French Macarons

About This Recipe

French macarons are the most technically exacting of all baked goods and, when mastered, among the most rewarding. These jewel-coloured almond meringue sandwiches — crispy shells giving way to a chewy interior, the 'foot' forming at the base as they bake — have become the global symbol of French patisserie, sold in the windows of Ladurée and Pierre Hermé in Paris since the 1990s. The macaron's reputation for difficulty is partly deserved and partly exaggerated. The challenges are real: almond flour must be fine enough to produce smooth shells; the egg whites must reach the correct stiff-peak stage; the macaronnage (folding) must be done to precisely the right consistency — too much folding deflates the air and produces flat, cracked shells; too little and the surface doesn't smooth out. The Italian meringue method (adding hot sugar syrup to whipping egg whites) used in this recipe produces a more stable, glossy meringue than the French method and is significantly more reliable for home bakers. The flavour of the filling determines the character: classic vanilla buttercream, dark chocolate ganache, raspberry jam and buttercream, pistachio, coffee, lemon curd. The shells themselves have a delicate almond sweetness that pairs with almost anything. Make these on a dry day — humidity is the macaron's enemy.

Ingredients

Serves 20

• 150 galmond flour (ground almonds)(sifted and dried if needed)
• 150 gicing sugar
• 110 gegg whites(divided: 55g for the paste, 55g for the meringue. Aged 24 hours is ideal.)
• 150 gcaster sugar(for the sugar syrup)
• 50 gwater
• as neededgel food colouring
• 200 gunsalted butter(softened, for buttercream)
• 100 gicing sugar(sifted, for buttercream)
• 1 tspvanilla extract(for buttercream)
• 2 tbspdouble cream(for buttercream)

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the tant pour tant

   Sift almond flour and icing sugar together twice. For the smoothest shells, pulse in a food processor then sift. Mix with 55g egg whites to form a thick, smooth paste (tant pour tant). Add gel food colouring if using.

   Lumps in the tant pour tant cause bumpy macaron surfaces. Sift twice and discard any large pieces.

2. 2

   Make the Italian meringue

   Combine caster sugar and water in a small saucepan. Heat to 118°C (244°F) — use a sugar thermometer. When the syrup reaches 110°C, begin whipping the remaining 55g egg whites to soft peaks at medium speed.

3. 3

   Add syrup to whites

   When syrup reaches 118°C, pour it slowly down the side of the bowl into the whipping whites with the mixer running at medium-high. Avoid hitting the whisk. Continue whipping until the meringue is thick, glossy and the bowl is cool to touch — about 8 minutes.

   The bowl must be cool before proceeding. Warm meringue will deflate the batter during macaronnage.

4. 4

   Macaronnage (folding)

   Add one-third of the meringue to the tant pour tant paste and fold vigorously to loosen. Add remaining meringue and fold using a spatula in broad strokes, scraping the bottom and sides. The batter is ready when it falls from the spatula in a thick, continuous ribbon that disappears back into the batter in 10 seconds (the 'lava flow' test).

   This is the critical step. Under-folded batter gives peaked, cracked shells. Over-folded gives flat, spread-out shells. Aim for 45–55 folding strokes.

5. 5

   Pipe

   Transfer batter to a piping bag fitted with a 1 cm round tip. Pipe 3.5 cm circles onto baking trays lined with parchment or silicone mats. Tap the trays firmly on the counter 3–4 times to pop air bubbles.

6. 6

   Dry

   Leave piped shells at room temperature for 30–60 minutes until a skin forms on the surface — the surface should feel dry and not stick to your fingertip. This skin formation is what creates the characteristic 'foot' during baking.

   In humid weather, this drying can take up to 90 minutes. Do not rush this step.

7. 7

   Bake

   Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F). Bake for 13–15 minutes. The macarons should have formed feet, be firm on top and slide cleanly off the parchment when cool.

8. 8

   Fill and mature

   Beat butter, icing sugar, vanilla and cream until fluffy. Sandwich cooled shells with buttercream. Refrigerate filled macarons for 24 hours before eating — they mature and improve dramatically, the shells softening to that perfect chewy texture.

Variations

• •

  Chocolate macarons: add 15g cocoa powder to the tant pour tant (reduce almond flour by 15g) and fill with dark chocolate ganache.

• •

  Raspberry macarons: add pink colouring to shells, fill with raspberry jam mixed into vanilla buttercream.

• •

  Pistachio macarons: substitute 30g of the almond flour with pistachio flour, fill with pistachio buttercream.

Storage

Filled macarons keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days. They improve significantly on day 2. Unfilled shells freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes before filling.

Frequently Asked Questions