Macawrong to Macaron: Finale

Since the last post, I have been madly baking. There is now almond semolina on every surface in my room. Well… not every surface but almost.

Now now, where were we on this journey? Nipples. That’s right. Don’t flag me for inappropriateness cause really; a nipple by any other name is still a nipple yeah? The results of the last batch made me think real hard. What on earth could contribute to nipples in macaron batter?

Was I under-folding when I mixed the dry ingredients into the egg whites? Hmm, that might explain the chunky batter. But because the surface of the skin looked almost mars-like, I suspected that I should process the almond meal to be finer. And this is what I got.

The clear difference between this and the previous batch really is a smoother dome. And of course, the lack of the nipple. The surface of the skin is still a tad bit crackled though. This made me think really hard.

You never want a scientist to think really hard. Really you don’t because we will apply all sorts of scientific theorems and exert all our mental energy to solve the dilemma that is presented to us.

So I spoke to the college chef who has some experience with pastries and sweets. She gave me several advice ranging from a drop of vinegar for acidity, granulated sugar for stability, to ignoring the fact that most recipes call for soft peaks and whip my egg whites instead of firm peaks.

The firm peaks part made sense for the little macarons that I have been piping do seem a tad bit deflated. That is one thing that I will adopt.

I also stumbled upon a startling scatterplot at Not So Humble Pie.

While this is not exactly approved peer-reviewed quality, this will do. The chart shows clearly the ratio of almond meal to icing sugar per gram of egg white in most recipes posted online. I don’t really have to say this but it is generally foolish to ignore tried and tested recipes.

In my last post I mentioned that I was using the Alison Thompson recipe, which is in the ratio of 1.4:2.25:1. Takes no rocket scientist to tell that I have been working with an outlier. (See my out*LIAR* recipe represented by the blue speck.

Phew. It was never me all along. This is the part where I point an accusing finger at Alison Thompson and shout all sorts of obscene vulgarities. Heh.

Another try, this time taking in the college chef recommendation of whipping to firm peaks and dropping the ratio of the almond meal.

And this, dear friends and wayward readers, is what I get.

That’s right. Perfectly coloured little macaron shells with a crust that pose barely any resistance. I have no pictures to show for it but they don’t even have the dreaded air pocket too!

I could barely stop hopping the tiny kitchenette! Little babies of mine.

Thankfully I managed to master this before the kotatsu gathering next weekend for I have sort of announced that I was bringing some of these yummy little things. While I am off experimenting with other flavours and fillings. I shall leave you with this last picture of them filled with dark chocolate ganache.

Don't say I left you with none.