Making macarons. It’s all about practice, sure sure you have heard me say that before. But before you get to practicing, there’s definitely something to be said for taking a class. You can own 15 books on making macarons (not that I would know anything about that, ahem) but unless you know what the mixture should look or feel like, it can be very frustrating.
Many of you are sadly not able to come to Toronto to take a macaron-making class with me, and even if you follow my nearly fail-proof French meringue macarons recipe, you might not be able to master macarons, so I decided to try to do something about that. For me there are three key stages to getting your macarons right: 1. Whipping the egg whites. 2. The “macaronnage” (folding the dry ingredients into the French meringue) and 3. Piping the macarons. So since I can’t show you all in person, I made three short videos to help understand what those stages should *look* like.
I already posted the first video last week on my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer giveaway. I’ve found my Kitchen Aid to be indispensable over the past few years as I have worked to perfect macarons. I’m all about knowing at what speed and for how long I am beating my egg whites and the ability to change that by a speed or a few seconds/ minutes is key. Having the hands-free mixer makes that easy. No, Kitchen Aid are not paying me to say that either.
Here’s how to whip egg whites to the right stage when making French meringue macarons:
The next key to making great French meringue macarons is the stage where you mix in the dry ingredients into the whipped egg whites/ sugar. It’s a key step because if you under mix, you’ll get meringues and if you over mix, you’ll get sweet crackers. Hopefully this will help explain the “scoop and press” idea where you need to deflate the mix you’ve just whipped up into a stiff meringue.
The last key step is really all about practice but it does tend to freak people out – the piping stage. I find this incredibly soothing and could pipe trays and trays of macarons every day. Many find it difficult but if your batter is right (see above), your macs will be easy to pipe. I pipe mine from the side, as I was taught at Lenôtre and I have good success with that. Hopefully this video is of some help in showing you how.
Et voilà. Hopefully these help you unravel a few of the mysteries surrounding macaron-making and might even persuade you to give it a go at home!
Check out my entire macaron recipe using French meringue.
Very cool! I’ve got my mad about macarons book but I’m still too chicken to try 🙂 The tutorial will definitely help
I hope so!
Would you believe that this past summer was the first time I ever had a macaron? Unfortunately my ranching town here doesn’t subscribe to such fancy cookies. I think with your tutorials I should try making them myself, who knows maybe I’ll start something new up here.
Let me know if you do!
One of these days Mr. Neil might make a duck proscuitto or foie gras maracon, just to freak everyone out… 😉
Right. I’d like to see that!
Apropos Mr Neil’s descriptors of oxymoronic dishes – it reminds me of a fish milkshake.
To return to the topic of macarons – I believe Mardi has well and truly demonstrated a compulsive/obsessive disorder. But, they do look gorgeous.
Geoff, I think that was proven about 148 post ago…
SO many more than that…
There are worse things to be obsessive/ compulsive about!
I
bloody
LOVE
macarons!
hi mardi,
thanks for your videos, i have finally seen the glorious la pied on my macarons. however, some of them cracked. why is that happening? they are not hollow and have feet but it seems the top is alittle brittle!
Sounds like maybe your oven is a little hot in that part? Most ovens have hot spots – feet and no hollows is a pretty great start! Also, maybe you didn’t rap the trays hard enough – could be an air bubble?
I actually have the same problem with my macs, hollow and cracked. Next batch was already not hollow, but still cracked on top. Any tips on cracked tops as well?
Sounds like you might have under beaten the dry ingredients into the wet OR your oven runs a little hot OR you didn’t rap the trays hard enough.
Hello,
I have a convection oven, so I’ve been setting the temp lower by 25F from the conventional oven temp. Can I bake more than 1 tray at a time? If yes, should the time and/or temp be adjusted from the single tray baking?
Thanks!
Depends a lot on the oven, you have to experiment and figure it out. Some convection are fine with more than one tray but some are not. Temp should stay the same.
I’ve had this bookmarked for what seems like forever to read and what. A WONDERFUL toturial for macs. Bravo and Happy New Year!
I mean “read and watch” and “tutorial”. Jeesh!
Hi Mardi,
Your videos are really helpful! I’ve been referencing your recipes and these videos while making macarons lately but I’ve been plagued by hollow shells!!! Normally my macarons have nice feet and shiny shells, but are hollow. My definition of hollow is that there’s a gap between the shell and the insides of the cookie, where the insides have collapsed. I’ve tried raising and lowering oven temperatures (between 275 and 310 F), but I’m starting to think I may be overmixing my batter. The batter normally reincorporates in around 10 seconds. I also rap the baking sheet 4-5 times and allow the shells to dry for at least 30 mins (usually not more than an hour or so). I might try undermixing the batter next time but it’s so frustrating! Do you have any tips or advice on how to get rid of these hollows?
I do find hollows are worse in the winter (when you are starting in a cold kitchen) but it does sound like your batter is overmixed. 10 seconds for the batter to reincorporate is pretty fast… How long are you baking them for? I find longer at a lower temp helps with hollows.
Thanks for such a quick response. I tried baking them today at both 270 and 280 F, it probably took them over 20 minutes to cook through. Any sooner than that the bottoms of my macs stuck to my silpat. I’ll try mixing the batter a little less next time and see how it goes.
Also, I’m signed up for your baking class on February 9th. Looking forward to meeting you!
Also, I love how I don’t have to worry about when to add the sugar to my egg whites when whipping the meringue. Kudos to you and Brave Tart!
Try 300 for about 18 minutes. Hollows can also be because the insides are not cooked properly and they collapse. Or, just wait a couple of weeks for the class 🙂 There really is no substitute for taking a hands-on class! Looking forward to meeting you!
Hey, A lot of times, the hollows are caused by not cooking the macaron long enough. What happens is that the macaron seems done, but the interior is not yet stable, so when you take them out, the interior whipped egg white sinks and leaves hollows. Try cooking them a few minutes longer. This will cause the interior of the whipped egg white to stabilize.
Thanks for your tips, though I’ve found that cooking the macaron too long will also cause the insides to collapse once they are out of the oven.
I made macarons for the second time and i have been getting the same constant results! I dont know why my macarons turn out cracked and always hollow with no feet? Why is that? I tried experementing…. changing temperature, aging egg whites but its still the same!
What do you reckon went wrong?
Thank you so much for your post i love it!!!
It sounds to me like your batter might be overmixed and/ or your oven is too hot…
Hey Mardi! Thank you so much for these video tutorials…they were a great help!! I suffer from OMD (Obsessive Macaron Disorder) ever since I had these yummylicious treats in Paris many years ago. Since then I’ve wanted to try them but was terrified after my first attempt turned out awful crunchy meringues!!! Well, a couple of friends and I decided to put our heads together and follow your tutorial (with a bottle of champagne)…and were successful in our second attempt (first one had cracks on the top and we realized that was because we didn’t mix the almond/sugar into the eggs well enough and piped the macaron before the mixture flowed like ‘lava’ (or maybe the second batch was better as we became more light-headed and were having more fun?!). Whatever the reason, thank you for helping us eliminate the fear of making macarons as we honestly thought it was rocket-science in the kitchen!!! Now to try with colors and flavors!! Cheers…
Champagne is the perfect match when making macarons! Seriously, so glad I could help you out! And you know, practice makes perfect!
Absolutely Mardi…now to practice and perfect these babies! Just a question though…do you prefer to use powder colors or paste colors? Does either affect the texture of the macarons like dry them out? For savory macarons, do you still use the sweet shells? Thanks once again!!!
I use powdered colour always. And I have never made savoury macarons but believe that the shells are still sweet – it’s the filling that is savoury.
I was reading your instructions on the other page and compared the beating time of merigue and they don’t match and also the temperature and baking time. So which one should we follow, the first one or the video? Thank you. You’re blog is great!
If by “the other page” you mean the recipe, the egg white beating times are the exact same. Also, there is no baking time mentioned in this post so I am not quite sure what you are referring to?
have just made my 5th batch of macarons, worst yet! the last 3 batches have had no feet. I have just watched your videos so will attempt more maybe tomorrow of I can summon up the macarenergy! typically the first batch I made were the best!
Can’t wait to try making some!!!!!!! Thanks for the video very helpful! By the way where did you get your tips for you piping bag?
I buy them at a place called Golda’s Kitchen in Toronto but you can get them at any baking supply shop.
Hi Mardi!
I am so thankful that I found your blog!! Your tutorials have been so helpful!!
Wonderful videos! I’m a bit of a mac fiend myself, and recently made some that came out hollow (it was the recipe from Tartelette, and they looked beautiful aside from hollows) and your post on hollow macarons will be helpful when I make my next batch. I suspect I’m not mixing the macronage enough either, after watching your videos. I’m always worried to overmix but I think I’ve been undermixing as a result! Next time I hope I can produce pretty, non-hollow macs 🙂 Thanks for the tips!
Honestly I cannot thank you enough for posting these videos! I had the opposite experience with macarons as you seemed to. My first batch was close to perfect (Shells were a bit hollow) and my last two batches were total flops and I still am unsure of what went wrong! However my new food processor is arriving tomorrow and I will definitely use these videos to help me!! Thanks!!!
is this good for 48 pieces or 24 double.
It’s for 40 macarons (so 80 halves)
mardi!! i’m devastatingly late to the macaron ball but no less obsessed! i love your blog and all of your helpful posts and these videos, too. totally going to try the “side-piping” method! i love how vigorously the macaron ingredients are beaten/whacked … and they turn out to be such pretty, delicate seeming things! thank you for all of your great posts! can’t wait to get (egg) crackin’ again tomorrow!
I have made several batches and although they taste fine they are hollow. I have followed your instructions to the second while mixing my egg whites and counted my strokes. I think I have over 100 shells chilling in the freezer that are hollow. Help! I am over working the chickens in Arizona with all my wasted eggs. Can you think of anything else? I moved my cooking from a convection oven to a gas oven for this last batch. Still hollow. They had more skirts than feet but some in the batch had feet so the batch was not consistent. Any thoughts would be very welcome.
I feel like overworking the batter definitely makes them more hollow. Recently I have been mixing it a few less strokes and having success with no hollows. As with anything, it’s all about practice! I have also switched to parchment exclusively instead of Silpat which helps.
I definitely think overworking the batter makes them hollow. Stop counting the strokes and go by “feel”.
Thank you. I thought I had success with a batch. They were the perfect balance of chewy with a slight crunch on the outside and not hollow. A few days later I pulled one from the refrigerator and it was hard all the way through. I have not had this happen yet. Have you seen this? Thanks again for your time.
Were they filled and refrigerated. Hard when you first take them out of the fridge (especially if it’s filled with ganache). You need to let them warm to room temp. If they are not filled, you should keep them at room temp.
Hi Mardi,
Yes they were filled with ganache as well as not filled but both in the fridge. I will pull one out now and let it warm up to check it. Thanks!
Hi Mardi!
I need your help! I’ve made macarons like more than 10 times and I never get perfect macarons! I’m so mad! First I was getting hollow macarons but pretty on the outside! Then I came to your site and followed all your instructions and now they don’t have the feet and are cracked, I let them dry as you said! (They are not hollow anymore! Now they have an air pocket at the bottom!) I don’t know what I’m doing wrong! 🙁 help me please! (Sorry for the bad English!)
Hi Erika,
It took me many more than 10 times to get them where they are today! Please email me (mardi @ eatlivetravelwrite.com) with a photo of what you mean by “air pocket at bottom”. Cheers!
Hi! Thanks for the recommendations…I can not really make blue blue blue macarons, the color always is like Tiffany blue…almost turquoise…you have any secret?
I buy my very blue colour from Golda’s Kitchen – it’s this brand.
Thank you so much! I will try! Xoxo
Thanks for your tutorial!
I wanted to ask though – you mentioned on another page of this site that you do *not* let the macarons dry after piping and before baking. But in the last video above you said to let them rest for 30 minutes. Could you clear that up?
Thanks!
Hi Leila, the macaron recipe was at one stage a work in progress, hence the different information (you will notice the earlier post is the one saying not to rest the batter and the updated recipes is linked on the bottom of that post). Now, if I have time I rest my macarons – it helps with forming the feet – although I do teach classes where I simply do not have time and they turn out fine!
Hi Mardi – Question about the recipe – you add 15g of cocoa or ground freeze-dried raspberries. What if I don’t want to add any flavor. Should I replace that 15g with more almond flour or powdered sugar? I also use gel colors – a lot less than the tsp of powder color that you use. Will that make a difference? Thanks.
Hi Bonnie, No you should not add or subtract anything if you just want plain macarons. Re the colour, of course you wouldn’t use 1tsp of the gel – that would be really strong colour! I personally don’t like fussing with the gels as I find them messy – the powders are much easier for me to add to the mixture.
ive got hallow shells and have tried everything from aging egg whites, eliminating food coloring and added flavoring, mixing egg whites till foamy and not mixing them as much, parchment paper and silicone, grinning the RedMill almond flour and powdered sugar in a food processor, sifting multiple times, letting them sit out till hard layer forms before baking. I bake at 300, for 18 min and they do typically seem to still stick so I’ve tried cooking a tad longer but both still have hallows. I’m not sure if I’m undermixing as it does flow like a ribbon but it takes much longer then 20 seconds to fully disappear back into batter. However my folds are much more then 50. I did watch your videos just now and realized I’m not smacking the batter like you do so I will try that. The pans I’m using are aluminum and 30 years old. Could that have something to do with it?
Hollow macarons really are a bit of a mystery to me too still. It seems much worse in the cold weather – where are you located?
I’m in Green Bay WI, it’s in the 30’s. Would it be worth getting a scale and a new baking sheet to try ?
Never mind the temperature (though that is pretty cold), if you have not been measuring your ingredients, I’d suggest that might be the issue. What recipe are you using (not mine, I am guessing)?
Okay! Yeah I’ve been just using cup measurements instead of a scale. Beth’s Fool proof macaron recipie. I’m thinking I need to switch and get a scale 🙂
Ok. Please understand that I am not in a position to answer questions about every macaron recipe, as I won’t have personal experience with them all. I am not familiar with “Beth’s Foolproof Macaron Recipe” as you will see I have my own version that works very well (tested and tested over months and months). I also do not recommend a recipe that does not measure the ingredients in weight. There is too much variation in the way different people weigh ingredients for volume to be consistent. Happy to answer questions about my recipe which you can find here.
Hi Mardi! I want to try to use a navy blue powder color (I’ve only used lighter paste color in macarons before) and I was wondering if the intensity of the navy or any other dark powder color will cause staining? I don’t want to serve macarons that will give guests navy blue teeth!!
It depends on the brand, I’m afraid!!
Two questions before I embark on my experiment! 1. Can you use liquid flavoring if that’s all you have? And 2. I have a disability, are you able to pipe with a plunger type thing instead of a bag?
Hello and thanks for stopping by! You can use liquid colouring but it takes a lot to produce a vibrant colour. It also tends to fade a little more in the oven. And yes to the “plunger type thing” though you may have a hard time getting round macs. No worries, though!
Hello!
Thanks for such great step by step instructions and videos.. i have read so many of them and am ready to try 🙂
I had a question.. your recipe makes 40 macarons… do you have the same success cutting the recipe in half or in thirds to start off as a test or do you recommend to use your recipe as is for the start as well? thanks so much! Lin
Hi Lin, I have successfully made 1/4 of this recipe – as long as you do the math correctly (which is why the ingredients are listed in weight) you should be fine!
darn it, i wanted to send this link along with the videos to my 11year old nephew who’s asking me to help him fro miles and miles away on making macarons… it looks like your videos are not available anymore?
Videos are working just fine!