Yes, I have a new favorite – mine. A couple weeks ago, and much to my surprise, I was flipping through upcoming pastry recipes and discovered we would soon be making macarons. We’ve been told on numerous occasions that they are very fickle and tricky to get right. They have a tendency to crack when baked, sometimes they don’t rise, other times they dry out inside. The perfect macaron should have a thin, crisp outer shell that leads to a moist interior. The cream between the macarons shouldn’t be too sweet with just the right hint of flavor. I was nervous. Could I get this recipe right in practical?

The day arrives and I’m still nervous. I breathe a sigh of relief when Chef Danniel walks in the room. He’s my favorite pastry chef because his technique is so delicate, he takes the time to help me when I need it, and he’s very complimentary of my work. He never yells or makes me feel rushed.

To get macarons right, you have to start at the beginning. Begin by sifting a large quantity of powered sugar and then weighing it out. Do the same with ground almonds. Then sift the two ingredients together again to make sure the mixture is light and airy. A small quantity of flour is added and the dry ingredients are folded into egg whites whipped with sugar and a little food coloring.

Usually when folding dry ingredients into whites, over mixing is a bad idea. Once other ingredients are incorporated with whites, they begin to fall and loose their airy quality. But with macarons, it’s a different story. Over mixing the batter slightly is actually a good idea – and it’s even called “macaroning” in French. The batter becomes slightly glossy and shiny as it’s mixed, and it’s important to stop at just the right point.

The macaron batter is piped out onto a baking sheet covered with a silicone baking paper. The circles of batter shouldn’t be piped from above onto the sheet as that can lead to cracks. Instead, the batter is piped from the side and formed into perfect circles. At this point mine weren’t exactly perfect, but they did look nice – a pale pink and nicely mounded.

To develop the coveted crust, it’s important to let the macarons sit for at least 30 minutes. At Laudree (supposed inventor of macarons), they let their macarons rest for 24 hours before baking. Since we only have two hours for our practical, we let ours rest for 30 minutes while we make a raspberry-flavored pastry cream. The pastry cream is folded into whipped cream that makes the whole mixture light and heavenly.

At last the macarons can go into the oven. There’s some debate as to whether one should use two baking sheets stacked together to protect the underside of the macaron during baking or not. Chef Danniel has us only use one. We begin by preheating the oven to 160 degrees Celsius. During the first 10 minutes, the macarons will (hopefully) rise and begin to puff slightly. Once this happens, the oven is turned down to 155 or even 150 to cook the interior and prevent the tops from browning.

As we gather by the oven and peer in through the door, we are greeted by a very pleasant surprise. Everyone’s macarons are rising perfectly without a single crack in sight. The chef is amazed by this phenomenon. Out of the 13 batches we make in class today, no one’s macarons crack. They are perfectly mounded with a delicately crispy shell and a soft, moist interior.

After letting the macarons rest on the baking sheets for a few minutes, we gently pull them off the paper. Because we are expected to plate this as a restaurant dessert, we immediately get to work by filling two halves with cream and raspberries. The plate is then decorated with some small fruits and a dab of raspberry coulis.

Once the chef is done grading my work – he’s very happy with what I’ve done – I pick up a macaron and lift it to my lips. As I bite down through the layers, I can tell it’s perfect. Well, not exactly perfect in the true sense of the word, but in my world, they are. I can’t believe this notoriously fickle dessert has worked so well. I am thrilled beyond words.

The next day, another pastry chef told us we were lucky. Usually students don’t have an easy time with the recipe. Of course he chalks up our success to the talents of the chef and the quality of the powdered almonds (evidently the key ingredient). I, on the other hand, attribute our success to us as future pastry chefs. Maybe we do know what we’re doing after all!

And now I have a new mission – perfecting the macaron. When I move into my new digs next month, I plan to do some intensive research. I want to have an intimate knowledge of the chemistry behind the macaron – what makes it crack, what makes it successful, how long to leave it out, – and then I plan to experiment with flavors. I’ll report back on my progress later on!

1 Comment  Leave a Comment