mess, because I used frozen raspberries. My bad. I ended up making chocolate butter cream. They were like the stones that sunk the big bad wolf in Little Red Riding Hood.
Onto Try Number Two:
For this funny episode I chose: Byron Talbott Candy Cane Macaron. These where probably the messiest of all. I totally messed these up. They looked like they had the measles or some other irritating infection. What went wrong? I kind of got the measurements wrong after fighting with myself to get the egg whites right.
I own a beautiful Kitchen Aid which is normally one of my best friends. For this recipe not so much. When you have the egg white of one egg, the whisk doesn't reach down far enough to make the egg white stiff. I then refilled it in a different bowl and had an electric whisk try to beat the crap out of my whites. Can you catch my drift? The ganache turned out horrible because I didn't put it in the fridge to solidify a bit. Then the coloring is where it all went even more wrong. I bought the coloring liquid instead of the paste. It was way to watery and got everywhere and my macarons looked horrible I also undercooked them so they were still soft on the inside and broke once I tried to take them off the backing sheets. Boy was I frustrated! Ask Oli, he knows.
Try Number Three:
The YouTube chef that has actually made me laugh out loud (don't like lol) is: Dulce Delight and her version of the Perfect Macaron. She is an entertainer I tell you. We also share our love for the color yellow. She has the same Kitchen Aid as me. I need that yellow pan as well!
I used her technique to make the shells of the chocolate macarons and then I made a white chocolate ganache with pistachios. They were close to perfect. I beat the sweat out of my pores by whisking the egg whites by hand. I need to work out more. This is heavy duty elbow grease kind of work.
For this third try I bought a silicon mat. I used that and also parchment paper. The ones on the PP turned out better because the silicon mat was too thick and didn't let the heat cook the shells. They turned out undercooked... Luckily the parchment paper saved some of the batch.
My Fourth:
I learned enough from YT and my mistakes. I turned to Amazon to buy a book and the original silpat macarons mat. The book that I got is from Aurelie Bastian, one of the most popular books about macarons. She finished the job for me in my quest to make the perfect macaron.
I separated the egg white, measured it perfectly and let it ripen in the fridge for a couple of days.
I ignored my beautiful kitchen aid and took my good old mixer that I almost threw out of the kitchen. We have quite some kitchen appliances and they are piling up as we speak. What can I say, I am a kitchen crazy.
I sued the silpat to create the perfect shape of macaron. The pictures below are the result of some hard work. I didn't give up and am glad of it. They are coffee macarons with milk chocolate ganache, topped off with some cacao powder.
My Tips to You:
- Measure all the ingredients to the last gram
- Make sure that the almond flour and confectionery sugar are finely ground
- Use 'old' egg whites
- Always let the ganache cool down in the fridge
- Let the macarons sit for more than 30 min before putting them in the oven
- To check if you over or underbeat the egg whites, try the spoon trick on a plate
- If you use recipes that require one egg white, try to beat it by hand Do not buy that brown silicon mat, it simply sucks!
- Send me pics with #smoonstylemacarons if you give them a go
- Don't eat them all at once ;)
Enjoy!
I want to thank all the foodies on YouTube/Blogger sphere for sharing their knowledge to everyone. Not only can I make the perfect macaron, but so much more. My cooking has improved ten fold. Oliver and Vincent will enjoy healthy, delicious meals for as long as I can hold the pots and pans.
Pictures were made with a Canon EOS 700D 40mm f 2.8 Pancake Lens
♡ SIMONE
17 comments
OHHH you did it <3 Awesome :)
ReplyDeleteI like this kind of candy so much but i failed everytime if i tried to do it by myself, so i gived up :D
But your cute story tell me that i should start a new challenge maybe... :D
But hey...next time NO eating at this time please *huuungry* :D
They look amazing! I'm also a kitchen crazy - specially for baked goods - but I've never had the courage to try making macarons. What kitchen scale do you use? I've bought a really simple one from Kruidvat, I guess, but it usually does the trick. I'm not sure if it's french-pastry material, though. And you've seen Dulce Delight's videos, that's so sweet. She's amazing!
ReplyDeleteHi Simone! Congratulations! I'm French so basically I've been making macarons my whole life and I know this is a difficult technique :) The most important tip that I should give you is, just after you pipe the mixture onto a tray lined with baking paper (before you put the tray into the oven), just pull the tray up to a height of 30 centimeters approx. and let it fall on the table several times. It makes A LOT of noise but believe me, it helps remove all the air bubbles and your macarons will be super great!
ReplyDeleteHey Smoon! Sorted food has also a great recipe for macarons. But it's always different: to watch a video or making it yourself... Happy cooking!
ReplyDeleteCool, thank you very much, I'll try here.
ReplyDeleteHaha, funny reading your macaroon stories. But you know what they say: practice makes perfect. They look very yummy and I bet they were too.
ReplyDeleteSmakelijk eten :D
Mis felicidades, es una alegría lograr una receta perfecta, todos quedan felices y te aplauden. Quiero hacer macarons , pero me asusta un poco Jajajaja, sólo llego a los cupCakes Jajajaja. Un abrazo Simple y besitos a Vincent ;-)
ReplyDeleteI was fascinated to read your story macarons. The truth is that I'm not even good for pastry, but you do what with all the love for your family, and do not let frustrations.That's rewarding!
ReplyDeleteThey have a great look. body and consistency, and the picture of your camera achieves the Macarons enter through your eyes!
They look so Yummy! It's admirable how you try and try until you get it, congratulations! Me on the other hand... I love cooking but I'm really bad in the kitchen, no matter how hard I try, even how many times I try or how many time I spend on cooking. I start cooking so careful and full of hope and then I simply screw it up! I think there is some kind of kitchen god guiding people, but he don't like me. Luckily my boyfriend it's a kitchen crazy too, so I'll never die of starvation.
ReplyDeleteNow a question: Do you like the Disney's movie Frozen? I would love it if you make a version of Let it go <3
You are amazing :)
Haha Im impressed, as a professional pastry chef I totally know what you are talking about. And though Ive worked with solid proof recipes you still have to know exactly what you are doing when making macarons.
ReplyDeleteWhen I worked in a 2 michelin star restaurant I made them twice a week and still everytime it felt exciting. And even though you learn to master this skill but dont make them in a long time you might get rusty.
Congratulations anyway Simone, you have a great hobby! =)
Nice congrats ! I never try this because everyone say it s just so hard and you need a perfect oven to do those . So as a Parisian girl I am always going to laduree . I will try this recipe thanks :)
ReplyDeleteBy the way I am sure a lot of future married lady are a little curious about what is for you a great weeding ? What is the perfect wedding dress ...
I saw a lot of idea on YouTube and blog but maybe your advices could guide some of us :)
Wow congratulations! They look absolutely perfect. French chefs would be proud of you. I'm French myself and never tried to bake some macarons, it seems soooooo hard!!! But after seeing your perfect macarons, I think I will try.
ReplyDeleteHave a nice sunny afternoon! Kisses.
I want you so bad to return to youtube!!! I need to see you more!!! You are mesmerizing and we need to see your tips!!! Please my dear Simone!!! :-) I'm almost begging you!!!
ReplyDeleteOh, my....these look delightful and tasty!!!
ReplyDeleteCongrats! Practice makes perfect :D I really enjoyed reading your adventures, and in some parts you made me LOL (don't like laugh out loud :P)
ReplyDeletePlease come back to your youtube channel, We need to see you cooking and making your make-up videos again!
ReplyDeleteyou are a super cute master chef ;)
cheers from colombia! Xo xo
Yes Smoon!!! Just a suggestion: I think you should come back to your YouTube channel, did you left it because of the negative (and some ... nasty,,,) people all around YouTube? I think I heard something about it...but well, people say all they want and we never know.
ReplyDeleteMaking videos is more difficult than writing and taking some pictures, and you are a very busy person, but I guess, one day or another, using YouTube to show some recipes or makeup tutorials as a tool...........maybe with Oliver's help??? why not???? :) You switch off the comments on YouTube and the girls here can go take a look at the link ;) .....and comment here! Nhamm watch cooking is way more better!