French Raspberry Macarons With White Chocolate

Making French macarons can leave you in a panic, I know! So, I decided to pass the simplified method and useful tricks I follow to ensure perfect macarons with practice, over time. If you've ever had trouble with how to make macarons at home, I promise you'll nail it with this delicate and delicious cookies' recipe.

Let’s get started!

Ingredients

120 g almond meal/flour

220 g icing confectioners’ sugar

110 g egg white

30 g caster superfine sugar

2 teaspoons natural raspberry extract

pink food coloring, powdered or concentrated gel food coloring is preferable

For White Chocolate Ganache

120 g white chocolate, chopped

2½ tablespoons pouring cream

2 teaspoons natural raspberry extract

3 teaspoons raspberry jam

Directions

Step 1

Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Process the almond meal and icing sugar in a food processor until combined, then sift twice.

Step 2

Place the egg white in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium speed until frothy, then increase the speed while gradually adding the caster sugar. Continue beating until stiff peaks form, then mix in the raspberry extract and enough coloring for desired effect. Fold one-third into the almond mixture and combine well. Gently fold through the remaining egg white mixture; it should be glossy and thick, not thin and runny.

Step 3

Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 5 mm plain nozzle and pipe 3 cm circles about 3 cm apart onto the trays. Leave at room temperature for 1–6 hours (depending on the humidity) or until a crust forms; the macarons should no longer be sticky to the touch.

Step 4

Preheat the oven to 275 °F. Bake the macarons for 15–18 minutes until they rise slightly. Immediately slide the macarons and paper off the trays and onto wire racks to cool completely.

Step 5

Meanwhile, to make the ganache, place the chocolate and cream in the top of a double boiler over medium heat and stir until melted and smooth. Refrigerate for 25–35 minutes or until firm but pliable. Add the raspberry extract and jam and mix well.

Step 6

Transfer to a small piping bag fitted with a 1 cm plain nozzle and pipe about 1 teaspoon onto half of the macarons. Sandwich with the remaining macarons. Let your macarons cool before sandwiching your filling between them!

A lot can go wrong with so many steps so let me do my best to help you avoid as much heartbreak as I can!

Here are some tips for making macarons:

Double pan when you bake: It helps ensure even heat distribution, thus level feet on the bottoms of your cookies.

Mature the cookies with the filling for at least overnight: This will allow them to soften for a more mellow texture and more developed flavor.

Better to undermix than overmix: If the batter is overmixed, it will be too runny to pipe, the tops will most likely crack and no feet will develop.

Humidity is macaron’s enemy: If the environment is humid, it can affect the resting stage, resulting in no “skin” and therefore no hardened shell of the macaron when baked. Humidity can even affect the moisture in the meringue so it might be hard to whip super-stiff egg whites.

Aging egg whites for meringue. Leave egg whites at room temp for 24 hours before making your batter. Room temperature egg whites will make it easier to whip up a stiffer and drier meringue. Aging whites also dehydrates them and will hopefully result in a less runny batter.

Use powdered or concentrated gel food coloring when coloring macarons. You don’t want to add a watery dye to your batter as it can change the texture of your French Macarons.

Sift dry ingredients. Work the small lumps through the sieve with your fingers. Set aside the almonds that don’t pass through for another recipe. Sifting the almond meal and powdered sugar ensures that no large chunks of almond appear in your batter which could weigh it down. Sifting also aerates the dry ingredients which help with the airy quality of the final product.

When are macarons done? To test whether macarons are done baking, gently touch the feet of the cookie. If they are still sticky then they need more time. Bake until the feet are set and do not shift when lightly touched.

Always store macarons in an airtight container. The filled French Macarons can be stored in the fridge for 4 days.

Have you ever tried to cook French macarons at home? Was it a challenge? Which flavor combination is your favorite? Let me know!