French Pâtisserie Technique: Macaronage - Le Cordon Bleu (2024)
Homemade traditional French macarons by Le Cordon Bleu Chefs
In this series of videos, our Chefs are sharing some of the classic French techniques we teach to more than 20,000 students on our programmes around the world each year. Second in the series, here's how to create French-style macaronage for macarons. Macaronage is the stage in preparing French macaron shells where the batter is worked until smooth, shiny and flowing.
Macarons, or French macaroons as they are sometimes known, are loved around the world for their simplicity and variety. The shells have a delightful chewy crunch that so many of us can't resist.
2. Whisk the egg whites until frothy. Add caster sugar and continue to whisk until stiff peaks form. Using a spatula, fold in the food colouring of your choice.
3. Sprinkle in the almond and icing sugar mix and fold in with a spatula. If you think your batter is too dry, add some more liquid egg whites. It should have a soft consistency which smooths on top when mixed.
4. Place the silicone mat or baking paper onto a baking tray. Fill a piping bag fitted with an 8mm nozzle with your mixture and pipe out into even sized pieces. Gently tap the tray on the counter to smooth out the surface of your macaron shells. Leave to crust for 15-30 minutes or until the shells are not sticky to the touch.
5. Bake at 140 degrees for 12 minutes or until firm enough to peel of the mat. Once cooled, match into equal sized pairs then pipe the filling of your choice and assemble the pairs together.
Chef tips: Your batter should be shiny. If your batter looks dull, add a little more egg whites until your mixture has a glossy shine.
We used powdered food colouring as this makes the finished macaron more vibrant in colour. If you can't find this, you can use liquid food colouring, but be careful of adding too much liquid.
We filled our macarons with jam, but you can also fill yours with flavoured buttercream or ganache.
Using a cookie cutter or bottle lid draw circles evenly spaced out onto the baking paper using a pencil or marker pen, turn this over and use as a guide to ensure your piped macaron shells are the same size.
In case you are still not 100% sure if the batter is ready or not, there is one more way to test it out. Do a test pipe. Take a spoon and place a little bit of the batter on the baking sheet. The batter should evenly flatten down without having the point on it.
Some chefs and recipe methods tell you the precise number of scrapes you will need; instead I would say the macaronage should take a total of 2-4 mins, so stop if you are taking too long. The right consistency I would describe as looking like melted plastic or cheese fondue.
After piping the macaron batter and banging out any air bubbles, the next step is allowing the macaron shellss to dry until they've formed a skin. Typically, you'll need to allow the shells to rest for about 45 – 60+ minutes on the counter until a skin has formed on top.
Remember not to fill them on the day of the event because macarons need time to mature in the refrigerator, so remove the frozen unfilled shells from the freezer a few days ahead of time and fill them with the buttercream frosting to give them that extra time.
If you fold the batter too little, the macarons will not be cooked through and will be gooey in the center. If you fold the batter too much, the macarons will be dry and crumbly. The ideal number of folds is anywhere from 40 to 60.
Overexalted baking is one of the most common causes of macarons becoming too chewy. Allow piped macarons to sit out for 30 to 60 minutes before removing and allowing them to dry. A recipe for a Macaron Shell can be made up to three days ahead of time.
If you're worried about why your macarons aren't forming skin, you might just need to wait a while longer. It's also possible that the room isn't the right temperature for the macarons to dry properly. Things could be too humid in the room and you might need to move them to a cooler location that is also dry enough.
One of the biggest challenges in making macarons is getting the right consistency for the cookies. They should be light and airy, with a crisp shell and a soft interior. If they are too dense, they will be dry and crumbly. If they are too soft, they will collapse and be difficult to sandwich together.
When you overmix macaron batter, it breaks down the proteins in the egg whites, which leads to flat, spread-out macarons. Another reason could be that you didn't let your macarons rest long enough before baking them. If you don't let them rest, the heat from the oven will cause them to spread.
Macaron batter should be mixed until it becomes like thick pancake batter, but not runny. The batter shouldn't plop, it should flow. When the batter begins to look glossy around the edges and sinks back into place within 20 seconds, you have reached the right consistency.
First, macarons are made with almond flour, which is more expensive than other types of flour. Second, macarons require a lot of time and effort to make. The batter must be carefully mixed, the macarons must be piped perfectly, and they must be baked slowly and carefully. All of this takes time, and time is money.
French macaroons are incredibly sensitive to moisture above everything. This is why some recipes call for "ageing egg whites" as when egg whites get old they loose some moisture. Some recipes also recommend powdered food colouring over liquid, again to control the water content in the batter.
When you overmix macaron batter, it breaks down the proteins in the egg whites, which leads to flat, spread-out macarons. Another reason could be that you didn't let your macarons rest long enough before baking them. If you don't let them rest, the heat from the oven will cause them to spread.
One of the most important steps in making macarons is the resting period, where the batter is left to sit for a period of time before baking. This allows the macarons to develop their signature feet, and to prevent them from being too runny.
Because almond flour is ground so finely, it is a great choice for making macarons. As a result, if the dough is not properly formed, you do not need to use a food processor to make it; however, if clumps form, you may need to use a metal spoon. Before using the flour, it can be thoroughly sifted to remove any clumps.
Introduction: My name is Greg Kuvalis, I am a witty, spotless, beautiful, charming, delightful, thankful, beautiful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
