Master the French Macaron
January 26th, 2011 | 265 Comments
Ahh, the macaron. So beautiful, and fragile, like a Faberge Egg. And so elusive, it is.
Or is it?
The day I learned how to make them, the chef gave me a demonstration, and then I made them on my own. They came out well. No drama. And since they were on our daily petit fours plate, I had to make them every day. Sometimes it was pouring rain outside, and the kitchen was swamp-humid. Sometimes it was the thick of summer, and the temperatures rivaled Death Valley. But still, I made them. Once in a while they didn’t work, but most of the time they did. And on those few occasions they didn’t behave, I wasn’t phased. I just made them again.
For me, the trick to it all was that no one told me how impossible they were, how one false breath could mean failure — one extra stroke of the spatula, and you might as well pack it in. To me, it was just another recipe, and I didn’t have any baggage about it before I even broke out the almond flour. No one psyched me out.
Now, as I read all the talk around the blogosphere, I think that’s exactly what’s happening. The macaron fear has spread far and wide. And there’s no reason for it. Especially when the base recipe has just 4 ingredients. You sift the dry stuff, whip a few egg whites, fold it all together, and pipe it on a sheet tray.
I really, really want everyone to master the macaron, to be swimming in as many as they want. Once you understand the basic recipe, you can modify it to any flavor you can think of. All it takes is a batch or two of practice, and then it’s locked in forever. Like riding a bicycle.
So I started working on a post. I was testing, then testing some more. Before I knew it, the whole project grew, becoming more than just a quickie tutorial. I wanted to include as much helpful stuff as possible — the basic recipe, some troubleshooting tips, how to make flavor variations, and a few fillings to get started. It became longer — a primer, of sorts. And so I put it all together into one fat pdf format that you can download, totally FREE. I hope you find it helpful.
In Master the Macaron, I cover:
- The almond macaron — the master recipe
- Vanilla Buttercream Filling for the Almond Macaron
- Troubleshooting
- Chocolate Macaron with Chocolate Ganache Filling
- Coffee Macaron with Nutella Filling
- Lemon Macaron with Lemon Curd Filling
- Coconut Macaron with White Chocolate Raspberry Filling
I hope you enjoy this primer, and have success with your macaron-making. Please let me know what you think. We’d even love to see some pictures if you give it a go. And pass it on!
Get your FREE copy of Master the Macaron:
Tags: confection, Cookies, french macaron, french macaroon, how-to, tutorial
265 Responses to “Master the French Macaron”
Post a Comment
Your E-Mail will be kept private. * = required fields.
ABOUT ME
I had a career going in advertising when one day I got the crazy idea to start over and become a pastry chef. Now I'll show you what I learned working in fine dining restaurants all over NYC right here with step-by-step photos. So grab your rolling pin and join in.
-
AWARDS AND DISTINCTIONS
-
SPONSORS
Thank you so much for this extensive tutorial, Irina! It is very detailed and SO helpful for a beginner like me!
Lacey — Maybe I will 🙂
Diana — I’m glad I could be helpful.
Thanks!! Was finally able to download the primer.
Great work on the tutorial and very helpfull instructions. It makes a perfect small cookbook!
Anna — Cookbook. 🙂 🙂 🙂
I’ve always been scared of macarons but you’ve convinced me to give them a shot! I downloaded your primer and I’m so excited to give them a go!
Ahhh, what an exquisite website! I just love your attention to detail and in depth explanations regarding methods that would scare most people, including myself. I will be coming back frequently.
I haven’t gotten around to making macarons. You are right that most people who read or write food blogs have fears of making this because the first few who wrote about it, wrote about their failures and how difficult it was to get the “feet” right. You sure make it look so easy.
I just made these yesterday- and they were delicious and they mostly looked the way they were supposed to. One question though: in your recipe for vanilla buttercream, you have two measurements for powdered sugar. 1 1/4 c and 40 grams. I went with the grams, as 1 1/4 c seemed way too much. Was this a typo?
Joanne — Go for it! I know you’re not shy with the recipes!
Bita — I’m so glad to have you here, thank you.
Alisa — Too true. I’m hoping that now we’ll read about all the success stories.
Hi Roslyn — Thank you for making them and I’m so glad you had good results. My goal is always your success.
You are absolutely correct about the powdered sugar and thank you for pointing it out. It’s 40 grams or 1/3 cup. I corrected it in the primer. If someone does make it with the too-large measurement, the recipe will still work pretty well. It will simply be too sweet for my taste.
Irina
Thank you very much for writing such a detailed tutorial and making it freely available. You are a gem! I have had little success with making macarons but your tutorial encourages me to try again.
Brand new to your site! I look forward to reading your previous posts =)
I’ve always been terrified of making macarons but I may give it a shot!
thank you so much for this primer! i can’t wait to try these out. i have been entirely intimidated by these cookies and you have made it seem so much simpler than i thought it was.
Hello there
I haven’t been able to find the tutorial.
I can see
Get your FREE copy of Master the Macaron:
But there is a blank after the colon.
I haven’t found a link anywhere else on this page either. I am using a Mac and have tried Safari, Firefox and Chrome. I am sorry to trouble you, but can you direct to the correct link, please.
With kind regards
Robyn
Hi Irina,
I come from Indonesia and i’m so glad that i can find your great website. Thank you so much for a really nice and detailed tutorial. I think i will try it soon.
Hi Robyn,
Sorry you’re having so much trouble. Not sure what’s happening. I’m on a Mac and I’m looking at the green name and email form right now. I’ll have to dig into it further. If you still don’t see it, send me a direct email to irina@pastrypal.com and I’ll send it to you.
Irina, thank you very much .. got the download. Can’t wait to get going on a wonderful project.
I signed up too, and not able to access the pdf. Can you email it to me?
Goodmorning Irina,
Thank you for your response. After several visits to the page, today I ‘saw’ the green box (yeah!) and have now downloaded your impressive tutorial, thank you very much.
Sarah, If you are still having trouble, send me a direct email through the “contact me” button in the side bar, and I will get it to you.
Weeeee succcessfully made some vanilla bean macarons! Going to fill them with salted butter caramel (using your dry caramel method – so in love with that recipe) when my pans get out of the dishwasher. Consulted your pictures and advice and Tartelette’s recipe (since I had whole almonds, and didn’t want to stray too far from the recipe). Even the plain cookies are pretty tasty! Phew, will be making these so much more often now, sure beats paying $2.50 each! Thank you again sooo much.
[…] A Step-by-Step Visual Guide An astonishingly beautiful and easy-to-follow PDF tutorial, Master the Macaron includes a recipe for traditional almond macarons, plus troubleshooting advice and suggestions on […]
Zo — Love it! Your success makes my day :).
Wow. This is absolutely amazing. One of my New Year cooking resolutions consisted of learning to make macarons. And here it is. A guide that is almost as perfect as taking a class on baking macarons. I can’t thank you enough. I just printed the book and I absolutely cannot wait to get started. I’m very glad to have come across your site today:)
having just “found” your blog, i am very excited to receive your tutorial
& hope that i will be able to master the very temperamental macaron baking!
irina, i look forward to reading your posts as well.
happy baking & all the best!
Irina, I`ve never commented your posts before, but now I can`t resist) This tutorial is amazing! Very clear and helpful. Thank you!
I’m ready to give it a try! If all fails, I will just run down the street to La Boite! If you are ever in Austin, don’t miss La Boite…it is a beautiful box (shipping container) filled with delights!
[…] these two guides. Helene’s guide is on the right hand sidebar of her blog, and Irina has a post that directs you to the full guide. Both indispensable, with very thorough troubleshooting tips. […]
Hi Irina,
I did it!!!! I finally got it right and thanks very much for your wonderful primer on Macarons! 4th time is really the charm, as you have said :). I’ve mentioned your blog on my short & sweet post on getting the macs right! (http://teamopassiondelights.com/blog/archives/1051)
You deserve a big hearty hug! Muahh!
Joyce – They look awesome! I’m so happy for you!
Linda — I’m so glad you’re here. Hope to see you around, with stories of baked goods.
Raisa — Thank you for coming out of lurkdom. I guess if anything will do it, it’s macarons :).
Areta — That’s a good back-up plan :). I checked their website, and if I lived there, I would make my way through the window case.
[…] used PastryPal’s recipes and would recommend them to anyone who is interested in giving these finnicky cookies a try. She […]
I found your step-by-step tutorial and decided to try make those little suckers again 🙂
The tutorial is great, very helpful and beautifully made.
But I can’t say I’ve succeeded. The only good think was, that the macaroon easily come off of the parchment paper and tested good. But they had no feet, coarse and soft shells and were empty inside.
I don’t know what mistake I made, maybe I should fold the batter a little bit more.
Anyway, your tutorial definitely helped to take the stress out of the process of making macaroons, so I’m definitely going to try again.
BeeBee, Sorry you’re still battling the macaron. It’s always hard to say without seeing it, but from what you describe, I can guess that maybe the almond flour was too coarse, or the egg whites were either overbeaten or underbeaten. Or the mix may have been overfolded. Don’t give up!
I’m new to macarons……what are “feet”?
Paula, welcome to the macaron! The raggedy ridge around the edge of macarons is what’s referred to as feet. If the batter was made correctly you will get the ridge when the macarons rise in the oven. It’s considered a macaron fail when no feet are achieved.
Thanks for your response! Just to be clear – the raggedy ridge is at the bottom but does the ridge extend outside of the macaron or are the sides straight up and down? The pictures seem to indicate a straight up and down side. Thanks for your help…..want to know when I make them correctly!
I’d say they’re mostly up and down, but if they ruffle out a little, that’s cool.
Thanks so much Irina!! Can’t wait to get started!! I’m so glad to have found your blog!
I love reading your blog, and thank you so much for the tutorial! I am trying it this weekend. Your recipes look amazing and I just love the encouragment you give to all of your readers to experiment and try their own ideas!
Juanice — Welcome to the blog, and thank you!
Irina, thank you so much on this macaron’s book which i find very good. I will try your recipe very soon:D. Thank you and Cheers!
the best tutorial!!..it is so easy to understand, you totally demystified the macaron. Thank you very much for that. We have to stop the spreading of this fear to whip some egg whites!!….tks, tks, tks!!
Just received this tutorial from a friend, can’t wait to try it! I only tried my first macaron last week after months of anticipation, and am looking forward to letting my creativity loose on these. Many thanks!
Your instructions were the best I’ve found. Yesterday was the first time I’ve tried macarons, and it was such a success! I’ve read so many blogs, recipes, and comment on the recipes because I heard it was a hard recipe to make, but your instructions made it seem so easy!
Beautifully done,clear and easy-THANKS!
Thank you for the wonderful recipe. I made the lemonmacarons with curd and they are really good. I was wondering how long the macarons can be stored outside a freezer… Can you give an estimation?
Just found your blog – great tutorial:)
Oooh, lemon, my favorite. Unfilled macarons can be stored in the fridge for a couple of weeks in an airtight container, though they will soften up from the moisture in the fridge’s air. Macarons filled with curd, which is wet filling, can probably last 5 or 6 days in the fridge, but they soften up even faster.