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Article: Macaron Shell Recipe By Ollia

Macaron Shell Recipe By Ollia

INGREDIENT NOTES

Almond Flour
Look for the finest grain (Extra Fine). Store it in your fridge or freezer. Get it at Ollia! We carry Extra Fine Almond flour in the boutique.

Egg Whites
Egg whites from fresh eggs that have been aged are the best to work with for macarons.

*Tips on aging the egg whites: Crack your eggs a day or two before baking; making sure not to get any yolks in there. Store egg whites in an airtight container in the fridge. This will reduce moisture content from the egg whites while maintaining protein bonds to increase elasticity; better for whipping.

Gel Food Colouring
Gel colouring is the best for macaron production. Avoid liquid or powders. Gel colour can be found at Ollia.

Equipment

  • Scale (making macarons is all about precision)
  • Stand Mixer or Handheld Electric Beater
  • Mixing Bowls
  • Rubber Spatula (with a stiff neck)
  • Small Pot (heavy bottomed pots, and smallest pot you can find for best results)
  • Digital Thermometer
  • Silicone Baking Mats (parchment will also work, but silicone helps distribute heat more evenly
  • Pastry bags (large one for batter, smaller one for filling)
  • Piping tips – #805 Ateco Brand is the preferred size of tip, The number will change based on brand.
  • Baking Tray (heavier tray will distribute heat more evenly)

Steps to Making Macaron Shells

Yield: 35 macarons (about 70 shells)
Prepare your Mise en Place by setting out all of your ingredients so everything is ready to go.

In a medium sized bowl sifted together
Almond flour – 150g
Icing sugar – 150g
*1 whole bag of shell mix from Ollia

In a little cup:
Aged egg whites – 55g
*Your choice of gel colourant

In a small heavy bottomed pot:
Water – 37g
Granulated sugar – 150g

In your mixing bowl:
Aged egg whites - 55g

The Italian Meringue
1. With your egg whites in your mixing bowl and ready to go. Place your pot on your burner, set to medium/med high heat. with the thermometer inside. Make sure your thermometer is covered by the liquid but not touching the bottom of the pot.

2. When the sugar syrup reaches 115 Celsius, this is when you will begin beating your egg whites at high speed, continuing until your sugar syrup is ready.

3. When sugar syrup reaches 118 Celsius, remove from heat. When your egg whites are fully white and resemble a marshmallow fluff texture – slowly add the sugar syrup to the egg whites in a thin strand avoiding the whisk and side of the bowl, while the mixer is still at full speed. *This step is easiest when working with a handheld mixer VS a stand mixer due to the amount of egg whites used.

4. Wait roughly 2 minutes or until your meringue has reached somewhere between med and stiff peaks;not going further than stiff. Overmixed meringue will look dry and like broken fluff.

The Almond Paste
Using a spatula, blend the almond flour, icing sugar, and egg whites with your desired amount of gel colourant, until partially combined into a paste with loose crumb. Do not overmix; over mixing may release the almonds oils, resulting in a greasy macaron.

Macaronage

Stages of Macaronage:
Under Mixed: When your batter is under mixed it will have white strands of meringue marbled throughout, and chunks of the almond paste not incorporated. This will result in a lumpy batter when piped.

Perfectly Mixed: Your batter should be smooth without any lumps, it will resemble cake batter, still holding its shape without flattening out. You should be able to get a consistent slow ribbon when poured.

Over Mixed: When your batter is overmixed, it will be very thin and more liquid than batter. This will cause your piping to be difficult and result in the macaron foot to be flat beside your shell VS under the shell, and will have the appearance of grease or cracking.

1. While your meringue is still warm, add the Meringue to the Almond Paste. Mix well using a spatula, gently folding the two together. Keep folding until the mixture is fully combined, and no paste chunks are left. *To remove paste chunks, smoosh them with your spatula against the bowl as you fold.

Fit your pastry bag with your piping tip (#805), do the twist and tuck method to prevent batter from coming out of the tip while filling. Fill your piping bag and give it a twist at the end to prevent batter from coming out the back. Pipe your macaron dollops of batter on the parchment paper or baking mat using a template underneath as a guide to keep macarons consistent. (if you have purchased a baking silicone mat from Ollia, you will have the circles already on it for you!)

Once your tray is full, whack the baking sheet on a protected surface (either cardboard or a towel) to smooth the batter out and release any air bubbles. Remember to whack the tray evenly, roughly 4 times each side or until you see your batter settle into flat discs. At this point you can add any sprinkles or decorations you want to stick to the shell.

Pre-heat oven to 290-300 F. Let macarons rest for around 20 minutes, depending on the weather (humid days needing more time). Resting macarons helps them form a dry crust, they should not be not tacky when you lightly touch them. If so, let them rest longer. When they are no longer tacky to the touch, bake for 13-14 minutes.

Baking time and temperature will vary depending on your oven, adjust accordingly.
*Suggestion: pipe a few macarons on a separate tray and use that tray as your oven tester.

Filling your Macarons:
Your macarons must be fully cooled before trying to remove them from the mat to fill. Pipe filling onto a shell; about the size of a Hershey Kiss, cover with another shell, and with a shell in each hand, holding it by the foot on both shells (avoid using your thumb and index finger with the pinching motion to close the shells, as they are fragile) twist as you squish the shells together until filling reaches the edges of the shell, et voila! You may adjust how much filling you like depending on preference.