How to Make Macarons with a French Master | CHOW-TO

See below for an updated recipe!
These colorful little sandwich cookies turn adults into kids in a candy store. They're so perfect, they're almost intimidating - but fear not! To learn how to make them at home, Guillermo met with master patissier Jayce Baudry, the executive pastry chef, for Daniel Boulud's épiceries. The french chef taught us the tricks and techniques involved, that actually make the process fool-proof, and yield perfect results, even for the amateur baker. (Stick till the end to see Guillermo make a batch all on his own!)

French Macaron Recipe with Italian Meringue
This recipe will make about 200 shells (so 100 macarons total)—but with a scale, it’s easy to cut the recipe in half or otherwise reduce the ingredient amounts to a more manageable size. Note: the ingredients list shows two different amounts of egg whites because they’re added at different points in the process.

Ingredients:
**Metric conversions have been done using an Ingredient Weight Chart based on volume/weight conversion - for best results we recommend using a scale to weigh your ingredients
372 grams powdered sugar = 3 ⅓ cups
372 grams almond flour = 3 ¼ cups
160 grams day old egg whites = 5-6 eggs depending on size
370 grams sugar = 2 ¼ cups
100 grams water = 3.75 oz = 0.46 cup
125 grams fresh egg whites = 4-5 eggs depending on size
Filling of your choice (ganache is traditional)

Instructions:
1. In a food processor, grind the almond flour and powdered sugar to a very fine powder.
2. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the powder with the 160 grams of egg whites until you have a paste. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to be sure the dry ingredients are fully incorporated
3. In a heavy-bottomed, deep saucepan, use a spatula to stir the sugar and water together over medium-high heat. Stir just until the sugar melts, but be sure not to stir again once the mixture boils or it may crystallize (if it does, start over again). Allow the sugar and water to boil until the mixture reaches 244 degrees Fahrenheit (or 118 degrees Celsius) on a digital candy thermometer. Remove from the heat and set aside.
4. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the 125 grams of egg whites until they become voluminous and hold soft peaks. Then, with the mixer still running, slowly pour the cooked sugar mixture into the bowl, sticking close to the side of the bowl rather than near the center, until it’s all incorporated. Continue to mix until the outside of the bowl is no longer hot, but just feels warm to the touch. When you lift up the whisk, the meringue should hold soft peaks.
5. With a spatula, fold half the meringue into the wet ingredients until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then fold in the other half of the meringue until incorporated and break out your bench scraper for macaronage. Check out the video for a demonstration of the technique. Your mixture should be shiny, smooth, and start to relax a bit in the bowl.
6. Use a piping bag fitted with a 10 millimeter tip to pipe circles of batter onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets (expert piping technique is also demonstrated in the video). Leave the sheets out on the counter for at least an hour to allow the shells time to dry. (This downtime is also a good time to make your ganache if that’s what you’re using to fill the shells, since it will need to be completely cool and thicken up before you pipe it!)
7. Preheat your oven to 300ºF degrees and arrange a rack in the middle. Bake one sheet of macarons at a time for 14 minutes each, rotating the pan halfway through each baking session. You’ll know the macarons are done when they don’t move about on the parchment when you give them a nudge.
8. Allow shells to cool completely before piping the filling of your choice onto half of the shells and sandwiching them together. Et voilà!

CHOW-TO is an instructional series hosted by Senior Video Producer Guillermo Riveros dedicated to breaking down the process for creating the most delicious foods. Follow along for valuable insight and guidance from the world's finest chefs.

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[lusineroy]

So interesting, ive never seen the part of egg whites being mixed with the almond mixture first

[ericpmoss]

I love how he actually pays attention to not wasting by leaving ingredients in the mixing bowl.

[theapan]

y'all this is too much I'm gonna try a quarter of this

[chengg]

When I drizzle sugar down the side of the bowl it clumps up on the side and half of it became hard on the bottom and did not get incorporated... Any tips?

The “mix till it just becomes shiny” step really is the most important part

[aemonsatti]

“ you’re all invited “ imagine 340k people showing up at your doorstep

[Mamakeno]

I’m seriously grateful 🙏🏽🙌🏽 followed every step, used the grams measurement, and my macaroons came out perfect!

[Othermails]

Since the French Master was using Italian's method, I am going to try that method then.

[monkeeyface]

Such a humble and patient chef and teacher! Really enjoyed and learned a lot from this video :) thanks for sharing

[barbabietola]

I was super shocked when he just dumped the first batch of egg whites into the dry ingredients, I thought he was going to skip the meringue and it was somehow miraculously going to work anyway...

[hazardaoowd]

Adding salt to your meringue is very bad but not for the reason that he mentioned.  When salt is added to egg whites it quickly dissolves into its base components of sodium and chlorine. The sodium and chlorine turn right around and bonds to the egg white proteins and that leaves less bonding sites for other egg white proteins to use to form long chains. That means less structure for your meringue.
It's actually way better to have less water in your egg whites but I assure you adding salt won't help with that, aging your egg whites though is the right way to go.
It's very common for chefs to know how to do something but rarely do they know why you do it that way, or the real science behind it, so they opt for the nearest intuitive explanation possible which is rarely factual.

[gingerludtke]

I just watched a video that explains the difference between the French and Italian Macaron and this is the Italian method using hot sugar syrup. Weird that a French chef would be demonstrating the Italian method.

[elizabethrobbins]

Inverst in an accurate oven thermometer. You won't regret spending the money.

[datboibutters]

Chowhound: learn with a French master
Also chowhound: cup measurements

[Anna-lydg]

It took me 6 trys to get macaroons right... I tried several different recipes, and all of them ended with some kind of imperfection. Finally I found something that actually works for me. They came out great! Thank you so much for this!

[Maggiebze]

My 12 year old is on her quest to make the perfect MACARONS, she’s doing pretty good.

[lordefaptaguise]

It actually is quite hard, when you don’t have a “master chef” right there coaching & helping your every move.

[Mariale]

The chefs explains really well, I always use Italian merengue and they come out perfect and delicious 😊

[David-jwxs]

The recipe on your website says to bake them at 350 degrees, when they’re meant to be baked at 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Now I have about forty burned macarons. But otherwise, really good, no hollows, great feet, and very delicious and chewy.

[tobiaslim]

Honestly I tried this at home and its amazing. Its just the meringue part is very difficult so maybe in next video pls help us on that part.