Kate’s Quick Bites: Macarons

Bronwyn Schieber, Lead Baker with Columbus State Community College’s Blend Café & Bakery joined Kate in the kitchen to school her on the how to make a proper Macaron. The cafe is a part of learn more about Columbus State’s Hospitality Management & Culinary Arts Program.

Ingredients By Weight and By Volume

• Egg whites, aged and dried 88 grams 1/3 cup, plus 1 ½ tsp
• Superfine sugar* 88 grams 1/3 cup, plus 1 TBS, plus 2 1/8 tsp
• Almond flour 110 grams 3/4 cup, plus 3 TBS, plus 2 ¼ + 1/8 tsp
• 10X (powdered sugar) 110 grams 3/4 cup, plus 2 TBS, plus 1 3/4 tsp

* Superfine sugar is ideal, though granulated sugar can be a substitute if you cannot find superfine. Also, you can make your own superfine sugar by putting it in the food processor and stopping before it becomes powdered sugar.

Prepare a flat sheet tray with a template and parchment paper. Preheat oven to 285-325. Ovens vary, so some testing is required to find the right temperature for your oven. Pipe a few macarons on a few different sheet pans to test.

Process together Almond Flour and 10X, sift.

Whisk egg whites until frothy.

Add superfine sugar to egg whites and whisk until soft peaks (meringue should hold its shape and leave trails, but should also be a wobbly drip when hanging off the whisk).

Add the meringue to the dry almond/10X mixture and stir together gently until the batter flows off the spatula in ribbons. (Use the J mixing method called macaronage which is more of a fold than stir). The batter has been mixed enough when the ribbons gently disappear back into the rest of the batter after around 10 seconds.

Pipe macarons in 1.5” circles. Tap the pan to get rid of air bubbles. Then let rest in a dry area for at least 30 minutes and up to 1.5 hours.

When macarons have a dry skin (and have rested for the previous amount of time), bake them for 10-14 minutes, rotating halfway.

Let cool completely on the tray before unmolding and assembling.

Assembly
Match macaron shells with like sizes before piping filling.

Prepare the filling in a piping bag with a ½" tip.

Pipe a dollop of filling on one side, then, using both hands, gently sandwich the other macaron on top of the filling.

Garnish as desired – a drizzle of chocolate or caramel, paint with gel food coloring, stencil with cocoa powder or gold dust, dip in chocolate.

Possible Fillings

• Italian Buttercream
• American Buttercream
• Jams
• Curds
• Ganache

For best texture, completed macaron should chill for 24 hours before enjoying.