Do you like macaroons? Me too, I love !
It's true that these cupcakes are delicious!
Crispy on top and soft on the inside... Yummy!
But given the price, you can't afford that every day...
Luckily, a cook friend told me his easy recipe for macaroons, better than at Ladurée!
Don't worry, this homemade recipe is delicious, quick and easy to make. Watch:
- 80 g of almond flour or almond powder
- 150 g icing sugar
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 40g caster sugar
- 5 ml vanilla extract
1. Preheat the oven to 140°C and put two racks in the lower part of the oven.
2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. If you have time, draw circles 2.5 cm in diameter on the back of each sheet, spacing them at least 1 cm apart. These circles will make the shapes of the macaroons.
4. Mix the ground almonds and icing sugar.
5. Using a sieve, sift this mixture twice to remove impurities.
6. Separate the egg whites from the yolks using this technique.
7. Put the whites in the bowl of the pastry robot or in a container if you use a simple electric mixer and whip your egg whites.
8. When the egg whites begin to froth, gradually add the sugar, one spoonful at a time, while continuing to beat the eggs, until all the sugar is fully incorporated.
9. Continue beating the egg whites until stiff, glossy peaks form when you lift the beaters.
10. Gently pour in the vanilla extract.
11. Add half of the sifted almond powder-sugar mixture and gently fold it into the meringue using a flexible silicone spatula.
12. Once the mixture is almost incorporated, add the second half and gently incorporate it into the preparation.
13. When the almond powder-sugar mixture is completely incorporated, you have to work on the texture of the dough. To do this, with the flat of the spatula, hit the dough in the center. And push her to the sides. And start again.
14. Repeat this gesture 10 to 15 times depending on the force with which you perform it and the starting texture of your dough.
15. Continue until the dough slowly falls back into the bowl, when you pick it up with the spatula.
16. Pour the batter into a pastry case fitted with a 1cm nozzle.
17. On the baking sheets you have prepared, make 2.5 cm rounds of dough in the circles you have drawn.
18. Hold the baking sheet with both hands and tap each sheet gently two or three times on the work surface. This helps smooth the top of the macaron and helps to make a nice collar on the base of the macaron.
19. Let the macaroons air dry for 15 minutes. A very thin, smooth crust should form on the shell. If you touch it lightly with your finger, the dough will not stick. If after 15 min the dough remains sticky, let it dry longer. In wet weather this can take up to an hour.
20. Put both sheets in the oven and heat for 15 to 18 minutes. After two minutes, open the oven door to release excess moisture.
21. Halfway through cooking, swap the oven racks and rotate the sheets of parchment paper for even cooking. The macaroons are done when the top becomes hard. Be careful that they are cooked enough (otherwise the inside will still be mushy) but not overcooked (otherwise the top will start to brown).
22. Remove them from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheets placed on a wire rack.
23. Once completely cooled, top the macarons with honey and assemble.
There you go, your homemade honey macaroons are already ready to be tasted :-)
It's not that complicated, is it?
All you have to do is enjoy yourself.
Not even worth buying from Pierre Hermé! It's much more economical to make them yourself.
If you do not eat all at once, you can store your macaroons in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a week.
- If your almond powder is too thick, mix it with the icing sugar, put it in a food processor and grind it before using it in the recipe.
- Ideally, the eggs should not be too fresh:they should have been laid for at least 3 days.
- Take the eggs out of the fridge 2 to 3 days before making the recipe so that they are at room temperature.
- Be careful not to beat the egg whites too much:the texture must remain airy and creamy. They should not become grainy (we then say that they are grainy).
- To incorporate the ingredients, such as the almond powder in step 11, into the egg whites, do not crush them but lift the egg whites from below, from the side or in the middle with the spatula. Be careful not to stir the egg whites so as not to break the air bubbles that make them up.
- In step 13, for best results, hit the dough with the spatula several times then check the consistency. And possibly start again. The batter should not be too liquid otherwise the macaroons will not swell when cooked as they should and traces of fat will appear on the surface. The consistency of the paste should be quite thick, like molten lava!
- If you don't have a pastry nozzle, you can replace it with a 3 liter multi-purpose bag. It is then enough to cut a small piece of one of the lower corners. Turn the top of the bag over itself and tie it to prevent the dough from overflowing.
- Don't forget to draw the circles on the back (and not on the front) of your baking sheet to avoid ink or pencil stains on your macaroons! You can also use macaron baking mats.
- Once the macaroons are cooked, take the tray out of the oven and pour a tiny bit of water under the parchment paper. In contact with the hot plate, the water will turn into steam, which will help to take off the macaroons.
- You can replace the honey with jam or ganache.
- To make colorful macaroons, you can add food coloring to the dough.
- And if you really like macaroons, I recommend Mercotte's book, Solution Macarons.
