You no longer have to fear a macaron or meringue – use these techniques to master the basic recipe!
Basic macaron recipe
MAKES 34-36
“There are different methods for making macarons: the Swiss method, French method and Italian method. My personal preference is the Swiss method, which basically means heating egg whites and sugar using a double boiler.
All the piping tips I use for making macarons, as well as the gel food colouring, are from Wilton. You can use other brands, but the pigmentation of the food colouring may differ.”
75g (2¾oz) almond flour 75g (2¾oz) icing sugar 66g (2¼oz) fresh egg whites 60g (2oz) superfine sugar Gel food colouring of choice Digital food scale Fine-mesh sieve Stand mixer Sugar thermometer
1 Measure out all of the ingredients using your digital scale – accuracy is important when making macarons. Weigh the almond flour and powdered sugar first, then transfer them to a food processor. Pulse a few times, but no more than four or five times, or else your flour could release oils, which could lead to greasy and translucent macaron shells.
2 Using a fine-mesh sieve, sift the pulsed almond flour and icing sugar into a bowl. This is a very important step! If you do not sift, your macarons will not have that nice, smooth top, and even though you might have very fine almond flour and icing sugar, there still might be some lumps. Do not overfill your sieve; just fill halfway at a time, or else it will go over the sides and make a mess. Do this two times to make sure the mixture is well sifted. Discard any large particles left in the sieve.
3 Fill a pan with water to a depth of about 2.5cm (1in) and bring to a simmer over a medium heat.
4 In the mixing bowl of your stand mixer, combine the egg whites and superfine sugar, then place the bowl over the pan of simmering water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water!
5 With a spatula, stir the egg whites and superfine sugar constantly until the sugar has fully melted. Use a sugar thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature of the mixture; it should not exceed 50°C/120°F. I usually remove the bowl from the heat at 45°C/113°F, as the remaining heat from the bowl will continue to melt the sugar. This process should take about 5 minutes.
6 Transfer your mixing bowl to a stand mixer and use the whisk attachment to beat the egg white mixture. Start whisking on low speed for 1-2 minutes, then increase to medium speed and whisk for 2-3 minutes, or until it becomes white and frothy.
7 Now, increase the speed to medium-high and mix until stiff peaks for
