Summer Macarons

Have you ever been too scared to start anything because it was supposedly super difficult? That’s French macarons for me. They are, at least from what I know, the holy grail of cookie baking. Supposedly. But I figured, OK, I will just give it a shot and see what happens. I mean, I didn’t expect anything, I started watching videos on how to make French macarons and I just figured that I could throw away the first batch in case it didn’t turn out. So I went, I made them, and was surprised that they were as good as they were. I mean, yeah, they still need improvement. I will give you that, but they were much better than I had ever expected them to turn out.

For some reason this makes me ask philosophical questions. How often are we too scared to start anything because we were told or we simply assume that it is too hard? How often do we shy away from simply trying because we might fail?

I decided to put my first batch of French macarons on this blog. With all their flaws. Like the fact that they still have little “hats”. If I had done them properly, they would be flat and much easier to stack on top 0f each other. Because I don’t want to be this person who doesn’t try out things because they are supposedly too hard. I don’t want you to think that all my baking is perfect. I didn’t put the second or even third batch on here, because I also want to encourage you to just give it a go. French macarons might be my personal baking challenge, maybe yours is something else.

So who cares if my macarons turned out to be a bit hollow? Who cares that I didn’t manage to make them as evenly round as I would have liked to? In our world full of Instagram perfection, I want to offer my imperfect macarons. I want people to realize that taste is more important than looks. It should be like that, but it isn’t. All that matters, apparently, is that your French macarons look perfect. Mine weren’t, but they still tasted great.

I want my summer to be imperfect. Yes, you read right. Imperfect. Perfection is overrated. Perfection is boring. I want to eat my imperfect French macarons and enjoy their lemon curd filling or the raspberry cream filling. That’s my style. In pastel colors.

Because I decided to join the five German bloggers in their pastel welcome of summer. With my personal Mount Everest. I welcome summer with imperfectly perfect French macarons.

French Macarons

Serves: About 14-16 macarons, depending on size
Cooking Time: 25min preparation + 16min of baking

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs whites at room temperature
  • 80 grams of blanched almonds
  • 120 grams of icing sugar
  • 20 grams of regular sugar
  • 1 pinch of salt

Instructions

1

If you forgot to take out the eggs on time, leave them in warm water for a few minutes, then separate them. Choose a metal or glas bowl for the egg whites and make sure it is clean and free of any grease.

2

Put the almonds and icing sugar in a food processor and process for a minute. Sift into a bowl. Don't skip this step. If you have larger almond chunks, put them back into the food processor, process and sieve again. Weigh the regular sugar and put aside.

3

Now start beating the egg whites with a mixer on low for two minutes. Add the salt once they look foamy. Switch to medium speed for three minutes. Once you have soft peaks, add food coloring (if any) and the sugar. Change to high speed for another three minutes. Your meringue should look glossy and form very stiff peaks. Add the almond/sugar mix to the meringue all at once and start folding with a spatula delicately.

4

Most important part, the creation of the batter (macronage) This is really important, read carefully! If you undermix the batter, you will not have proper macarons at the end, but this holds also true if you overmix. Finding the right constistency is key for the macarons to turn out beautifully. The first important thing to keep in mind is to only fold the whole mix. First it will look like the almonds and the meringue don't like each other. This is normal. Simply continue folding slowly. Continue doing so until the batter starts moving back slowly if you take out the spatula. Your final batter should have the constistency of honey. It is liquid, yes, but it will move very slowly. If you have pancake batter, you went too far. The best vido for knowing the right constistency is this one in my opinion.

5

Once you are happy with your macronage, prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper and pipe round circles of about 3-4 centimeters onto each. You should be able to fill both baking sheets with macarons.

6

Once you are done, rap and bang the baking sheets to get out any air bubbles. If the macronage has the right consistency, for example any "swirls" will move back into place. That's why I know I undermixed my batter as the "hats" didn't disappear.

7

Let the macarons sits between 15-20 minutes. This will help them dry and also help to create a shell so they rise properly. Preheat oven to 145 degrees Celsius meanwhile.

8

Place first baking sheet in the middle and bake between 15-17 minutes. Repeat with the second batch.

9

Let cool completely before filling with your favorite filling. Mine were filled with raspberry cream filling and lemon curd.

Notes

No idea what to do with the leftover egg yolks? Check out see this blog post including how to freeze them properly. Macarons are kept best in an airtight container in the fridge. They will get soft after about 3 days. Macarons also freeze beautifully. Take them out 20 minutes before serving.

If you want to check out some more summer recipes and DIY ideas welcoming summer, please go here (all in German):

Love Decorations a DIY blog in German
Fräulein Meer backt a baking blog in German
Naschen mit der Erdbeerqueen a baking blog in German
Tulpentag an interior, DIY and food blog in German
Holz & Hefe a baking and DIY blog in German with some travel

I am also taking part in the link party Fiesta Friday. For other food recipes, please go here.

So what is your personal Mount Everest?

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12 Comments

  • Reply
    Jhuls | The Not So Creative Cook
    Friday July 14th, 2017 at 02:32 PM

    Until now, I haven’t made macarons coz I am still scared. These look delicious! Thanks for sharing at Fiesta Friday party!

    • Reply
      Jenny
      Friday July 14th, 2017 at 02:36 PM

      Thanks and as I stated, my first batch was not perfect yet, but I decided to post them anyway because they are easier to make than I thought.

  • Reply
    Angie | Fiesta Friday
    Saturday July 15th, 2017 at 04:41 AM

    You managed to get those “feet” so I’d say it’s a success! I’ve tried macarons a few times. Strangely the first time I did turned out to be the best. Beginner’s luck, maybe? Even the less successful ones still taste good, though ? So I’m putting you down to cohost FF 182, July 28. Liz @ spades, spatulas and spoons is the the cohost. Let me know if that’s ok.

    • Reply
      Jenny
      Sunday July 16th, 2017 at 11:12 AM

      Hi Angie, it is, I emailed you some questions I have.

  • Reply
    Marileen | HOLZ & HEFE
    Saturday July 15th, 2017 at 10:08 PM

    Liebe Jenny,
    die sehen total lecker aus! Ich habe bisher nur einmal Macarons gemacht und muss das sehr bald wiederholen, wenn ich deine so sehe!
    Wie schön, dass du noch einmal dabei bist :).
    Liebe Grüße
    Marileen

    • Reply
      Jenny
      Saturday July 15th, 2017 at 10:32 PM

      Hey Marileen, musst du unbedingt wieder machen 🙂 Ich habe mir ein paar Kolleginnen eingeladen für eine Macaron-Party, ich freue mich schon!

  • Reply
    Josette
    Sunday July 16th, 2017 at 10:02 PM

    I’ve only made them once and it was a pretty big project for me. 😉 You did a great job!!

    • Reply
      Jenny
      Sunday July 16th, 2017 at 10:30 PM

      Thanks, will make them again soon.

  • Reply
    Tulpentag
    Tuesday July 18th, 2017 at 07:43 PM

    Ich bekomme echt Lust, selbst mal Macarons zu machen, wenn ich deine hier so sehe! Lecker 🙂 Ich hab mich noch nie ran getraut.
    Schön, dass du nochmal dabei bist!
    Lieben Gruß,
    Jenny

    • Reply
      Jenny
      Tuesday July 18th, 2017 at 08:10 PM

      Danke, falls du sie machst, berichte gerne

  • Reply
    Rosy | Love Decorations
    Monday July 24th, 2017 at 12:35 AM

    Huhu liebe Jenny 🙂

    Soooo, endlich komme ich dazu hier in Ruhe vorbeizuschauen und dir einen Kommentar zu hinterlassen.
    Zunächst einmal zu deinen Macarons *in die Hände klatsch* Für dein erstes Mal großartig! Was ich bei anderen dabei hab rauskommen sehen ?

    Ganz süß fand ich den Teil mit ‘imperfectly perfect French macarons’! Hat es eigentlich gut getroffen – aber wie du selbst schreibst: Perfekt ist zwar schön, dennoch irgendwie auch langweilig! Manchmal sind es gerade diese ‘imperfectly’ Momente, die der Situation oder dem Gegenstand oder wie in dem Fall deine Macarons – das gewisse Etwas geben 🙂 Ich beschreibe es gerne als: So hat es Charakter! Und sowas bleibt einem viel mehr im Kopf als die perfekten Dinger im Laden, nicht wahr!? 😀

    Und schön, dass du somit auch einen weiteren Beitrag zur unseren Linkparty beisteuern konntest! Bin echt froh, denn so durfte ich deinen feinen Blog kennen lernen 🙂 Und falls ich mal dazukomme Macarons zu machen, schicke ich dir auf jeden Fall Fotos von meinen ersten Versuchen zu, haha ;D

    Jenny Liebes, ich wünsche dir einen tollen Wochenstart und ganz liebe Grüße,
    Rosy ♥

    • Reply
      Jenny
      Monday July 24th, 2017 at 08:16 AM

      Hallo Rosy, lieben Dank für deinen ausführlichen Kommentar! Ich werde tatsächlich schon sehr bald eine Macaron-Party organisieren (ja, ich bin immer so verrückt und riskier das mal einfach) und freue mich schon total. Meinen Blog wird es auch schon sehr bald auf deutsch geben (dann also zweisprachig), juchhei!

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