HOW DOES THE MACARON FOOT FORM?
During cooking, a crust rapidly forms on the upper side of the shells. The water vapour in the mixture can then only escape from the underside, forming the foot.
MAKES ABOUT 80
MACARON SHELLS
ITALIAN MERINGUE
80 g water
250 g sugar
100 g egg white (about 3 eggs)
ALMOND BASE
250 g finely ground almonds
250 g (2 cups) icing sugar
100 g egg white (about 3 eggs)
1 Preheat the oven to 150°C. Pour the water then the sugar into the centre of the saucepan so as not to dirty the sides. Put the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Heat the water and sugar over a high heat.
2 When the sugar syrup reaches 114°C on a cooking thermometer, start beating the eggs at full speed. When the temperature reaches 121°C, remove the pan from the heat. Wait until the bubbles subside, then slowly pour the syrup into the egg whites in a thin stream, beating continuously, then keep beating until the mixture cools.
3 In a stainless-steel bowl, mix the ground almonds, icing sugar and egg whites using a dough scraper until the mixture is smooth. Add one-third of the Italian meringue and mix in with the scraper.
4 Add the rest of the meringue and continue to mix with the scraper, using it to crush the mixture. Lift a large piece of the macaron mixture with the scraper and let it fall back into the bowl: it should form a continuous ribbon as it falls (see Reaching ribbon stage).
5 Line a baking sheet with baking paper and pipe the mixture in 3 cm diameter shells in staggered rows. Bake for 12–15 minutes.
6 Remove from the oven and slide the baking paper off the sheet to prevent the shells drying out. Allow to cool.