French Macarons with Whipped White Chocolate Ganache
Do you remember the first time you had a french macaron? I do. I remember going to this cute little French bakery in the boujie part of town, they had a variety of beautiful pastries and the French macarons in a 3 pack. According to the cashier these were imported from France so they were “authentic.” I had seen these little cookies before but I never realized how expensive they were! I bit the bullet and bought the 3 pack for $10 dollars. I thought “these cookies better be worth it!” that was the most I’d spent on cookies. I loved the cute pastel colors of the macarons they were so pretty and so delicate because I broke one in the process of taking them out of the packaging. The taste of the macaron was very light and delicate, I loved the slightly chewy texture and that melt in your mouth sensation from the buttercream. They were definitely worth the $10 dollars but I could not afford to buy them in bulk because I would want to eat more than just the three.
So I thought to myself “how hard can they be to make?” they look like a pretty simple cookie…boy was I wrong! My internet search quickly led me to find out that apparently there is a difference between a macaron and a macaroon. Do you know the difference? Well apparently a macaron is the French (or Italian depending on who you ask) cookie and a macaroon is the little mound of sweetened coconut. So once I found a recipe and read over the ingredients there was one that was a little questionable for me “almond flour.” Now keep in mind this was seven years ago, it was before gluten-free products were clearly labeled in store or flour alternatives were in the baking aisles. I had to find this mysterious almond flour somewhere. I ended up going to a mediterranean supermarket because a friend had told me that there are popular Turkish desserts that use ground up almonds and sure enough I found ground almonds at this store. The recipe for these macarons sounded pretty simple however little did I know that when it comes to baking you should always measure in grams instead of using cups, tablespoons, teaspoon, etc. So I followed the recipe to the best of my ability and see the photo for my first results.
My first attempt at making them they were chunky, cracked and with no feet. They were a very much an accurate representation of my personal appearance except I had feet. So tried again, and again, and again… for years I tried making these little complicated cookies and I would occasionally have luck where maybe six of the two dozen of macarons I’d bake would look decent. But that was so wasteful! I wanted perfect batches every time for all of them not just a handful of them.
So then in 2019 when I started dating again I was swiping through Tinder one day and matched with this guy whose similar interest was baking. We chatted a bit and made plans to hang out and bake something together. He told me he had perfected his recipe for French macarons and would teach me. So when I went over to his place he wasn’t lying, I honestly expected to show up to his place and he’d want to hook up or something and we’d get no baking done but maybe that was just my hoe mentality. This guy taught me that measuring by weight instead of volume was the way to go. This is now a “DUH!” moment for me but back then was revolutionary. He also taught me that using parchment paper over silicon mats AND putting another baking sheet in the rack underneath the baking sheet helped dissipate the direct heat to the macarons so they wouldn’t burn. His technique was perfect! So I quickly jotted down notes, recipes, temperatures and everything in between. I thought to myself “If I’m not getting a hook up out of this at least I’m getting a recipe!” Needless to say all I got out of it was a recipe.
This French macaron recipe is pretty straight forward however it does require the use of a kitchen scale, if you don’t have one you can turn around now or make the investment and get yourself one. It will change your baking game forever! But aside from the measuring by weight tip the only other thing to note when it comes to baking French macarons is the consistency of the batter. You want your batter to not have any lumps which can be achieved by sifting together the dry ingredients but also not over mixing where the batter is too runny because then your macarons won’t form feet. These finicky cookies are such a headache! Check out the recipe below and be sure to comment and let me know what you think!
French Macaron Recipe
Makes 24 Macarons
Ingredients:
90g caster sugar
3 large eggs (90g) at room temperature
3 to 4 drops of food coloring
130g almond flour
125g powder sugar
Adjust oven racks to place on on the lowest part and another in the middle.
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
Separate the egg whites and set the yolks aside. The yolks can be used for another recipe or to make a custard for the macaron filling.
In a large mixing bowl or using a stand mixer, at medium speed, whip the egg whites until light and fluffy.
Lower speed to slow and spoon in 1tbsp of caster sugar at a time ensuring the sugar is well incorporated. Repeat until all sugar is mixed into the egg whites and the meringue forms soft peaks.
Add 3 to 4 drops of your favorite food coloring and whip until stiff peaks form.
Sift fine almond flour and powdered sugar into mixing bowl.
Using a mixing spatula fold batter until ribbon consistency. Transfer to piping bag.
On a large parchment lined baking sheet pipe macarons in circular motion about 1 to 2 inches in size leaving 1 inch space in between.
Allow macarons to dry at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour or until dry to the touch.
Place an empty baking sheet on the lowest rack and place macarons on the middle rack.
Bake for 12-13 minutes. Allow to cool fully before removing from baking sheet.
Fill with your favorite buttercream or ganache. See below for my favorite white chocolate ganache.
Whipped White Chocolate Ganache
ingredients:
250g white chocolate
35ml heavy cream
Over a double boiler melt chocolate and heavy cream.
Allow to cool slightly and whip with mixer until fluffy.
