French Meringue Macarons
French macarons are a culinary masterpiece that marry a nuanced sweetness with the distinct taste of almond, all encapsulated in their soft, moist, and chewy shells. These petite, round delights, resembling enchanting miniature hamburgers, are quintessentially French sandwich cookies crafted from meringue. Light and crispy on the outside, yet tender and chewy on the inside, macarons offer a symphony of flavors: a medley of subtle sweetness, almond essence, and a touch of sugar, all enhanced by vibrant food coloring.
The crowning glory of macarons lies in their delectable fillings, which can range from velvety buttercream and rich chocolate ganache to luscious marzipan, sweet jam, and succulent fruit compote. Each bite provides a burst of contrasting textures and flavors, making macarons an irresistible treat that is as visually charming as it is delicious.
In this recipe I cover the french meringue macaron method. This type of macaron is very popular and easy to make.
Macaron Shells
Ingredients
80g eggs white
95g ground almonds (almond flour/powder)
85g icing sugar
75g white caster sugar
Stiff peak
Steps:
1.) Preheat your oven to 300F
2.) Mix egg whites and caster sugar in a large mixing bowl and whip them together into a meringue.
3.) When meringue begins to stiffen (about 5 minutes) add food coloring. Add as much as you like! More drops will make for a deeper dark color.
4.) I use electric pink color for rose water and lychee
6.) Sift the almond powder and icing sugar together well or use food processor if available.
7.) Whip the eggs whites and caster sugar until stiff peak.
8.) Fold almond powder and the meringue together
9.) using a figure 8 mixing motion. This will knock some of the air out giving the macaron its smooth top.
10.) Put batter into piping bag.
11.) Line a standard sized baking sheet with parchment paper.
12.) Begin piping batter in small 3.5 cm mounds 2cm apart.
13.) Tap tap tap the tray against the counter gently so that the tips of the mounts flatten and become smooth on top.
Adding almond mixture into stiff peak meringue
Before you begin baking, a couple things to keep in mind. Everyone’s oven is different. Your oven might be different from my oven. Also, humid conditions can affect how the macaron turns out, as they have to be very dry before you begin baking. This means that in some climates you’ll only have to wait 20 minutes, while in others you may have to wait over an hour for the batter to become dry. I won’t go too deep into atmospheric science, keep this in mind if you live in a humid climate.
14.) Once the batter is dry, the batter not stick to your finger when touch the skin form on the surface., place in oven on a middle rack and bake at 300F for 15 minutes
15.) Open the oven door and leave open for 2 minutes before taking out the tray.(option for using silicon baking mat)
16.) Let cool for 10-15 minutes. You can check for coolness by touching as well.
17.) when the macarons have completely cooled down, remove from the tray and store in an airtight container before filling.
Rose Water Buttercream Filling
Making filling for the desserts is unlimited. You can have from sweet to savoury, whatever you desire! For me, the best of type of sandwich cookies is balanced. Not from adding more sugar into the filling but adding richness to the cream to satisfy your taste. I personally like my filling a little starchy or salty.
By the way: I have ten different kinds of fillings.
Some people might like the macarons without filling. I like the macaron fill with creamy smooth, light with fresh fruit. This is a French Macaron, so you can fill with tropical fruit like lychee or vanilla rose water butter cream and lychee (rose water goes well with lychee).
Ingredients:
200g sugar
75g water
150g whole eggs
90g eggs yolk
400g soft butter
4g rose essences
Steps:
1. In the mixer bowl, yolk, and whole egg use balloon whisk
2. Beat in high speed until lighter color
3. Cook syrup: boil the water and sugar in the saucepan
4. Reach 118C pour the syrup into the whipping egg until cooled down completely.
5. Add the Soft the butter to the egg mixture in a lower speed
6. Add rose essence continues whisk to consistency smooth.
7. Peel the fresh lychee or use cane lychee,
8. Drain and dry on the paper towel
Now assemble!
9. Pipe mound rose butter cream on the open shell
10. Top the lychee
11. Make a small dot on the top lychee
12. Cover the other half shell
13. Keep in the fridge before serve
Enjoy your homemade macarons!