Description
French macaron delights bakers with its elegant simplicity, offering a delicate cookie featuring almond flour and meringue. Crisp shells sandwich luscious buttercream, creating a sophisticated treat you’ll master with careful technique and gentle patience.
Ingredients
Scale
- 70 g egg whites (room temperature)
- 75 g fine granulated sugar
- 100 g super-fine almond flour
- 65 g powdered sugar
- 3 ½ tbsps milk
- ½ cup (115 g) unsalted butter (softened)
- 2 large egg yolks
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar (optional)
- ¼ tsp coarse kosher salt
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- gel food coloring (if desired)
Instructions
- Preparation: Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper, ensuring a smooth surface for macaron shells.
- Dry Ingredients: Sift almond flour and powdered sugar twice, removing any lumps to achieve a fine, uniform texture for smooth shells.
- Meringue Formation: Whip egg whites with granulated sugar, cream of tartar, and salt until firm peaks develop, creating a glossy and stable meringue base.
- Coloring and Mixing: Add gel food coloring if desired, then carefully fold sifted dry ingredients into meringue using a silicone spatula, maintaining a consistent figure-eight pattern that dissolves within 10 seconds.
- Piping and Resting: Transfer batter to a piping bag with a round tip, pipe 1.5-inch rounds on prepared sheets, tap to remove air bubbles, and let rest for 15 minutes to develop a protective skin.
- Baking: Place macarons on the middle oven rack, bake for 15-18 minutes until shells are stable and set, then cool completely before removing from the baking surface.
- Custard Filling: Whisk egg yolks with sugar, incorporate milk, and gently simmer until thickened to a pudding-like consistency, then cool to room temperature.
- Buttercream Assembly: Blend softened butter into cooled custard in three stages, adding vanilla extract for enhanced flavor, creating a luxurious filling.
- Final Construction: Match macaron shells by size, pipe buttercream onto bottom shells, sandwich with corresponding tops, and refrigerate for 24 hours to develop optimal flavor and texture.
- Serving: Remove macarons from refrigerator 30 minutes before serving, presenting these delicate French confections at their most exquisite moment.
Notes
- Precise Sifting: Double-sift almond flour and powdered sugar to eliminate lumps, guaranteeing a smooth, delicate macaron texture.
- Meringue Mastery: Whip egg whites until firm peaks form, ensuring they maintain a distinct pointed shape when lifted for perfect structural integrity.
- Batter Brilliance: Fold dry ingredients gently, creating a figure-eight pattern that dissolves within 10 seconds – this indicates ideal macaron batter consistency.
- Resting Revelation: Allow piped shells to develop a skin for 15 minutes before baking, preventing cracks and ensuring a professional-looking final product.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20-23 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 13
- Calories: 161
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 25 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 21 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 33 mg