My try at macarons

So after making a double batch of creme brulee, I had many egg whites leftover. I tried my hand at making macarons. BTW I like to measure things in grams, I have scale and it makes it easier for me. Sorry, I don't have this in cup measurements.

Italian-style macarons:
400g almond meal
400g powdered sugar
400g sugar
100g water
300g egg whites, divided into two

Chocolate ganache: (half batch)
50 mL heavy cream
125g chocolate

1. In a blender or food processor, blend the powdered sugar and the almond meal together. Sift into a large mixing bowl with a strainer, and set aside.

2. In a small pot, heat the sugar and water until it reaches 245F.

3. In a medium mixing bowl, whip 150g of the egg whites until stiff peaks form. That's when, when you dip the whisk into the bowl and flip it upside down, the egg whites will form a tip and won't fall over.

4. Mix the egg whites on low while slowly pouring the sugar syrup. Then whip on high speed until the mixture is glossy and firm. You won't get stiff peaks anymore.

5. Stir the almond meal/powdered sugar with 150g of the egg whites. Fold in the egg white mixture until it is combined. Now stir until the batter falls in ribbons and the ribbons will disappear back into the batter in 10 seconds. If it takes longer than that, keep stirring. The longer you stir, the more runny it gets. So stop once you reach that 10 second mark.


6. Add food coloring if you want. I did! Pipe the batter onto making pans covered with parchment paper, silicone mats, or foil. Pipe them into 1" rounds. The batter should flatten out. Let them dry out in the air for at least 1 hour.

7. Bake at 320 degrees for 15 minutes. Here are how they turn out. Some of them domed up and was hollow inside. Some were nice. I think it was because I baked some on my bottom rack, and it got too hot. So make sure you place the oven racks in the very middle. Let them cool to room temperature.


8. To make some filling, you can try chocolate ganache. Put the heavy cream and chocolate (chips or chopped) in a bowl. Microwave until the heavy cream starts to bubble. I microwaved it for 30 seconds at a time. It will look like barf at first, but keep stirring until it's smooth and shiny. Leave out at room temperature. It will firm up later on.


Try to find two macarons of equal size and sandwich them together. I also tried making raspberry buttercream, but it did not taste good.

Lots of mishaps, maybe I'll try them again another day.