HOW TO PERFECT YOUR MACARONS

The past few days I have been trying to bake macarons. As they always say, try and try until you succeed. Finally, after my fourth attempt I was able to perfect my macarons. So here I am sharing you my own recipe, because when I followed the recipe I found online I was not able to make it perfectly. But when I adjusted the amount of the ingredients into my own desire of measurement I successfully nailed it! This recipe is best if you want to make small amount of macarons since you are not sure if you are going to be successful on your first try but hopefully after following this recipe you can make it too. 

FRENCH MACARONS INGREDIENTS: (15 pcs macarons)

• 95 g finely ground almond flour
• 110 g powdered sugar
• 1 large egg white, at room temperature
• 25 g granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt, divided
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup granulated sugar(50 g)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

LIME VANILLA BUTTERCREAM

• 100 g unsalted butter, at room temperature 
• 150 g cups powdered sugar 
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• ½ teaspoonlime zest 

PREPARATION

1. First make the macarons. Combine the powdered sugar, almond flour, and ¼ teaspoon of salt in a bowl of food processor if you have and process on low speed, until extra fine. Sift all the dry ingredients to avoid lumps. 
2. In a separate large bowl, beat the egg whites and the remaining ¼  teaspoon of salt with an electric hand mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add the granulated sugar until fully incorporated. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
3. Add the vanilla and beat until incorporated. This is also the part where you can add food coloring if you opted to have one. 
4. Add about ⅓ of the sifted almond flour mixture at a time to the beaten egg whites and use a spatula to gently fold until combined. After the last addition of almond flour, continue to fold slowly until the batter falls into ribbons and you can make a figure 8 while holding the spatula up.
5. Transfer the macaron batter into a piping bag fitted with a round tip.
6. Pipe the macarons onto the parchment paper in 1½-inch circles, spacing at least 1-inch apart. For the first timer like me I use a macaron template.
7. Tap the baking sheet on a flat surface 5 times to release any air bubbles.
8. Let the macarons sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour, until dry to the touch.
9. Preheat the oven to 300˚F (150˚C).
10. Bake the macarons for 18-20 minutes, until the feet are well-risen and the macarons don’t stick to the parchment paper. If the macarons are sticking into the parchment paper it means it is under cook. Put it back in the oven for a minute or two. But never over baked it because it will make it super crispy and hallow inside. 
11. Transfer the macarons to a wire rack to cool completely before filling.
12. Time to make the buttercream for filling. In a large bowl, add the butter and beat with a mixer for 1 minute until light and fluffy. Sift in the powdered sugar and beat until fully incorporated. Add the vanilla and beat to combine. Add the cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat to combine, until desired consistency is reached.
13. Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a round tip.
14. Add buttercream to one macaron shell. Top it with another macaron shell to create a sandwich. Repeat with remaining macaron shells and buttercream.
15. Do not eat yet. It is best to eat your macarons after 24 hours. But if you do I can't blame you. It means you made it perfectly that you wanna eat it right away. 

I hope you guys would give it a try. Don't be afraid to try and make a mess because that's how you learn, from trial and error.  Goodluck! 

ADDITIONAL TIPS TO REMEMBER:

• If you can't find almond flour on your favorite shop you can make it out of almond nuts.
• Make sure you use a fine well sifted almond flour mixture because if not your macarons will not rise properly and you will have a hard time piping the perfect circle shape just like the first time i baked it. See the photo below.

This tasted perfectly but as you can see i didn't get that perfect shape and appearance of the macarons that you can buy in the shop.

• Do not over beat your batter because it will ruin your macarons. Ofcourse I didn't know that I over beat my batter the second time I made it so it turns out like a biscuit without feet. Just a flat crispy cookie. See the photo below.

I tried making a chocolate macaron on my second attempt but still fail because apparently this is how it will look like if you over beat your batter. 

• Make sure to wait until your macaron is dry to touch before baking them because it will ruin the appearance of your macarons just like what happened to my third attempt. See the photo below. 

Tasted really good, almost perfect for me but as you can see it does't looked like a macaron.