/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>5479496
>no surprise

welcome to baking. research more recipes and try, try again

>>5479496
When I first saw macrons, I thought they were uniformly colored miniburgers.

>>5479540
I remember an ad on YouTube always with this picture of them saying FREE burgers. I always thought they were just using the wrong image

>>5479546
What, you click the ad and burgers just come out the hard drive slot?

My gf cooks as a hobby, and is extremely good at it. It took her WEEKS to get her macarons to start coming out right.

Them little fuckers is tough.

>>5479540
>waiting for the turd with the picture of the Pretty Patties on their harddrive

>>5479571
Any tips she could offer? Really want to make them proper

>>5479604
She's up at her parents' right now, she'll be coming back this afternoon. I'll ask her to post.

>>5479671

not OP but I'm also interested in this

My macarons came out fine on my first try. A couple of cookies did crack, but they did not fall apart.

My best guess is that you fumbled the meringue.

>spread out thin
The batter's too liquid. Eggs white at room temperature with just some sugar. You have to mix your almond powder+sugar with an upward motion, and don't over mix.

>cracked shell
>not even cooked inside
Try cooking at a lower temperature for longer.
It depends on your oven, a convection oven cooks faster than a traditional one.

buy 12 trader joes macaroons for 3.49

and then claim you made them and charge 2.50 for each

made some the other day, third time. I'm bretty gud at baking but holy fuck I cant get these to turn out nice. Someone told me the Italian method is easier/more consistent than the french one (using a sugar suryp instead of granulated sugar) but I'm determined to master the french way first.

>>5480581

8/10 would eat

I have tried several times. Recipe I like uses hazelnuts as opposed to almonds. It's out of a spanish cookbook. Also lemon zest in there.

Anyhow, I can get the texture within a standard deviation of where it should be and I am very happy with the flavor, but they're flat, there's no foot, and fuck those things. I'd rather just buy them.

If you ARE buying them and they don't look perfect, take into consideration mentioning you've seen better for less $. These things are expensive and I for one am uninterested in paying exorbitant macaron prices for less than perfect macarons.

>>5480517
I actually tried this recipe
http://purplefoodie.com/pierre-herme-chocolate-macarons/

I can't tell if I'm overmixing in the part where you are supposed to pour the sugar syrup into the eggwhites. I kept mixing until it was hard to maneuver but it still didn't get to stiff peaks

>>5479604
you have to fold them to a really specific point. you probably under folded.

>>5479496
Fold less, let them rest until they form a skin and actually learn what a macaron is. They're meant to be soft inside.

Why the fuck does everyone love these fucking things? I tried one from a local baker and the restaurant I work in makes them, and I got one today to see if it tasted any different and they didn't so I guess they were both making them correctly and it wasnt bad or anything but I don't think it deserves the hype.

>>5481257
maybe you needed more icing sugar?
I've done egg whites for meringue, they take quite a while you need to mix consistantly at a fast speed

>>5481269
it's the texture more than the taste. They're light and sweet.

>>5481257
Italian meringues need a fuck tonne of whipping. If your meringue is like soup or won't form stiff peaks, you need to pour the syrup in slower or in slight dribbles and mix on high speed.

It's impossible to overbeat Italian meringues so don't worry about that and keep going until it forms soft peaks. Also bear in mind that stiff-peaks don't exist for Italian meringues, they form bird-beak peaks. If you hold it sideways and look at the peak, it'll look like a bird's beak.

>>5481266
If they're spread out and cracked, they're overfolded. Good macaron batter should form a thick coating on the spatula, fall in thick ribbons back to the bowl and take a long time to incorporate into the rest of the batter. Even if the piped macarons retain nipples they'll go away once the trays are banged on the counter to remove any air bubbles.

>>5481269
They're difficult to make and expensive. People make them to show off their skills and others buy them because they're an ideal blend of crispy, soft and creamy textures and come in any flavour you could ever want.

>>5481285
>>5481272
What are your favorite flavors?

>>5481290
Lavender with white chocolate filling and lemon with mascarpone/white chocolate filling.

Balancing tart/sweet/creamy flavours is always a hit. Strawberries and cream is a good example of that.

http://notsohumblepie blogspot /2010/04/macarons-101-french-meringue.html

She explains it really well

>>5481285

This. They're also very low in calories for a dessert-type item, which is an additional draw to many people.

To OP: did you sift?

>>5481279
ah, I see. I must have looked over the spread out bit. thank you for correcting me.

>>5481292
Those sound pretty good. I'll see if I can find some.

>>5479496
French method advice
>beat your egg whites on the slowest speed of your mixer
>never move your beater from a 90° angle or you'll end up with air pockets in your macarons
>wait until the egg whites are at soft peaks before adding the sugar
>add powdered colouring and 2-3 drops of concentrated flavouring at this point and beat until streaky
>measure the flavouring into the cap before pouring in
>never beat to stiff peaks, beat to firm peaks or you'll end up with hollows
>blitz the ground almonds and sugar in a food processor
>sift over the meringue
>scrape round the bowl with the spatula and fold the bottom of the batter over the top
>test the batter every five strokes
>if you think it's slightly underfolded, do one or two more turns
>if you're unsure, bag the slightly underfolded mix, since it's better than overfolded mix
>always use a template to pipe them
>silicone mats make the feet spread slightly, baking paper keeps them straight
>if your oven has a top heating element, bake at the higher given temperature for the shortest time on the bottom rack
>if your oven has a bottom heating element, bake at the lowest temperature for the longest time on a middle rack
>peel the paper from the macarons, not the other way around
>always pipe your filling or it looks terrible
>mature at room temperature overnight for buttercream and for one day with ganache

>>5481285
Expensive? It's an overpriced moonpie for godsake.

>>5481310
Double-sifted in fact.

>>5481301
I think I'll try her French method next time, i won't rest until I get it right

>>5479496
Italian method advice
>blitz the almonds and sugar together in a food processor until fine
>sift into a bowl
>make a well in the centre and pour the egg whites in
>add any flavourings and colourings
>mix with a spoon until the paste is even
>pour the meringue whites into a smaller bowl than you would use for the French method
>if you don't, the egg whites are only a thin pool and the whisk won't beat air into them
>put the syrup on a medium-low heat before whipping the meringue
>begin whipping the meringue when the syrup is bubbling at the edges
>whip to soft peaks
>sprinkle in a small amount of sugar
>whip to stiff peaks
>pour in the syrup in small glugs with the whisk on it's highest speed
>keep beating on high until the meringue is completely cool (about 10-15 minutes)
>take about a third of the meringue and mix it with the paste to loosen it
>fold the rest of the meringue in until the spatula has a thick coat of batter and the ribbons incorporate into the batter after about 30-40 seconds but still form slight peaks
>don't overfill the piping bag or it flows out too easily
>if done properly, the batter will have nipples until the tray is tapped on the counter
>the French method needs to dry for about 30 minutes to an hour but the Italian method needs about 20 minutes tops
>the feet are always smaller on Italian macarons and the shell is firmer and more smooth
>if baked for too long at a low temperature, some shells tend to have convex bottoms where the interior is pulled up by the top of the shell

>>5481433
It's nothing like a moon pie and £1.80 for a pastry isn't particularly outlandish.

They're expensive because finely ground blanched almonds are an arm and a leg and the time spent making them and the time to train chefs to make them isn't cheap. If that wasn't enough they're also finicky to make and customers won't buy them unless they're perfect.

>>5481433
their nothing close to a moonpie

>>5481437
i recommend one of these(not necessarily this one) http://www.amazon.com/Capacity-Macarons-Decorating-Flower-Tools/dp/B007YQTA8G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1401597403&sr=8-3&keywords=macaron

chefsteps.com also has a very indepth class on macarons well worth the $40

>>5481467
*they are

I made some for the bin/ck/o thread at 3 AM fucking hammered. No mixer. Had to make powdered sugar. Used hot cocoa mix instead of cocoa powder. No parchment paper. First time making them. They turned out fine, considering all the above. Used Chef John's recipe.

>>5481301
>http://notsohumblepie blogspot /2010/04/macarons-101-french-meringue.htm

9/10 would link to a monkey and expect excellent cookies

OP here, thanks for all the input

One last question though, are the shells normally not flavoured for stability?
I haven't seen a recipe that adds cocoa powder

>>5482313
Cocoa powder has oil in it and alters the consistency. Just use a small amount of brown food colouring and let the chocolate filling flavour the shell for you.

If you want to speed up flavouring/maturation, spray the shells with flavoured syrup before sandwiching them together.

>>5479496
>Spongebob's pretty patties were actually macarons

>>5482509
Can we have one fucking thread where somebody doesn't mention pretty patties? Please?

>>5482512
I didn't know that was a thing

I cackled

>>5479604
>>5479671
>>5480468

Sorry, I didn't get back until much later yesterday than I originally expected, and today has been busy.

I'm one of those that >>5481285 speaks of, I got into macarons purely to be able to show off. They became a Thing in NYC a few years back, which is guess is why they're all Thingy elsewhere now but whatever. The basics I was able to grasp pretty fast, but they're supposed to have that certain perfect look and perfect airiness, both of which I was ripping my hair out trying to achieve. No matter what I did, they always came out with that sloppy 5 Guys Cheeseburger appearance and simply weren't quite as melt-in-the-mouthy as they should have been.

The few things I finally realized mattered that I wasn't paying enough attention to (I'll keep it very simple, as overthinking a macaron recipe is itself a virtual guarantee of failure):

* Measurements matter, everywhere. A meat loaf isn't going to turn out horribly if you mistakenly mix in an extra quarter of an egg white or your oven temperature is 5° off from what the display says, but either of those could turn a macaron into a mediocrity.

* If your preferred recipe calls for a certain amount of sugar, you can't merely cut back on it if it results in macarons too sweet for your own palate; it'll throw everything off. You have to use an alternate method to decrease the sweetness.

* Don't skip the rap. If you do, you'll get bubbles and they'll ruin everything.

(more)

>>5483499
* Everything you alter ingredient-wise to make a different flavored/colored macaron, even just some food coloring can end up affecting the bake time. Be prepared to "lose" a few batches when trying something new as you figure out what the new proper bake time is, and don't get lazy on checking for doneness.

Really, 80% of this is purely about making sure the final product *looks* right, and only 20% about taste. If you're not anal about impressing your friends, you can probably do just fine with any recipe you find online as long as you make sure the measurements aren't off. But if you don't know anything about macarons, you should buy a sampler from one of the more elite macaron bakeries so you'll have some idea beyond just a photo of what it is you're going to be trying to achieve in terms of feel and taste and fluffiness and all that.

And you're almost unquestionably going to screw up the first couple of batches, or ten. So be ready for that and don't give up.

>>5482512
>wahh no one is taking my colorful faggot cookies seriously!