Macaron A to Z {Part 4}

Macaron's feet {PIED}

Macaron is not a 'macaron' without it's pretty 'feet' or 'pied' in French.
{Foot is the curly bottom part of the macaron shell.}

 

I have been baking these pretty little treats for the past 2 months and each time they came out different. Since I have quite a few of them in the freezer from baking them at different time and at different oven temperature; so I am curious on how their feet looks like. So let's take a look at their feet !

But first I am curious on how the famous Macaron bakery 'Laduree' and 'Pierre Herme'  looks like. For comparison I put them here as well.

www.laduree.com

www.pierreherme.com

 www.notsohumblepie.blogspot.com

And MINE !

See how they look different one another ? I must say the no. 1, 3, 4 and 6 has the best looking 'feet'. No. 2 and no. 5 are over baked; therefore the feet came out larger and thicker  than the rest of them. Plus an over baked macaron creates a interior gap between the chewy filling and the crispy skin. {last post here} So now I learned !

Now how about the dome (the very top part) ?

Clearly the one that has good looking feet also has a 'good dome'. Not so flat but also not very domey. These macarons are the closest looking to Laduree's, Piere Herme's and NotSoHumblePie's macarons shape. So lesson learned !

Another picture of my MACs

Have a lovely Memorial Day week end Everyone !!

Macaron A to Z {Part 3}

'Storing' and learning the 'interior' of a macaron.

Macaron can be stored in a freezer for about a month. I had my macaron in the freezer for 2 months  and they were still delicious. But I won't go for more than that ! I still can't decide if I should put the filling and store them in the freezer or I just leave the shells in the freezer and put in the filling when ready to eat. I can't decide yet ! It seems and from reading a professional macaron bloggers; they put the filling right away and store them in the freezer. I guess it all depends on 'when you are going to eat the macarons.'

Now about the interior. If you are an ambitious macaron baker like myself, the interior is as important as the exterior; a part from the delicious taste.  So I decided to take a bite of 3 macarons that has been stored in freezer at a different time. Oh, before I forget; each time you take them out from the freezer let them rest in a room temperature for about 40 minutes to an hour. You do not want to chew on a cold hard macaron right from the freezer.

The Lemon Macaron on the left has been in the freezer for about 1-1/2 month. The one in the middle the Coffee Macaron has been in the freezer for about 1 month and the one on the right the Blueberry Macaron has been in the freezer for about 1 week.  I took the macarons out of the freezer put the filling {I have only blueberry cream cheese filling} and put them back in the freezer. After an hour I took them out and took a bite on each of these cookies to see what the interior looks like.

To my surprise the Lemon one is still delicious and has the nicest interior. The Coffee one is also delicious but the interior has a slight hollow shell while the Blueberry  has an apparent gap between the interior and the crispy shell {on the very right side of the bluebery macaron} You can see there is much of a gap in between.

You can learn the trouble shooting making the macaron here.

I also learn that macaron is best when eat after 24 to 48 hours. This is called 'maturity'  

Hermé points out an interesting aspect of his macaroons that seems to challenge the basics of most pastry teaching - freshness. "As soon as they're made they're not ready to eat, but they're really at their best after 24 or even 48 hours," he says. "An osmosis takes place between the garnish and the biscuit. When freshly baked this is hard and crisp, but it absorbs some humidity from the filling and its inside becomes more tender while the crust on the surface stays intact." {link}

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Thank you ...!

Macaron A to Z {Part 2}

 

BAKING

In the mean time set your oven temperature. I know that my oven has to be turn on when I start drying the macaron. After reach of 350 deg. I turn it down to 265 deg. Then the temperature will set and level out at a correct 265 deg when the macaron is ready to go into the oven. I accidently put the macaron in 5 minutes only after the temperature reach 265 deg. and found that most of my macarons were cracked open on the top because it was a little too hot. So give it at least 15 minutes of time for the 265 deg.  temperature to even out inside.

Then bake the macaron for 8 to 9 minutes and turn the pan {the front part to the back} for another 8 to 9 minutes.

If your macaronnage is done the right way; the feet should be appearing after about 4 to 5 minutes.

Below is the result when using an "OLD" almond/pistachio meal. To correct the flour; put the flour in the lowest temperature oven for a bout 3 to 4 minutes.

 

Good Luck Everyone! I hope this time you will successfully  making these pretty little treats....

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MACARON A to Z {Part 1}

PREPARATION

I have been practicing and making a lot of macarons lately. And since I have several people asking me how to make a macaron and after failing so many times, I decided to write from A to Z what I know about making a macaron.

First, you must have all the tools handy within reach.

MACARONNAGE

Uncook macarons and after piping  should stay and rest in a room temperature for about 50 to 55 minutes.  The top of the uncook macaron will be harden to touch. Then ready to bake

 Continued to Macaron Part 2

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