I first obsessed (yes, obsessed) about macarons over a year ago when the whole macaron mania began. After plenty of trials, not one batch was successful. Nope, not one. What came out of the oven were feet-less, cracked and/or hollow shells. So you can pretty much imagine my frustration. After my nth attempt and thousands of pesos later, I swore not to make them again for a long time and settled for staring with envy to those who got them right on FoodGawker and Tastespotting. Not to mention I got tired of eating them as well.
Until a few months ago before I set up Baking Between Cities. I also saw this post of Demystifying Macarons which prompted me to perhaps, try again. And I’m glad I did because today, I can finally present to you my macarons. Finally. Although they are not all perfect because some of them did end up with cracked tops, they all had feet. So I’m quite elated!
For the recipe and video instructions, visit Daydreamer Desserts (thank you!)!
cafetisa
/ December 6, 2010Congratulations! I have tried a couple of times but been unsuccessful :( I can’t buy ground almonds here in Chile so I think mine always end up a bit wet! I was lucky enough to visit the house of Laduree a couple of weeks ago… it was ridiculously amazing!
Congratulations again! These look great!
Kat
/ December 6, 2010Thank you! Macarons are such tricky lil things aren’t they? But don’t give up! ;) And I agree, Laduree is amazing!
ze.good.food.junkie
/ December 7, 2010Congratulations! I’m not really a macaron maniac but after trying unsuccessfully a few times, your post has given me some hope to try again!
Kat
/ December 7, 2010Thank you and best of luck!!! :D
Daydreamer Desserts
/ December 7, 2010Congratulations looks like you nailed macaron making, they look gorgeous!
Kat
/ December 7, 2010Thank you so much! Your video helped a lot! :D
lynne
/ December 8, 2010omg they’re amazing! I’ve been trying to make macarons..sadly I haven’t been successful :( but I’m still trying!
The Culinary Chronicles
/ December 8, 2010Congratulations!!
Ju
/ December 8, 2010Hey Kat ! I saw your blog through Tastespotting! I’ve been making macarons too & I was so crazy about them. I would bake them, like, once every two weeks & enjoy the sugar rush. Boy, macarons are really sweet stuff. By the way, grats on your macarons ! Mine was cracked too during my first attempt & by the second attempt, almost every macaron looked perfect !
I love how the grated chocolates look on your macarons !
kathleen
/ December 9, 2010Your macarons look beautiful! I haven’t even tried to make them myself yet!
Samantha
/ December 9, 2010Ah, I really wanted to make some macarons for Christmas. It was my ultimate goal. I started out with two basic recipes (but different). The first one… it was so runny… everything turned into big blobs. The second attempt? They didn’t rise – didn’t cook properly… and looked like wafers. A few more attempts – and I finally contemplated giving up… and then my sister printed me off this recipe : http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2005/10/french-chocolat/
Absolutely amazing. Make sure the eggs are from actual eggs (not the carton egg whites) and make sure you separate the eggs and leave the whites out for 1-2 hours prior to beating. Every single one I made came out perfect. (I also omitted the chocolate [which I filled with white chocolate peppermint ganache] for one batch of them… and after folding in the flour to the egg whites, I added 1/2 tsp of vanilla…. with some eggnog buttercream – yum!)
Kat
/ December 9, 2010Thanks for the tips! The white chocolate peppermint ganache sounds heavenly esp for this time of the year! ;)
freshandfoodie
/ December 10, 2010So beautiful!
rsmacaalay
/ December 11, 2010Wow that’s the most posh macaroons I had ever seen. It looks yummy as well.
Raymund
http://angsarap.wordpress.com
Kat
/ December 11, 2010Salamat po! :D
Babygirl
/ December 11, 2010I LOVE these pictures. I am in the mood for a macaron right now.
kristina
/ December 11, 2010I tried making macarons a couple weeks ago. They had feet and the tops weren’t crack. Once I touched them, the tops cracked. If the top didn’t crack, the inside was wet. Do you have any tips before I try them again?
Kat
/ December 11, 2010Hey Kristina,
Unfortunately, I don’t have much tips other than what I’ve read again and again in other blogs since this is my first somewhat successful try.
Did you let the macarons cool completely before touching them? Because before I was too excited to wait and mine cracked as well xD Haha. Anyway, I think I read somewhere that allowing them to rest after piping helps harden the shell and that humidity plays a part when making macs. And perhaps the temperature of your oven as well because maybe they do have the feet and all and you think it’s okay to take them out but maybe it’s a bit too early.
Also, I know the French meringue method is more fragile than using the Italian meringue.
Sorry, I know I’m not much help at this xD
boogie.
/ December 13, 2010i just made these for the first time ever! this is also my first time tasting them. i found the recipe at martha stewart & it’s pretty basic. none had cracked tops, but not all of them had feet. they were delicious enough to forget about feet! yours are soooo pretty though!
savorysimple
/ December 16, 2010I made macarons at culinary school without any issues and they’ve given me so many problems at home. I think it all comes down to convection ovens vs. conventional ovens. One day I’d love a counter top convection oven.
Anyway, yours look amazing!
chefpriyanka
/ December 22, 2010yummyy! looks great/ i loveee your pictures :)
http://chefpriyanka.wordpress.com/
Fragolina
/ December 29, 2010your macaroons look great, so after all these attempts you finally did a good job.