Hazelnut salted caramel macaron Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to good macarons? ›

If you can get your hands on superfine or caster sugar, that's great and will work here wonderfully, but if not regular granulated sugar will work. This sweetens the macarons and is essential for stabilizing our egg whites (meringue).

Powdered Sugar: Powdered sugar will both sweeten and thicken your macaron batter. You'll also use powdered sugar in your desired filling.

Macaron taste and texture

In any case, a macaron should be light, crunchy on the outside, and soft in the center. People love jam fillings, buttercream fillings, and ganache fillings, which add to the softness. On the same note, when you eat a macaron, you should be able to eat a few without feeling heavy.

While generally considered the least healthy part of the macaron, many of the fillings are derived from natural fruits or can be made with sugar-free and keto recipes. Even with the tasty fillings, macarons are still healthier desserts when compared to other sweets, such as cupcakes.

Macaronage. For many people, including myself, the macaronage is the most challenging step in making macarons. Macaronage is the technique where you continue folding the mixture past full incorporation until you've achieved the perfect consistency.

Meanwhile preheat your oven to 325 degree F (160 degree C) with the oven racks in the top and bottom third of the oven. Bake the cookies (two sheets at a time) for about 14 - 16 minutes, rotating the pans top to bottom, front to back, about halfway through baking.

Let me explain: the acidity in cream of tartar helps the egg whites hold onto air and, like the sugar (explained next), helps prevent the egg whites from collapsing.

Blanched almond flour is more finely ground and gives baked goods a lighter color and texture. It's best for delicate recipes like macarons, where you want a smooth result. Unblanched almond flour is more coarsely ground and has a darker color. It can make baked goods denser, but also gives them a nuttier flavor.

Is ganache or buttercream better for macarons? ›

Buttercream, a mixture of butter and sugar, has its charms but lacks the depth and richness that ganache provides. Made from a harmonious blend of plant-based heavy cream and high-quality chocolate, ganache infuses each macaron with a velvety, sumptuous texture that can't be achieved with buttercream.

What macaron filling doesn't need to be refrigerated? Fillings such as jam and preserves do not need to be refrigerated whereas buttercream fillings, similar to our Macaron Filling, do, since they contain butter.

Although a macaron's shell should protect the rise and filling beneath its surface, you don't want your delectables to be crunchy or hard. Macarons should have a slight crunch with an overall chewy texture as one bites through the dessert. That texture is what truly makes a macaron marvelous.

There are a few methods for making macarons including Italian, French, and Swiss. Swiss isn't as common (I've never made them that way), but Italian macarons are pretty popular. The process is a little more involved than the French method, but the results are considered more reliable.

First, make sure to use either gel or powder food coloring made from synthetic colors, not natural colors. Second, you may have to add a lot of it. For my red macarons, such as the Apple Macarons, the Heart Macarons, the Cranberry Macarons, I usually have to add a lot of food coloring, more than two teaspoons.