It’s been over a year since I’ve been baking macarons, which is crazy! I never would’ve imagined that trying to bake them for Mother’s Day in 2020 would soon become a daily task! I am so grateful for everything that has come because of my macarons, and I love seeing my customers enjoy them! Some of you may think that my macarons come out perfect every time I bake them, but that is absolutely NOT the case. I’ve definitely had some rough days. But, I’ve learned a lot from these days and I wanted to share with you guys my top 10 tips when baking macarons and how to make sure you prevent making even the smallest mistakes!!
- Always, always measure your ingredients exactly!
- Regardless of what recipe you are using, make sure to follow the exact measurements it provides for each ingredient. I cannot emphasize this enough!! In the past, I remember altering the measurements by a couple of grams here and there, and I soon ended up with cracked macarons. To prevent this, purchase a measuring scale and make sure the setting is in grams. I use my measuring scale when measuring every single ingredient. I honestly like it better than using cups and tablespoons since my precise measurements will ensure a successful bake! Here is the MEASURING SCALE that I use.
- When making the meringue, make sure your mixing bowl is COMPLETELY CLEAN AND DRY.
- This is definitely an annoying one. One time when I was baking macarons, my mixing bowl had one drop of water, just ONE, and my meringue completely fell apart. Another time, I had used my mixing bowl to make buttercream frosting, and even despite washing the bowl thoroughly, my meringue fell apart due to some remnants of butter somehow in the bowl. Even the tiniest amount of fat or water will prevent the meringue from forming, so make sure your bowl is dry and clean. I have used white vinegar to make sure my mixing bowl is completely clean. I also use a clean towel instead of tissues to pat the bowl dry.
- Use silicone mats, not parchment paper.
- When I first started baking macarons, I would always use parchment paper. However, I would notice that the bottoms of the macarons always ended up browning too much and being uneven due to the ridges of the parchment paper. Plus, I would waste so much parchment paper after every batch. I soon started using silicone mats, and they ended up being so much better! My macarons would have completely flat and even bottoms without any browning, and I am still reusing these mats! I use silicone mats with outlines of circles on them, and this makes the entire piping process SO much easier since my macarons are all consistent in size. There are silicone mats with outlines of different shapes too, allowing you to make even more creative macarons! I have one with an outline of a bear, and it is so useful for making character macarons! Here is the link to the SILICONE MATS I have been using:
The next two tips are about egg whites, a very important ingredient:
- Separate your eggs a couple of days in advance!
- I’ve always heard that aged egg whites work best for macarons! What I do is that I crack a bunch of eggs on one day, put the egg whites in the fridge for 2-3 days, and then use them to bake macarons. Since I usually make several batches throughout the week, I crack a dozen or two eggs on one day and then use the egg whites throughout the week.
- Be careful when cracking eggs!!
- There CANNOT be any egg yolks. Like none AT ALL. Sometimes, when cracking eggs, the yolk may break open and “contaminate” the egg whites. You can no longer use those egg whites since yolks contain a lot of fat and even a teeny tiny bit can ruin the meringue. I learned this the hard way, especially since I break dozens of eggs at once. If you are also doing that, I recommend cracking one egg at a time in a small bowl, removing the egg yolk and putting it in the “yolk” bowl, and then pouring the egg whites into the bigger “whites” bowl. This way, if you do accidentally break the yolk, it will all be in the small bowl and not in the big bowl with all the egg whites, allowing you to simply use a new small bowl! With the yolks and the “failed egg whites” attempts, I usually make omelets for breakfast or even try making new desserts or recipes, like creme brûlée or spicy mayo!! With the shells, I put them out in my garden since eggshells are a very good source of calcium and nutrients for plants! My mom and I love to garden, so I do this to help our plants out!
- Only use gel food coloring!
- When coloring your macaronage, use a couple of drops of gel food coloring instead of water-based food coloring. This is so because gel food coloring is a lot more concentrated, so you do not need to use as much food coloring per batch. Also, water-based food coloring can alter the consistency of the macaronage and can prevent them from baking correctly. When I bake macarons, I usually put the food coloring in my meringue instead of the macaronage, so a water-based food coloring is a big no as any water will cause the meringue to fall apart.
- To know when the meringue is ready, flip the bowl over your head!
- This tip may sound silly, but it honestly works! Sometimes, overwhipping or under whipping your meringue can lead to failed macarons. To check if my meringue is ready, I take my mixing bowl and flip it over! If the meringue is in place and nothing falls out, the meringue is ready! If it does kind of pour out of the bowl, you will probably need to keep whipping it! This tip works every time I bake, and I get a perfectly whipped meringue every time! I honestly prefer my meringue to be slightly under whipped as it always results in fewer hollow shells.
- Macaronage is ready when it forms a figure 8.
- This is a popular tip. To know when your macaronage is ready, take some of it on your spatula and let it flow back into the bowl. If you can “write” the number 8 with the macaronage without any breaks in it, then the macaronage is ready to pipe! I usually check if I can do this two times in one go, as having the macaronage slightly over mixed allows for smoother tops for the shells.
- Be patient when letting the macarons dry!
- This is definitely a step where I get impatient, but it is probably the most important step of the macaron baking process!! Letting macarons dry adequately allows for the macarons to rise as the air won’t escape from the top of the macaron since the top of the shell forms a dry layer, preventing any air from going through it. You want good “feet”, which is the side of the macaron. If you do not let it dry, you will end up with what I call “volcano” macarons since the air escapes from the top. I keep my macaron tray under the fan for around 25-30 minutes. Turning on the AC also helps! To check if they are done drying, I simply touch the top of the macaron and if it feels dry and firm, not “squishy,” then I go ahead and turn on the oven. Do NOT over-dry macarons! Sometimes I forget about my macarons drying (while doing homework) and I go ahead and see that the macarons are rock solid. Even though they still bake nicely, they tend to be really hollow and brittle, which is something you do not want! I’ve seen that for me, letting them dry for around 25-30 minutes will result in non-hollow macarons! This drying time will be different for everyone, so testing it out and seeing which times work is probably ideal!!
- Weather can affect macarons!
- I learned this the hard way. When it starts getting colder and rainier during the winter months, I need to change up my macaron baking process a bit. There was a day when I didn’t know the weather could affect them, and around five to six batches of macarons were thrown out. To prevent that from happening, you need to let the macarons dry longer, probably around 45–60 minutes, and reduce the baking temperature. In the summer, I would bake my macarons at 300 degrees F for around 20 minutes, but during the winter, I would bake them at 275 degrees F for around 30–35 minutes. I use my AC and fan together at once when drying the macarons since it takes so long! There are other ways, such as using a dehumidifier or using a different drying process, which I need to try, but as of now, these two tips help a lot!
There are so many more tips, but these are definitely the basic ones that everyone who is trying to bake macarons needs to know!! I hope this was helpful and if you ever have any questions, please feel free to comment down below or even email me! My email is merakixblog@gmail.com. I still have so much to learn about macarons, so as I keep learning, I’ll keep sharing with you all!!
You can also check my YouTube video tutorial HERE.
Here are a few macaron recipes:
