Macaron Recipe Using Italian Meringue
I've been using this macaron recipe over and over because its what works for me. I've tried countless other macaron recipes and they would never work out and would not produce feet. This recipe uses an the Italian Meringue Method, which is like a regular meringue, but thicker and stronger. Sugar and water is boiled together to make a syrup and beaten into the egg whites. It's a little scary handling hot syrup the first time, but once you get the hang of it you'll love this method. It's a lot more forgiving compared to other macaron recipes because there's a chance that you won't overfold the meringue. I usually let this macaron rest only for a couple minutes until the macarons are no longer sticking to my finger and dries before baking them right away.
MACARON RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
Optional: dash of cream of tartar to stabilize eggs
- 120g egg whites, divided (60g/60g)
- 35g sugar
- 150g finely ground almonds
- 150g powdered sugar
Optional: dash of cream of tartar to stabilize eggs
SIMPLE SYRUP
INGREDIENTS
- 150g sugar
- 50g water
1. Start of by first whipping up your 60g of egg whites to soft peak in a mixer. Once it gets a little bubbly, add in a dash on cream of tartar to stabilize the eggs. Once it reaches soft peak, slowly sprinkle in your 35g of sugar a little bit at time. While your egg whites are whipping, make your simple sugar by heating up 150g of sugar with 50g of water in a pan until it reach 220F.
2. On low speed, while the syrup is still hot, pour the syrup into the mixing bowl, make sure the syrup hits the bowl, before trickling down into your whipped whites. Continue whipping until have a strong shiny meringue.
3. I would get one of the sifters that you just need to turn for this, to make the process more faster. But sift 150g of powdered sugar and 150g of powdered/flour almonds together into a bowl. It is said it is best to use this in a food processor for better results, but I just sifted it twice, and that it was fine.
4. Add in the remaining egg whites into the bowl, and fold. At this point if you want any food coloring, add them now.
5. Fold in your meringue/whipped whites, but at first use only 1/4, very gently fold, and keep adding 1/4 at a time. The mix would be too stiff at first and would deflate your batter.
6. I totally recommend using a sturdy half sheet pan, and a silpat mat over it. Pipe your macarons onto the mat, 1 inch in between, each a quarter size. They will flatten during the resting/drying period, so make sure there is space in between. If you want even sized cookies, either trace circles on a piece of paper and have it behind the mat. That's a bit too much effort for me, so I just count to 3*depending on how hard you pipe* on each macaron you pipe. You want your piping tip perpendicular to the baking tray, and when you finish off piping, do a slight twitch-swirl so you don't get pointy ends. If you want to make a bear macarons, give your macarons bear like features and pipe two small ears on the almost sides of the circles, and bit close to the circle for a natural or cuter bear look
7. Tap the tray 2-3 times. Poke out any air bubbles with a tooth pick. Let the macarons dry/restuntil when you touch it, it doesn't stick to your finger. (Usually takes 15 minutes for me, but don't wait for hours to bake your macarons) This is so you can develop feet for you macarons by the skin they produce on the top of your macarons. *meaning very important that you leave your macarons until they dry out/look dull* But this is a Italian meringue method, you may or may not have to do this since the batter is so strong. I've always done resting periods, regardless. Bake at 320F for 15-25 minutes depending on the size of your macarons. I sometimes change it up and use 285F for 20 minutes, if I realize my macarons are rising a bit too quickly and are cracking
The filling I used for this recipe is from Foodnetwork's "Quick Vanilla Buttercream Frosting" which I halved in half, it was more than enough. But feel free to use any filling, jam, ganache, or anything
MACARON RECIPE VIDEO
MACARON RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
Optional: dash of cream of tartar to stabilize eggs
- 120g egg whites, divided (60g/60g)
- 35g sugar
- 150g finely ground almonds
- 150g powdered sugar
Optional: dash of cream of tartar to stabilize eggs
SIMPLE SYRUP
INGREDIENTS
- 150g sugar
- 50g water
1. Start of by first whipping up your 60g of egg whites to soft peak in a mixer. Once it gets a little bubbly, add in a dash on cream of tartar to stabilize the eggs. Once it reaches soft peak, slowly sprinkle in your 35g of sugar a little bit at time. While your egg whites are whipping, make your simple sugar by heating up 150g of sugar with 50g of water in a pan until it reach 220F.
2. On low speed, while the syrup is still hot, pour the syrup into the mixing bowl, make sure the syrup hits the bowl, before trickling down into your whipped whites. Continue whipping until have a strong shiny meringue.
3. I would get one of the sifters that you just need to turn for this, to make the process more faster. But sift 150g of powdered sugar and 150g of powdered/flour almonds together into a bowl. It is said it is best to use this in a food processor for better results, but I just sifted it twice, and that it was fine.
4. Add in the remaining egg whites into the bowl, and fold. At this point if you want any food coloring, add them now.
5. Fold in your meringue/whipped whites, but at first use only 1/4, very gently fold, and keep adding 1/4 at a time. The mix would be too stiff at first and would deflate your batter.
6. I totally recommend using a sturdy half sheet pan, and a silpat mat over it. Pipe your macarons onto the mat, 1 inch in between, each a quarter size. They will flatten during the resting/drying period, so make sure there is space in between. If you want even sized cookies, either trace circles on a piece of paper and have it behind the mat. That's a bit too much effort for me, so I just count to 3*depending on how hard you pipe* on each macaron you pipe. You want your piping tip perpendicular to the baking tray, and when you finish off piping, do a slight twitch-swirl so you don't get pointy ends. Give your macarons bear like features and pipe two small ears on the almost sides of the circles, and bit close to the circle for a natural or cuter bear look
7. Tap the tray 2-3 times. Poke out any air bubbles with a tooth pick. Let the macarons dry/rest for 1-2 hours. Or until when you touch it, it doesn't stick to your finger. This is so you can develop feet for you macarons by the skin they produce on the top of your macarons. *meaning very important that you leave your macarons until they dry out/look dull* But this is a Italian meringue method, you may or may not have to do this since the batter is so strong. I've always done resting periods, regardless. Bake at 320F for 15-25 minutes depending on the size of your macarons. I sometimes change it up and use 285F for 20 minutes, if I realize my macarons are rising a bit too quickly and are cracking
The filling I used for this recipe is from Foodnetwork's "Quick Vanilla Buttercream Frosting" which I halved in half, it was more than enough. But feel free to use any filling, jam, ganache, or anything
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