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Saturday, February 26, 2011

Basic Macarons Recipe: Italian meringue method - Now, I'm a convert!



I'm back talking basic macacron recipe again but this time is for Italian meringue method.

Macarons can be made using two methods, which are French meringue technique and Italian meringue’s. Majority of the processes for both techniques are the same. The difference is how you handle the caster sugar (fine sugar) with egg whites. French meringue calls for caster sugar be gradually mixed into the whipping egg white. Whereas, Italian meringue method uses cooked sugar syrup mixed into the whipping egg whites.

Note: I have written a blog post about making macarons using French meringue method before, which could be found here. You might also find the I Heart Macaron post useful for the beginning of my macaron adventure.

With Italian meringue method, it is a little more complex and more tools (and washings) involved as you would need a thermometer. However, it gives shinier crust, less temperamental when it comes to weather condition, humidity in particular, and more forgiving when it comes to mixing. You are less likely to overmix the batch (which results in spreading macarons and no feet) using Italian method than French's.

I wasn’t convinced about making macarons using Italian meringue methods until lately. I had bad experience using this method and my macarons failed miserably. The shells were hard and crunchy. They were anything but macarons. I had always blamed this on the Italian meringue techniques. I had no idea then that I read thermometer incorrectly when cooking sugar syrup. See, I had never cooked/used cooking thermometer before back then (I know it might sound like a lame excuse). The first thermometer I had wasn’t a digital one. I misread the farenheit for celcius, and 118°F is nothing close to 118°C, in fact it’s only 47°C. It wasn’t a surprise that that macaron batch was a disaster; dry, tough and crunchy.

Now that I had a number of successful batches made by Italian meringue method, I feel more comfortable to recommend it. In fact, it is gradually growing on me and I might be a permanent convert. Italian meringue has become my weapon of choice for making macarons.

I based my recipe loosely on Pierre Herme's. I reduced the amount of icing sugar, caster sugar and almond meal and still found that it worked well (I find the macarons are sweet as it is and try to reduce the sugar as much as I can). Pierre Herme recipe bakes macarons at 180c, I bake mine at 150c. I have tried baking them at 160c before and found the macarons to be too dry and lose that soft and moist melt-in-your-mouth texture (note that I use convection oven or what Aussie calls fan-forced oven).

Since I discovered bread-making and are so passionate about it, I started to look at recipe from the baker percentage perspective. i.e ratio/measurement of ingredients against the main ingredient. In bread-making, everything in the recipe are measured against total flour weight. In macaron-making, I measure all ingredients against egg white, which I would like to call it the macaron maker ratio. I am very pedantic when it comes to making macarons, which I believe accuracy is critical. It is important to ensure the ratio between wet ingredients and dry ingredients is spot on.

My macarons maker ratio works like this:

My basic macaron formula (French Meringue technique) is:
Egg white 1 part
Pure icing sugar 1.60 part
Almond meal 1.10 part
Caster sugar 0.60 part

My basic macaron formula – Italian Meringue technique is:
Egg white 1 part
Pure icing sugar 1.25 part
Almond meal 1.25 part
Caster sugar 1.25 part
Water 0.34 part

This means I would measure the egg white before I start measure everything else. For example, I would use 3 large egg white for my usual batch, which yield around 100 g, the rest of ingredients should work like this:

Egg white 100 g (100 x 1)
Pure icing sugar 125 g (100 x 1.25)
Almond meal 125 g (100 x 1.25)
Caster sugar 125 g (100 x 1.25)
Water 34 g (100 x 0.34)

Apart from the accuracy, having appropriate tools is critical for making successful batches of macarons. Tools that you’ll need:-

·    Piping bag size 14 inch (350 mm). You can probably get away with smaller bag but I found this size is perfect for a batch producing 25 macarons.
Tools - using pastry scraper pushing almond meal mixture
through the sieve make it easier
·    Pipping nozzle, 1cm plain round tip (size 11)
·    Good quality (preferably heavy steel, commercial weight) baking tray. I love baking trays from MasterClass. They are made of heavy steel, got a commercial weight and reasonably priced. Good baking tray helps to insulate the heat, distribute the heat more evenly and make the macarons rise better and give you the more uniformed macaron feet (those holy-grail of macaron lovers)
·    Non-stick baking paper or silicone mat or Silpat
·    Sieve
·    Spatula
·    Stand mixer or hand mixer (or a whisk with a strong arm)
·    Scale (I prefer to measure the exact ingredients intead of going by volume measurement i.e. cup)
·   Thermometer, preferably digital one, but I guess the normal thermometer would work just fine.
·    Small heavy-base saucepan: for cooking sugar syrup with Italian meringue method.

Though you might have heard stories about failed macarons batches, that macarons are hard to master, it is not at all hard to make. Sure, sometimes the weather can be a little too humid, you might over-mix the batch, you might have some bad macaron day, the feet didn’t appear, but those macarons will taste exceptionally yummy anyway. Armed with right tools and right recipes, you can make this… at home!

Here is the walk-through for making macaron using Italian meringue method:

Note:
I also encourage you to read my other two posts for tips and recipes for making macarons;

Basic Macaron Recipe: Italian meringue method
Makes about 25 3-cm macarons

Ingredients
100 g/or 3 large egg whites (separated 24-48 hours before making and is at room temperature)
125 g pure icing sugar
125 g almond meal (ground almond, almond flour)
125 g caster sugar (fine sugar)
34 g water
pinch of coloring powder or liquid

Macaron filling
100 g dark chocolate, chopped
100 ml thickened cream (minimum 35% fat)
20 g butter, chopped

Sift the almond meal together with pure icing sugar through a fine sieve (some suggests processing ingredients in a food processor for finer texture. I usually don’t and it works fine without it).

Divide egg whites into two equal portions (50 g each portion). Put one portion (50 g) into the almond meal/icing sugar mixture. Do not mix the ingredients together, just pour egg white into dry mixture and leave it as is. Put the coloring powder or liquid on to the egg white. Set aside.

Put the other portion of egg white in a mixing bowl and position it in the mixer that is fitted with the whip attachment. Set this aside.

Place water and caster sugar in a small heavy-base saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to the boil. Do not stir the syrup as the crystal might form. Use wet brush to brush down any sugar crystal or syrup from the side of saucepan.

Once the bubble starts to appear in the syrup, start whipping egg white with high speed until it reaches soft peek and keep the motor running. 


Note: If egg white reaches soft peak stage before the sugar syrup is ready, reduce motor speed to medium and continue beating.


When the sugar syrup reach 118°C (I timed after the sugar syrup start boiling, it took approx. 3 minutes from the start of boiling to reach 118°C), remove the saucepan from the heat immediately. While the mixer is still running at high speed, slowly pour the syrup down the side of mixing bowl. Be careful not to pour the hot syrup over the whip attachment as it will spatter.


Keep beating the egg white at medium-high speed until the mixture is cool down. You should be able to touch the side of the mixing bowl and feel just about body temperature. The finished whipped egg white will be stiff and very glossy (it’s much glossier than the normal meringue method).

Using spatula, fold one-third of the whipped egg white into almond meal mixture. You can mix this quite vigorously until the batter is smooth. Fold the rest of egg whites in two batches. Fold gently but thoroughly until smooth and well-blended batter is achieved. The batter consistency will be very thick, flow slowly, and should not be runny. If the batter is runny, you might have over-mixed your batter. Do not worry that the meringue is collapsing. It is okay that it collapses. It need to be cmpletely blended in with the rest of ingredients and we are not making meringue of pavlova here, we are making macarons.



Add the mixture into a piping bag fitted with plain 1-cm piping tip. If you’re a piping bag challenge like myself, stand the bag in a tall glass to help with the filling. Once the bag is filled, turn it upside down and twist the bag a quarter turn (this will ensure the air, if any, is remove).
Pipe some batter under the baking mats/sheet to stick them to the baking tray. This will help tremendously when the trays are tapped on the bench to remove any air pockets (the baking sheets would stay in its position).

very focus and piping away...
Pipe about 2.5-cm round of batter (in staggering rows) onto the baking tray lined with baking mat or non-stick baking sheets, and leave 2.5 cm space between each shell. You will need two baking trays for this recipe.

Piped shells will be flatten almost by themselves

Tap the trays on the bench to flatten the piped shells and remove any air pocket. Macarons will be become slightly larger after they're flattened

Leave the trays of  piped shells uncovered for 30 – 60 minutes until the crust is formed and dry to touch. To see if the macarons are ready, gently touch the top of shell, if the piped shell is  not stuck to your finger, they are good to go into the oven.

Pre-heat the oven to 160°C (fan-forced/convection oven) for at least 15 minutes. Before putting macarons into the oven, reduce temperature to 150°C. Bake for 15 minutes (this might take a little longer, depend on the size of your macarons).


Feet slow rising after 5 minutes in the oven
 Once baked, remove baking sheet/mats to cooling rack. Let it cool completely before removing them from the sheets. It is much easier to remove macarons from baking sheet when they cool down and it is less less likely that they would stick to baking sheet.

When the shells are completely cool, pipe or spoon filling onto one shell and sandwich two shells together with the filling.
with pitaschio buttercream filling

Store the macarons in air-tight containers in the fridge overnight. The flavor and texture will be better after several hours in the fridge.

Simple chocolate ganache filling recipe
100 g dark chocolate (50% cocoa), chopped
100 ml thickened cream (whipping cream, minimum 35% fat content)
20 g butter, chopped 

Put chocolate in a seperate bowl.

Bring cream to the boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove it from heat as soon as it comes to the boil. 

Pour hot cream into chocolate. Leave it for about 10-20 seconds. Stir the chocolate and cream mixture until melted. Scatter butter pieces on the mixture and stir until well combine. 

Chill the ganache at least an hour before using them to fill macarons.  

Note:

You can also check the below posts out for basic macaron recipe using French meringue method and my love affair with macaron in I heart macarons:





65 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for that detailed post on the Italian Meringue method. I am very curious now to try both methods and see which works better for me. Your lessons and experience will be so helpful to me. Glad you figured out your celcius error!

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  2. You're welcome, Saltandserenity.

    I think the beauty of blogs, like mine and yours, for example, is that it is a true example of what people can achieve at home with the domestic oven, unlike cookbook where we don't know what kind of oven they might have used.

    Yes, I am glad I finally figured the temperature error out too, though I was clueless a while...lol.

    Cheers, Sue

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  3. Thank you very much for your step by step guidance. I've tried 3 times previously with the french method and failed but the first time I tried the italian method following your very detail guidelines... voila... success! Very happy, am having a girls party tomorrow, cocktail and high tea without tea, the macaron is sure to be the talk of the crowd!

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  4. Glad to hear that all went well and you had a success with the macarons. Umm, I know how it feels and how happy one can be when one finally makes beautiful macarons with pretty little feet. It's an absolute joy.

    I'm sure your friends will be impressed:)

    Sue

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  5. Thanks! I finally succeeded in Macarons that have nice consistency n taste too....the 1st four batches using french method din work for me... Thank u for yr recipe n tips!

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  6. Glad to hear that the recipe is working well for you, Yeneri.

    Italian meringue method seems to give better and more predictable results for many.

    Sue

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  7. i'm terrible for not even commenting on your post when i did a whole blog about it! hahaha! thank you SO much for sharing this recipe. i don't think i'd go back to making it the french way (don't tell the french!!!) the french way was just so discouraging whenever i screwed it up in some unknown way. i wish you could've seen my face when i peeked in the oven after 10 minutes & i saw the most perfect macarons (WITH FEET) rising. my family & friends were impressed. thank you!

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  8. Hi Boogie,

    I know what you mean about the look on your face. Aren't we all a macaraon foot-fetish? I'm still doing a happy feet nowadays when the batch comes out with exceptionally raised-feet.

    Italian method rocks...I think macaron was introduced to France from Italy...

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  9. Hey, your macarons look great!

    I just had a quick question. In this post, you say the the egg white to almond meal ratio is 1:1.20 but all your other french macaron recipes use a 1:1.10 ratio. I just wanted to know which one of these was the correct one.

    Thanks

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  10. Hi,

    Thanks for the complements:)

    Both are correct. They are using different meringue techniques, Italian and French. Italian's require more almond meal as the recipe also include liquid (water) when making meringue. This recipe is using Italian Meringue method, whereas the other uses French's.

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  11. Sorry, just to clarify, in this post you have the ratios for the french technique as well (which is different from your previous french macaron recipes).

    Thanks for the quick reply :)

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  12. Oopsi! Thanks for pointing that out:) The ones (for French Method) in other posts, in their French meringue recipes are correct.

    Now, I'm a convert to Italian Meringue method and haven't made French's one for a while...I've now fixed the French meringue part in this post.

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  13. hi where did you buy the thermometer?

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  14. Hi,

    Where do you live? I live in Melbourne, Australia. I got this thermometer from PetersOfKensington, online order. I also shop at Chef Hat in South Melbourne and Essential Ingredients in Prahran for specialised kitchen items.

    Try Amazon (both US & UK. I believe they stock these items. Or try your local commercial cookware/restaurant supplies store.

    Good luck with finding thermometer. It is a handy tool to have. I use it a lot in pastry and bread making.

    Cheers,
    Sue

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  15. tqs for sharing this recipe and very simple step by step method...I did mine last nite and it worked...think i might also convert to italian meringue mtd! hv a nice weekend!

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  16. You're most welcome, KG. Now that I'm hooked on Italian meringue method, I haven't used the French for ages.

    Sue

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  17. I've tried the Italian Meringue method a couple times now and I love it! I just found your recipe today and I notice that it differs from the one that I use. The one difference is that in my recipe, it says to whip up the egg whites to stiff peaks first, then add the sugar syrup and continue to whip the egg whites + syrup. And your recipe doesn't whip the egg whites at all until the syrup is added. Do you think this makes a difference?

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  18. Hi Anne,

    I do whip egg white before pouring syrup into it. However, I only start whipping once the bubble start to appear on the syrup (potentially 4 minutes) and whip until it reach soft peak. Once the syrup is poured into the egg white, it would get whipped for antoher 5 minutes or so (until the mixture is just warm), which means it has ample time to get to stiff peak from there.

    I think the reason behind this is that you certainly don't want to overwhip the egg white, and break down its protein and structure. You want it just get to stiff peak and still slightly warm to touch.

    Sue

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  19. Hi Sue..
    its mean we just whip only for 5 mins after we poured d syrup?i learned i must whip around 25mins..

    can we do dis macarons during raining? or we need hot weather?

    thanks soo much for ur help.. =)

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  20. Hi,

    I've never actually timed the whipping egg whites (after the hot syrup was added). It's my estimate, that it might take around 5 mins. I usually go with the temperature (touching the side of the bowl) and the look of egg white (it needs to be glossy stiff peak). Whipping egg white for 25 mins sounds extremely excessive to me! But I guess it also depends on your mixer as well, how powerful it is, is it hand-held or counter-top? But again 25 mins is far too long, I think even I whip the egg white by hand, it still take less than 25 mins to reach stiff peak.

    I've made macarons on the cool rainy days (it's not uncommon in Melbourne) and hot days. Both works fine, on the rainy humid day, you might have to increase you bench time (leaving the mac shell to dry).

    Cheers, Sue

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  21. hey Sue..

    I think I will give this italian method a try..
    give up already with french method..
    but what i'm afraid of is the piped macarons won't get dry.
    is that a problem if I stand the piped macarons too long?
    I read on one book, that the feet won't came up if we let the piped macarons sit too long.. is that true? what is the longest time u let your macarons dry?

    and sue, is that ok if I just reduce the sugar without consider the oher ingredients?

    thanks sue

    thanks sue..

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  22. Hi Lolo

    Yes, give the Italian a chance, we had enough with the French:P.

    I think you'll have better luck with this method.

    I don't think that leaving the shell out for too long will result on small feet, if anything, it would be opposite as the crust is stronger and can withstand the rise. In my opinion, leaving crust to form for too long might result in too thick a macaron shell, too dry, and lose its delicate macaron shell texture as a result.

    I occasionally left the shell out for about 90 minutes, when the weather is cold and humid..it's harder to crust to form.

    This recipe is also has reduced sugar comparing to most of the macaron recipe. I guess, the only way to find out is to try. Why don't you try reducing icing sugar for, say 5%, and see what happen (I think it should be okay).

    Have fun and good luck with the Italian:)

    Sue

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  23. Sue..

    I just baked macarons today used Italian method, the result is getting better, but still have no feet..

    finally I used my hair dryer to get the macarons dried faster, I dried for 45mins..

    the feet should be came up in 5-10 mins rite? I guess my oven is not hot enough..

    my 1st tray I put on the bottom of oven and bake for 160C n the macarons become too puffy and the outer skin is too thin, easily scattered, and the hollow inside..

    the 2nd tray I put in the middle of oven and bake for 150C, the macarons was rise well only have no feet..

    What I did wrong? but the macarons is still taste good but only not pretty :)

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  24. Hi Lolo

    Yes, usually feet will start to appear after 5 - 10 mins (more like 5).

    What kind of oven you use?

    Have you tried double lining your trays?

    Sue

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  25. Hi! Just found this blog :)
    This was very informative...think I'll try it, and they look really nice as well!! I have a question!! Have you managed to make this recipe with an analog thermometer, if so - do you find it accurate enough, or does it respond to slow? (I'm gonna purchase a thermometer soon...)

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  26. Hi Marcello,

    Thanks for the complements. Glad you found this useful.

    Yes, I made macarons with analog/manual thermometer as well. It worked fine. I usually monitor the thermometer closely once it passes 100c and turn off the heat once temp gets to 107c. The syrup temperature is okay for give or take 1-3 degree that might be resulted from analog thermometer (more likely our reading precision than the thermometer itself) .

    The more important thing is the texture of meringue. It needs to be stiff, very stiff to deliver a well raised-feet macs.

    Have fun at your first attempt...they will taste great no matter how they look.

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  27. I've had a lot of attempts making macaroons and the result is always chewy yet no feet, I'm going to try this one...

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  28. Hi,
    I was just wondering if you had any advice on how to remove the solidified sugar that's stuck to the saucepan and the side of my mixing bowl?

    It feels like there is a lot of sugar still left in my saucepan, but the sugar syrup solidified really fast.....is that normal?

    Thanks,

    Susan

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  29. Hi Susan....

    Solidified sugar in the saucepan - this is rather odds. It never happens to me. Sugar always melts and blend with liquid in my case.

    Do you mix enough water with the sugar (it should be 0.25 part of the sugar)?

    What sugar do you use? Try caster sugar (super fine sugar) as it would melt faster.

    Did you, by any chance, leave the sugar syrup boiling for too long and it reached the hard candy stage? Did you use thermometer? How accurate is the thermometer?

    Syrup stick to the bowl - I found that, even with the utmost care, there will always be some syrup struck to the side of the bowl. I never remove them, I just leave them there. To avoid syrup sticking to bowl as much as I can, I usually pour the syrup down side of the bowl slowly, in thin steam, while the beater is running on the highest speed. This helps to minimise the sticking situation.

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  30. hi just came across ur blog, like the IM too. but the recipe i use call fr aged egg whites to be whipped, then add same weight of fresh egg whites into the almond-sugar mix..have u tried that kind of recipe?

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  31. Hi Johanne,

    Yes, I'm now a big fan of Italian Meringue, haven't used French for ages....

    The recipe I'm using (this one, which based on Pierre Herme) also calls for whipping half egg white and put the other half with almond-sugar mixture. Is it the same as yours?

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  32. Hi sue, im using a toaster convection oven using ur recipe italian method..its always sticking at the bottom.btw, i bake at 150c about 15 min..its turning brown n stick to the parchment paper..what did i do wrong? Pls help

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  33. Hi, I'm not sure about the toaster oven as I have never used one. To be honest, I only baked this macs in my home oven, which is convection, built-in and standard size domestic oven.

    My guess is you can try whipping egg white more (it should be really stiff) and/or reduce the heat a little and see how you go.

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  34. Hi Sue, I baked macarons yesterday but something wrong with them. It's sticky underside (I can't remove them from the baking sheet even though I already cooled them for 2 hours), fragile, under cooked and not eatable. I'm scared to baked them more than 15 min because they turning brown. I don't know what's wrong and it's okey after I finished whipping my meringue there will be excessive liquid (sugar) on the bottom of my bowl mixer after I leave them for a few minutes. Is it normal?

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  35. Hi,

    I think you didn't mix the egg white enough. Egg white need to be whipped until very stiff and glossy. Egg white shouldn't turn to liquid if it's whipped properly.

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  36. Hi sue .. Been looking for this recipe for a long time now after I tried this delicious macarons in NY . I wanna do ur version but the problem is your measurement pls give me the exact amount by cups or tbs or tsp since I'm here in US. And what kind of coloring did u use for pistachio to achieve the right color and give me the right measurement. Thanks a lot!!!

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  37. Hi Marose,

    Unfortunately, I don't have the recipe in cup measurement. You can try the conversion online tool to convert grams to cup (example: http://www.google.com.au/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=0&oq=conversion+from+g&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4ADBF_enAU313US338&q=conversion+from+grams+to+cups). I'm quite particular with measurement when it comes to macaron making.

    I add green colouring powder into the shell mixture as well as the filling. It's good idea to go easy with colour, just adding it bit by bit and see how you go. The other good idea is to mix colouring with egg white to get the colour you desire before mixing into the shell batch.

    Good luck and have fun.

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  38. Thanks a lot sue.. Definitely will try this and will let u know. Have a blessed day!!!

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  39. I love your Macaroon Blog, I've been busy experimenting with them myself and have yet to decide which method suits me better. I, like you had a themometer diaster (I think!). I didn't have a sugar one so used the only one I had and when I added it to the egg whites it seemed to crystalise slightly. It all came together in the end and they turned out quite well, but I'm still searching for a recipe/method to suit me. I wonder if it would be possible to use corn syrup or golden syrup, thinking of giving it a try. It would be so easy if it did! ;0)

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  40. I'm glad you like the blog:)

    IMHO,it's impossible to have no sugar crystalised with the Italian meringue techniques. From my experience, too hot a sugar syrup seem to create more crystalisation (esp at the bottom of the bowl). Having the mixer running at the highest speed when pouring syrup into egg white seems to result in less crystalisation as well (from my experience).

    If you happen to experiment with corn or golden syrup, I'd love to know the results:)

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  41. hi sue, just wondering, i usually have the sifted almond+icing sugar ready ahead of time, equal ratio. So, if your recipe calls for 125g each, should i be using 250g tant pour tant or less?

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  42. Yes, correct. You need 250g of icing sugar and almond meal mixture.

    I like the idea of pre sifting in batch:)

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  43. Ok, after i baked a few batches, i observed that some macs got gaps n some didnt, that was when i sliced them in halves. Any tips to prevent the gaps between interior n exterior of the macarons?

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  44. The oven might be too hot. Try reducing temp for 5 or 10 degree. It might help.

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  45. I read a recipe that calls for the almond mixture to be mixed thoroughly with the egg whites but yours specifically said don't, any particular reason for that? Thanks:)

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  46. Oh, n Sue, the pierre hermes recipe also added some egg white powder, is that really necessary? Must be hard to find egg white powder. :/ and how long did u age your whites? Sorry, so many questions at once cause my macs dont seem to come out nice constantly, theyre very moody cookies, huh? :p. my most common problem is i got half cracked n half nice macs in one pan, n i'm very very confused....TIA :)

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  47. Egg white - Do you mean the portion of unwhipped egg white to almond meal mixture? I don't mix them as I found them harder to work with when the egg white is blended into almond meal mixture. It becomes lumpy.

    I don't and never use egg white powder. I am fine without.

    I age egg white a day before I make macaron.

    Hope you have better lucks with macarons. Practices will make perfect.

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  48. Thanks for all of your detailed answers :). I have another one :p, how hard should we tap the bottom of the pan to the work surface, just lightly or very firm? Cause I need to tap mine quite firm to get the macs to settle down nicely. Thanks again.

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  49. How hard when tapping the tray depends on how strong your arms are:P It doesn't matter as long as you achieve the gold of flat and round macarons. Putting tea towel underneath the tray when tapping also helps cushioning.

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  50. Sue, I encountered a new problem :(. My mac feet are lopsided n the feet shrink tremendously when they came out of the oven. I used convection at 150C for 15 min. They were nice n high in the oven, the feet. But when they came out, just not good looking anymore. Any ideas what's causing this? Thanks so much. Xx

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  51. I tried to make macaroons today Pierre Hermes style but my mixture was so thick it didn't even flow one bit - I don't know what I did wrong :o(

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  52. Ej, try whipping egg white longer until it is very stiff. Also try present oven at 170 and drop to 150 before baking. It is usual that feet will be smaller when baked.

    Re thick mixture, make sure you measure ingredients right, prefer by weight and grams. And try mixing more to loosen the mixture. Don't be too gentle with mixing.

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  53. Hi Sue - from one 30 something to another; thanks to your wonderful step by step instructions, an absolute novice in the kitchen was able to get it done just right :) Feet, texture, filling, size and colour: 5 out of 5! My wife who is an ex chef who was banished from the kitchen whilst I made them, only came in to help me initially with the piping technique. She loved em!! They reminded her very closely of the ones we scored from Baroque in Sydney when we were down there in Oct-11. Can't wait to make 'em again for New Years! Thanks again for your doggedness and tenacity in getting this right. Cheers, moldricd (picture of the finished product is as per the attached link - please excuse the book; it was just for show! I really used your recipe :)

    http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/217/40511610150554120422195.jpg/

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  54. I made these yesterday and they turned out great. Thanks for your step by step instructions, they helped a lot. I will be making these for a baby shower, how long in adavanced can I make these and how long can i store them? Thanks!

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  55. Hi moldricd...the photo and macarons look great. I'm glad you had fun and successes making them (and eating them). You sure did look like a proud macaron maker^-^

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  56. Hi Anonymous...sorry for late reply..been really busy with Xmas & NY.

    I'm glad you find the recipe worked well. I make macarons in advance regularly and freeze them. I find them frozen well for a month or so. Just 4-8 hours before serving, remove them from the freezer to (normal) fridge compartment...and remove from the fridge half and hour - an hour before eating.

    If you don't freeze them, they will last about 2 days in the fridge. After that the shell might get a bit softer but they are still nice for 4 days (from the day you made them).

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  57. I'm so glad I found this recipe! I have heard the Italian method worked better though had been unsuccessful in finding one online! I tried cooking the French method and they were a total disaster. I cant wait to try this recipe out. Out of curiosity, Would vanilla almond meal work well? It's what I have in the pantry right now!!

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    1. I've never tried vanilla along meal. In fact, I don't think its available in Australia. I would imagin that vanilla almond meal would work. Might be good idea to have with filling that matches. I think, salted caramel would be nice, or dark chocolate...etc.

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  58. Hi Sue,

    I've tried your recipe twice now, and I've been getting weird results. There is a little feet, but the macaron itself barely rises and kind of uneven. What am I doing wrong?! I am overbeating the eggs? thanks.

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  59. I'm so glad I found your blog. I'd been trying to find a receipe that doesn't call for that much sugar. Macarons are nice and pretty but always way to sweet for my taste. Your macarons looks so professional.

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  60. Hi Sue! Absolutely love your page, and your macarons are amazing. I'm from Australia also (Adelaide) and was just wondering what brand or type of almond meal you use cause I know there are quite a few types on the market. Thank you :)

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    1. Thanks for the comments. Always a pleasure to meet another Aussie fellow baker:)

      I use blanched almond meal,.I think the bra.d is called lucky. I also bought almond meal from grocer, unbranded one, and they also work fine.

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  61. I have tried the French method and failed this was my first try with an over excited 6 year old helping and I had my doubts. The Italian method is a little more fiddle and a little more washing up by we (me and my daughter) have a perfect batch with little feet and all!!! Thanks for the tips followed to the letter and it did not fail.
    Davina and Rhianna uk

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    1. Glad you found this useful and working. It sounds like lots of fun working with your daughter too.

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