Dessert

Parlez-vous français? French macarons

Oh how I have missed you, my sweets.  But I have a good excuse.  I have been to France!


Well that’s not exactly true.  I’ve barely left the 416.  But I did take a trip there in my mind.  Me and my kitchen went to macaron town.  And ooooooh, was it gooooood.  Bien sûr!


About a year ago, no, two years ago, I tried making macarons. They were always on my baking bucket list, and suddenly showed up in LCBO’s Food and Drink magazine around Christmastime. I thought, perfect! I’ll make those for Mum for Christmas!


The magazine included loads of tempting flavour options like pistachio, chocolate with salted caramel filling, and raspberry fig, the flavour I tried.  Big thanks to the LCBO for including step-by-step instructions and a whole page of helpful tips. I was excited but extremely tense.


Silly of me, really. I have lots of experience with egg whites, and when I read the recipe, I was surprised at how simple the batter is.  Still, those delicate french pastries are known to be fiddly? delicate? temperamental? and really gave me the heebie geebies.  But it turned out my fears were unfounded.  On my first try a few of them turned out (out of a possible 24) and though they looked a bit mashed up, they tasted quite good!


Being a perfectionist about all things in the kitchen, I was pleased with my efforts but in no way ready to wrap them up and place them under the tree for anybody, especially Mum.  So I waited.  And waited some more.  The longer I waited the more I feared those crispy mounds of Parisian heaven. I had every excuse in the book: it’s too hot/cold/humid in my apartment, it’s too long until the next time Mum and I get together, I’m too busy…Je suis fatigue…


No more excuses. These are beautiful coma inducing dream puffs.  What is there to be afraid of? The time is now.  Ça suffit!


And what a perfect day to dedicate to all things French.  A day off work, a clean kitchen, a visit with Mum planned for this evening.  It was now or never.


Probably the most important thing to remember when making macarons is that they hate drafts and humidity. They also do well if you let your egg whites sit out for a few hours prior to whipping them up.  Taken a step further, use egg whites in a carton, rather than risk separating the eggs and tainting the mix with fat from the egg yolk.

Sift together icing sugar and ground almonds, either through a sieve or pulse lightly in a food processor to ensure the almonds are well blended and some air is added to the mix.  Set that aside and whip the egg whites, food colouring (the recipe called for 3 drops, I added 4 and it still wasn’t enough) and vanilla.  Once your egg whites have reached soft peaks, add 1/4 cup granulated sugar and continue to beat until firm and glossy.

In two additions, carefully fold the almond mixture into the egg whites until just uniform.


Now the tricky/messy part: getting the light, airy, sticky mixture safely into a pastry bag without slopping it all over the counter. Just take your time, and don’t over-fill the bag. I added a bit of the batter, squirted it out onto the cookie sheet, added some more, and repeated this approximately three times, to ensure the bag was always easy to maneuver.  The recipe shares some other great tips on how to make sure your macarons all come out beautifully, and hopefully the same size.  I can’t seem to source this online so I will post the recipe as a PDF below.

Another secret to macaron success is first to let them sit for around 30-60 minutes before baking (but no longer than 60 min). This ensures they come out of the oven with a beautiful glossy exterior.  Also, after baking, be patient and allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet before removing them.


Once completely cooled (which luckily doesn’t take long at all), match them up in pairs.  To one side, frost with a mixture of cream cheese and seedless raspberry jam.  To the other cookie, smooth on fig jam. Now join them together in holy sugary matrimony.  Then take a moment to delight in your incredible creations.  They are almost too beautiful to–

Eat.

Nope, definitely not too beautiful to eat.  In fact, they’re so easy to hide in your cheeks you may think the macaron thief has come to town.  But then you’ll wake up from your sugar nap and know for sure.  You were hit by the macaron spell.  And it was magnifique!

Need more evidence of macaron success? The “foot” or “pied” on the bottom of each cookie.  See that airy, open base at the bottom of each biscuit? It’s the “pied” and that’s the money shot.

I know many of you have macarons on your baking bucket list and I implore you to give them a try.  Please share your macaron stories with me and definitely hit me up with any questions you have, either here in the comment section or on Twitter.  Happy baking! Let’s show Ladurée a thing or two.

Recipe for Raspberry Fig Macarons

and make sure to check out these tips, also provided by the LCBO:

Mastering Macarons

Comments (17)

  • They’re beautiful!!! And I think you just helped me get over my fears of trying to make them. What a terrific job you’ve done. I love how they look……..and how they jump off the screen at me. What a wonderful, mouthwatering post….I will definitely try these one day soon. Thank you for this.

    Reply
    • I’m so glad! They really are so easy (well, I guess it’s all in comparison to other things!). I remember being so afraid they wouldn’t turn out last time, so this time I tried to just relax and enjoy the process. And they all turned out! Maybe a bigger lesson is lurking there, eh?

      Reply
      • I think you’re right my friend. And it’s a bigger lesson I need to learn, pronto. 🙂

        I’m so thrilled you did these! It gives me hope, lol. Still thinking about them…probably will think about them until I make them too.

        Reply
  • Come ON.

    Reply
  • Your pictures are just beautiful, but I love how you wrote this post and then gave us a happy ending with your swoon-worthy macarons. The ballet pink color is amazing. Thanks for the encouragement to try these (definitely not during the humid summer months).

    Well done!!
    Allison

    Reply
    • Thanks Allison. It’s true, I would never try these during the summer with our extremely hot and humid weather, but this is the perfect time of year for them, so definitely let me know if you give them a go.

      Reply
  • OMG I am so jelly!! Can’t believe you went to France – as a French Senior Student, that is my dream 😀
    It is so nice to have you back and full of so much experience – and what better way to bring it out into the blogging world than with such wonderfully pink and pretty macarons 🙂

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru
    Latest: 5 Min Wrap Pizza

    Reply
  • OMG they are delicious. Love the blend of raspberry and fig. Perfect texture!

    Reply
    • Thanks Mum:) Are they all gone yet?

      Reply
      • Yep!!!!!

        Reply
  • c’est beau!
    love the idea of the raspberry and fig filling. Well-done!

    Reply
  • ooooh looks yummy! been wanting to try this, love your blog btw!

    Reply
    • Thanks Elaine. Definitely give them a go. They are much easier than you’d think. And of course, I want to see your results!

      Reply
  • Melanie, you have inspired me. Macarons have been on my baking bucket list for a while now. Time to start separating those eggs and try a brownie like version I have created in my mind.

    Reply
    • I’m thrilled! Brownie Queen, you definitely have to give them a try. I suggest using the egg whites in a carton–I hate to waste eggs, and definitely do a brownie version. A nice thick chocolate ganache filling? You’ll definitely have to tell me how it goes. Maybe bring them in for a taste testing?

      Reply

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