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The French Macaron

Recipe Level: Moderate

These French macarons are perfectly light, yet crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. They are a classic lemon flavour that never goes out of stye!

Baked by Alie Romano

Professional Baker and Recipe Developer

* For best results, read the entire article. Every step matters, and I’ll provide helpful tips along the way!

These French macarons are perfectly light, yet crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. They are a classic lemon flavour that never goes out of stye!

French Macaron. French Macaron! I’ve put together a few tips & tricks that can help you when tackling these light, chewy macarons. Here's a recipe for one of my favourite

When it comes to the french, there are a few things that I truly believe should be left to them; like the French Macaron! They are perfectionists when it comes to their food/baking and especially their pastries.  I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I’m a little biased and wish these pretty sweets would be left in the hands of the french! They are not the easiest confection to master, and boxes and boxes of macarons in grocery stores, variety stores, and big box stores do not do these special sweets justice. The best way to understand or to respect this, would be to try and make them yourself!

You need to have patience, and to follow the recipe exactly; any type of short cut will only end badly! Mostly you need to find your rhythm in making the french macaron. The more you make them the better you’ll get, like anything in life really!

I’ve put together a few tips and tricks that can help you when tackling these light, chewy marcarons. I’ve also attached a recipe for one of my favourite macaron flavours, Lemon!

french macaron. French Macaron! I’ve put together a few tips & tricks that can help you when tackling these light, chewy macarons. Here's a recipe for one of my favourite

I hope these tips are helpful while making your french macarons. They aren’t the easiest to make, but are worth all the work.  Perhaps you’ll appreciate them a little more once you’ve tackled it on your own. I know I do!

Happy Baking!

Bon Appétit

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The French Macaron

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These French macarons are perfectly light, yet crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. They are a classic lemon flavour that never goes out of stye!

  • Author: Alie Romano
  • Prep Time: 40 mins
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 16 1x
  • Category: Dessert, Treat
  • Cuisine: French

Ingredients

Units Scale

Macaron Shells

  • 3 egg whites at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup superfine (caster) sugar
  • yellow food colouring (I prefer the gel colouring)
  • 1 1/4 cups sifted icing sugar
  • 1 cup ground almonds
  • 2 tsp finely grated lemon rind

Macaron Filling

  • 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 3 cups sifted icing sugar
  • 3 Tbsp melted white chocolate
  • 1 Tbsp whipping cream
  • 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Instructions

  1. Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper
  2. Blend sifted icing sugar, ground almonds, and lemon rind in a bowl. Set aside
  3. Beat egg whites in a large bowl in an electric mixer with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Slowly add instant sugar and a few drops of food colouring, beat until sugar dissolves and stiff, glossy peaks form. Lightly fold sifted icing sugar, ground almonds and lemon rind into the egg whites, approx. 40 folds
  4. Spoon mixture into piping bag fitted with 2cm (3/4inch) plain tube. Pipe 4cm rounds about 1 ½ inches apart. Tap trays on the counter so macarons spread slightly to a smooth surface. Dust macarons with extra sifted icing sugar.
  5. Let stand for 30 minutes on trays to form a skin. Meanwhile preheat oven to 300˚F
  6. Bake for approx. 18-20 minutes. Cool on trays
  7. For the filling
  8. Beat butter and sugar in an electric mixer with the whisk attachment. Add melted chocolate and whipping cream, and lemon juice. Beat until soft and well incorporated.
  9. once macarons are cooled, pipe a small amount of white chocolate lemon filling and sandwich together.

Notes

Tips & Tricks

Grind almond flour and powdered sugar together, then sift through a fine mesh sieve to make sure there aren’t any lumps.
Make sure your mixing bowl is clean. Any residual fat/grease can sabotage your meringue.
Beat your egg whites until soft and foamy before adding sugar. Then slowly add your sugar in approx. 3 batches. This helps dissolve the sugar.
Perfect your folding. Under-folding the macaronage (aka macaron batter) will result in too-puffy macarons, while over-folding can create hard, flat ones. To perfect your folding, use a wide bowl and a rubber (or silicone) spatula. Make sure you don’t have any unincorporated flour or meringue on your bowl or spatula.
The consistency you are looking for after folding all the almond mixture is “magma” (lava) It should flow like magma (lava) from your spatula when you lift some batter up with your spatula. A ribbon should also form in the batter when the magma falls down. This takes about 40 folds.
As you pipe, hold the bag perpendicular to the baking sheet and flick the tip of the bag as you finish each cookie to minimize the peaks.
Tap from the bottom. Hold the baking sheet with one hand and tap the bottom of the pan firmly in a few places with the other, making sure to tap below each section of macarons. Then do one final tap on the counter. Tapping removes bubbles, and tapping from the bottom helps ensure you don’t miss any.
Let the skin form. This takes about 20-30 minutes. A skin should form around the macaron. The sides and top should not be sticky. Touch it before baking.
Rotate the cookie sheet halfway through baking so that the cookies bake to an even pale gold.
Don’t remove the shells until they’re completely cool.
Don’t over fill your macaron, the classic french way isn’t over done with filling.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1
  • Calories: 224
  • Sugar: 35.9g
  • Sodium: 47mg
  • Fat: 7.8g
  • Saturated Fat: 3.2g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 0
  • Trans Fat: 0
  • Carbohydrates: 38g
  • Fiber: 0.8g
  • Protein: 2.3g
  • Cholesterol: 12mg

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Share a photo and tag me on Instagram @bakingforfriends_

I can’t wait to see what you’ve made! xo alie

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Alie Romano

Meet

Alie

I'm a professional baker, recipe developer & photographer behind Baking For Friends. I specialize in classic & comforting baking. I hope you enjoy the recipes & find inspiration of your own to bring your family & friends together over home-cooked food!

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