Basic Macarons Recipe: Italian meringue method - Now, I'm a convert!

I'm back talking basic macacron recipe again but this time is for Italian meringue method.

Macarons can be made using two methods, which are French meringue technique and Italian meringue’s. Majority of the processes for both techniques are the same. The difference is how you handle the caster sugar (fine sugar) with egg whites. French meringue calls for caster sugar be gradually mixed into the whipping egg white. Whereas, Italian meringue method uses cooked sugar syrup mixed into the whipping egg whites.

Note: I have written a blog post about making macarons using French meringue method before, which could be found here. You might also find the I Heart Macaron post useful for the beginning of my macaron adventure.

With Italian meringue method, it is a little more complex and more tools (and washings) involved as you would need a thermometer. However, it gives shinier crust, less temperamental when it comes to weather condition, humidity in particular, and more forgiving when it comes to mixing. You are less likely to overmix the batch (which results in spreading macarons and no feet) using Italian method than French's.

I wasn’t convinced about making macarons using Italian meringue methods until lately. I had bad experience using this method and my macarons failed miserably. The shells were hard and crunchy. They were anything but macarons. I had always blamed this on the Italian meringue techniques. I had no idea then that I read thermometer incorrectly when cooking sugar syrup. See, I had never cooked/used cooking thermometer before back then (I know it might sound like a lame excuse). The first thermometer I had wasn’t a digital one. I misread the farenheit for celcius, and 118°F is nothing close to 118°C, in fact it’s only 47°C. It wasn’t a surprise that that macaron batch was a disaster; dry, tough and crunchy.

Now that I had a number of successful batches made by Italian meringue method, I feel more comfortable to recommend it. In fact, it is gradually growing on me and I might be a permanent convert. Italian meringue has become my weapon of choice for making macarons.

I based my recipe loosely on Pierre Herme's. I reduced the amount of icing sugar, caster sugar and almond meal and still found that it worked well (I find the macarons are sweet as it is and try to reduce the sugar as much as I can). Pierre Herme recipe bakes macarons at 180c, I bake mine at 150c. I have tried baking them at 160c before and found the macarons to be too dry and lose that soft and moist melt-in-your-mouth texture (note that I use convection oven or what Aussie calls fan-forced oven).

Since I discovered bread-making and are so passionate about it, I started to look at recipe from the baker percentage perspective. i.e ratio/measurement of ingredients against the main ingredient. In bread-making, everything in the recipe are measured against total flour weight. In macaron-making, I measure all ingredients against egg white, which I would like to call it the macaron maker ratio. I am very pedantic when it comes to making macarons, which I believe accuracy is critical. It is important to ensure the ratio between wet ingredients and dry ingredients is spot on.

My macarons maker ratio works like this:

My basic macaron formula (French Meringue technique) is:

Egg white 1 part

Pure icing sugar 1.60 part

Almond meal 1.10 part

Caster sugar 0.60 part

My basic macaron formula – Italian Meringue technique is:

Egg white 1 part

Pure icing sugar 1.25 part

Almond meal 1.25 part

Caster sugar 1.25 part

Water 0.34 part

This means I would measure the egg white before I start measure everything else. For example, I would use 3 large egg white for my usual batch, which yield around 100 g, the rest of ingredients should work like this:

Egg white 100 g (100 x 1)

Pure icing sugar 125 g (100 x 1.25)

Almond meal 125 g (100 x 1.25)

Caster sugar 125 g (100 x 1.25)

Water 34 g (100 x 0.34)

Apart from the accuracy, having appropriate tools is critical for making successful batches of macarons. Tools that you’ll need:-

·    Piping bag size 14 inch (350 mm). You can probably get away with smaller bag but I found this size is perfect for a batch producing 25 macarons.

Tools - using pastry scraper pushing almond meal mixture
through the sieve make it easier

·    Pipping nozzle, 1cm plain round tip (size 11)

·    Good quality (preferably heavy steel, commercial weight) baking tray. I love baking trays from MasterClass. They are made of heavy steel, got a commercial weight and reasonably priced. Good baking tray helps to insulate the heat, distribute the heat more evenly and make the macarons rise better and give you the more uniformed macaron feet (those holy-grail of macaron lovers)

·    Non-stick baking paper or silicone mat or Silpat

·    Sieve

·    Spatula

·    Stand mixer or hand mixer (or a whisk with a strong arm)

·    Scale (I prefer to measure the exact ingredients intead of going by volume measurement i.e. cup)

·   Thermometer, preferably digital one, but I guess the normal thermometer would work just fine.

·    Small heavy-base saucepan: for cooking sugar syrup with Italian meringue method.

Though you might have heard stories about failed macarons batches, that macarons are hard to master, it is not at all hard to make. Sure, sometimes the weather can be a little too humid, you might over-mix the batch, you might have some bad macaron day, the feet didn’t appear, but those macarons will taste exceptionally yummy anyway. Armed with right tools and right recipes, you can make this… at home!

Here is the walk-through for making macaron using Italian meringue method:

Note:

I also encourage you to read my other two posts for tips and recipes for making macarons;

• Basic Macarons Recipe – French meringue method
• I Heart Macaron

Basic Macaron Recipe: Italian meringue method

Makes about 25 3-cm macarons

Ingredients

100 g/or 3 large egg whites (separated 24-48 hours before making and is at room temperature)

125 g pure icing sugar

125 g almond meal (ground almond, almond flour)

125 g caster sugar (fine sugar)

34 g water

pinch of coloring powder or liquid

Macaron filling

100 g dark chocolate, chopped

100 ml thickened cream (minimum 35% fat)

20 g butter, chopped

Sift the almond meal together with pure icing sugar through a fine sieve (some suggests processing ingredients in a food processor for finer texture. I usually don’t and it works fine without it).

Divide egg whites into two equal portions (50 g each portion). Put one portion (50 g) into the almond meal/icing sugar mixture. Do not mix the ingredients together, just pour egg white into dry mixture and leave it as is. Put the coloring powder or liquid on to the egg white. Set aside.

Put the other portion of egg white in a mixing bowl and position it in the mixer that is fitted with the whip attachment. Set this aside.

Place water and caster sugar in a small heavy-base saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to the boil. Do not stir the syrup as the crystal might form. Use wet brush to brush down any sugar crystal or syrup from the side of saucepan.

Once the bubble starts to appear in the syrup, start whipping egg white with high speed until it reaches soft peek and keep the motor running. 


Note: If egg white reaches soft peak stage before the sugar syrup is ready, reduce motor speed to medium and continue beating.

When the sugar syrup reach 118°C (I timed after the sugar syrup start boiling, it took approx. 3 minutes from the start of boiling to reach 118°C), remove the saucepan from the heat immediately. While the mixer is still running at high speed, slowly pour the syrup down the side of mixing bowl. Be careful not to pour the hot syrup over the whip attachment as it will spatter.

Keep beating the egg white at medium-high speed until the mixture is cool down. You should be able to touch the side of the mixing bowl and feel just about body temperature. The finished whipped egg white will be stiff and very glossy (it’s much glossier than the normal meringue method).

Using spatula, fold one-third of the whipped egg white into almond meal mixture. You can mix this quite vigorously until the batter is smooth. Fold the rest of egg whites in two batches. Fold gently but thoroughly until smooth and well-blended batter is achieved. The batter consistency will be very thick, flow slowly, and should not be runny. If the batter is runny, you might have over-mixed your batter. Do not worry that the meringue is collapsing. It is okay that it collapses. It need to be cmpletely blended in with the rest of ingredients and we are not making meringue of pavlova here, we are making macarons.

Add the mixture into a piping bag fitted with plain 1-cm piping tip. If you’re a piping bag challenge like myself, stand the bag in a tall glass to help with the filling. Once the bag is filled, turn it upside down and twist the bag a quarter turn (this will ensure the air, if any, is remove).

Pipe some batter under the baking mats/sheet to stick them to the baking tray. This will help tremendously when the trays are tapped on the bench to remove any air pockets (the baking sheets would stay in its position).

very focus and piping away...

Pipe about 2.5-cm round of batter (in staggering rows) onto the baking tray lined with baking mat or non-stick baking sheets, and leave 2.5 cm space between each shell. You will need two baking trays for this recipe.

Piped shells will be flatten almost by themselves

Tap the trays on the bench to flatten the piped shells and remove any air pocket. Macarons will be become slightly larger after they're flattened

Leave the trays of  piped shells uncovered for 30 – 60 minutes until the crust is formed and dry to touch. To see if the macarons are ready, gently touch the top of shell, if the piped shell is  not stuck to your finger, they are good to go into the oven.

Pre-heat the oven to 160°C (fan-forced/convection oven) for at least 15 minutes. Before putting macarons into the oven, reduce temperature to 150°C. Bake for 15 minutes (this might take a little longer, depend on the size of your macarons).



Feet slow rising after 5 minutes in the oven

 Once baked, remove baking sheet/mats to cooling rack. Let it cool completely before removing them from the sheets. It is much easier to remove macarons from baking sheet when they cool down and it is less less likely that they would stick to baking sheet.

When the shells are completely cool, pipe or spoon filling onto one shell and sandwich two shells together with the filling.

with pitaschio buttercream filling

Store the macarons in air-tight containers in the fridge overnight. The flavor and texture will be better after several hours in the fridge.

Simple chocolate ganache filling recipe
100 g dark chocolate (50% cocoa), chopped
100 ml thickened cream (whipping cream, minimum 35% fat content)
20 g butter, chopped 

Put chocolate in a seperate bowl.

Bring cream to the boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove it from heat as soon as it comes to the boil. 

Pour hot cream into chocolate. Leave it for about 10-20 seconds. Stir the chocolate and cream mixture until melted. Scatter butter pieces on the mixture and stir until well combine. 

Chill the ganache at least an hour before using them to fill macarons.  

Note:

You can also check the below posts out for basic macaron recipe using French meringue method and my love affair with macaron in I heart macarons:

• Basic Macarons Recipe – French meringue method

• I Heart Macaron