Macarons

Beautiful macarons are one of the current "sweet" crazes. Make a batch, put them in a pretty box tied up with ribbon, and give them to a friend as a dazzling gift. Makes about

Recipe courtesy Lorraine Pascale
Show: Simply Baking Episode: Time to Bake
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Photo: Macarons

TOTAL TIME: 1 hr 25 min
Prep: 30 min
Inactive Prep: 30 min
Cook: 25 min
 
YIELD: 24 macarons (12 if sandwiched together)
LEVEL: Intermediate

ingredients

  • 1 cup plus 2 tbsp/4 1/2oz/125g confectioners' sugar
  • generous 1 1/3 cups/125g/4 1/2oz ground almonds
  • 1 1/2oz/40g egg whites
  • 2 tbsp water
  • generous 1/2cup/4oz/110g superfine sugar
  • 2oz/50g egg whites
  • Food coloring (optional)
  • Shredded coconut, for sprinkling (optional)
  • 2/3 cup/5floz/150ml heavy or whipped cream, whipped
      • EQUIPMENT:
      • Pastry bag fitted with a 1/2in (1cm) tip
        recipe tools

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        Directions

        Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (170 degrees C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

        Put the confectioners' sugar, ground almonds, and 1 1/2oz (40g) egg whites together in a large bowl and mix to a paste.

        Put the water and superfine sugar in a small pan and heat gently to melt the sugar, then turn up the heat and boil it until the mixture starts to go syrupy and thickens. I don't use a thermometer but it would read 239 degrees F (115 degrees C).

        Whisk the remaining egg whites in a small bowl until medium-stiff peaks form, then pour in the sugar syrup, whisking until the mixture becomes stiff and shiny.

        For colored macarons, add a few drops of food coloring. Tip this meringue mixture into the almond paste mixture and stir gently until the becomes stiff and shiny again.

        Spoon into the pastry bag. Pipe a little mixture under each corner of the parchment paper to stop it sliding around. With the bag held vertically, pipe 1 1/2in (4cm) flat circles onto the lined sheet, about 34 in (2cm) apart, twisting the bag after each one. The mixture should be quite loose to give a smooth finish. The piping will leave a small "tip" on each circle so, when they're all piped, give the sheet 2 to 3 slams on a flat surface to flatten them.
        At this stage, sprinkle with shredded coconut if you want. Let stand for 30 minutes to form a skin, then bake in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes with the door slightly ajar, until firm. Remove from the oven, then lift the paper off the baking sheet and let the macarons cool on the paper.

        When cool, sandwich the macarons together with whipped cream. They can be kept for a couple of days, if they hang around that long.

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        4

        Newest Ratings and Reviews

        Read all 8 reviews

        • on January 24, 2013

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          i wanted to mkae this recipe. i grounded the almonds well but it went quite course so i keeped blitzing using the processor and it didnt work, oh well. The egg white bit you have to do quickly. I dyed mine with orange food colouring. The mixture was very wet to put it on a piping bag, so i spooned it. I followed the recipe ut after cooking, the biscuits stucked into the tin. next time whn i make macaroons like this i will grease well the trays.

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        • on January 23, 2013

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          beautiful. seem difficult at first attempt but after 3 or 4 attempts become easier. everyone loved them. they were nice and chewy.

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        • on July 26, 2012

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          My first attempt at macarons...wasn't a failure but wasn't a success either. Mine were a bit flat and large because the mixture was probably more runny than it should have been, wish they had a video for this recipe. I skipped the color and coconut and mixed freshly whipped cream with strained blackberry jam for the filling. Overall they tasted good. I definitely will try to make these again but will use an electric mixer at least for the whites after the syrup is added. I don't think I was able to get it as stiff as it should have been by whisking alone.

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