Why do macarons go flat

Macaron Cracked Try rapping the trays on the bench harder or more times before cooking. Macarons Flat or Lumpy See the pictures below which show the results of under-mixed and over-mixed macaroon mixture. Hollow macarons Macarons should not be hollow. More questions see the video below: The video answers the following frequently asked questions: Can I have the recipe? More macaron recipes for you: easy macaron recipe.

Rating: 5. Gurleen Walia June 24, , am Reply. Rating: 4. I am getting spots on my wafers… what would be causing that? Melinda January 14, , am Reply. Byroni Royes May 11, , pm Reply. Can i use coconut meal is that same as coconut flour? Instead of almond meal? Ann May 13, , am Reply. Have you tried the recipe from my site?

If so, how long are you whipping the meringue and how many times do you fold the batter? Make sure all of your ingredients are uncontaminated. I have probably tried to cook Macarons 10 times this past week.

They actually look great. Taste great. Hi Joey!! It sounds like maybe they were underbaked. Do you have a thermometer in your oven? Also, did you add any food coloring?

Help me please? Hi Zemirah! How long are you whipping the meringue? Have you tried filling them and letting them mature for 24 hours? That should help a lot with hollows. Made me confident to start doing macarons again.

I just want to say I hope you make a book for all the macarons on your website. Thank you for the macaron school and trouble shooting tips. Including the macaron school. And yes, that book will be coming out soon!

Thank you so much!!! Thank you so much. I have a question, I have been baking macarons 2 years, and with my new oven I am having lots of problems. And other question is you wrote for getting brown we should cover with foil. Do we need to put on exactly on macarons or another layer of oven? My macarons turned our flat and porous. I was wondering what would be the best way to determine if my cocoa or my almond flour are oily?

The fact that they turned out flat and porous could be an indication. Also depending on the brand of cocoa you are using it could be the issue. Cocoa powders with high fat content may turn your macarons wrinkly or porous, so check the fat content of your cocoa powder. Is that too high?

I just got it actually so it is quite new. Would it be good practice to always dry the almond flour regardless of whether or not it seems oily? Hi Camila, I am so happy that I found your site. I wanted to make a surprise Macaron box this year for members of my family, so I checked many recipes, have a book from Pierre Herme, prepared everything in advance and with the first attempt using the Italian meringue I failed dramatically. I started to search for the possible reasons and your site helped a lot.

Yesterday I tried your pistachio macarons using only almond flour and finally had some success. But not completely. So they turned out slightly brown, lopsided, some of them cracked, but all in all better than the first version. I split the quantity in three batches to experiment with the temperature and position in the oven, as well as with or without fan, but so far no big difference.

Now I have some questions: 1. I designed my French Macaron Video Class both for novice bakers who want to learn new skills, and for experienced bakers who are seeking to master a new and impressive dessert. The class is divided into 15 short lessons that show you the essential equipment you need , the important steps to follow , the techniques to master , and the potential pitfalls to avoid.

You can watch the videos on your own time, start practicing, share with other budding macaron makers, and ask me questions if you encounter difficulties along the way. I myself learned how to make macaron by watching a friend making them for me repeatedly, and I believe a live or video! Over 5, students have taken my Skillshare class so far and the class gets overwhelmingly positive reviews.

Enroll Now! This macaron troubleshooting guide covers the French method for making macarons, as opposed to the Italian method. The French method can be a bit more temperamental though: to master it, you need to know exactly how far to beat egg whites, and exactly what the macaron batter should look like before piping. You can see both these pressure points explained and demonstrated in my French Macaron Video Class.

Of course, few macarons adhere to all of these standards at once, except bakery macarons. I have tried pre-separated egg whites with very inconsistent results.

I know other bakers who tried to use them as well without success. There are many things you can do with leftover egg yolks. Gel food colorings and powdered food colorings are best to use in macaron recipes. Liquid food colorings have less coloring power, so you need to add more to reach the right color and risk adding too much moisture to the batter. You also need to make sure the food coloring you use is appropriate for baking.

Cream of tartar is added to egg whites to help stabilize them and give them volume and strength. Sugar is needed to create the meringue and reach the balance needed to get the best macaron texture. This article explains the mystical union of sugar and egg whites. All brands of powdered sugar contain cornstarch. Use a popular brand , but not one without cornstarch as a little of it is good to help balance moisture and ensure sturdy shells.

Yes it is. Almond meal and almond flour are simply almonds that have been ground very finely. Yes you can, but you should dry it first or it could cause you trouble making perfect macarons. Spread the almond flour on a baking sheet and bake it for 30 minutes.

Remove the flour from the oven and let it cool completely before proceeding with the recipe. Almonds are the least oily of all nuts and they will keep the batter to the right consistency. You should always use unsalted nuts. For the best flavor, make sure to toast the nuts and let them cool completely to room temperature before using them in macarons. Blanched almonds are best for macarons, but raw almonds work too, although their brown skin will alter the color of your shells.

Process until very smooth, then sift as the recipe requires. Yes, you can. There are many nut-free macaron recipes out there—here are untested resources to get you started.

Silicon mats have long been used in professional kitchens, and you can now easily buy them for the home kitchen, too. Parchment paper has become ubiquitous in the kitchens of those who love to bake. Both products are popular among macaron bakers. Personally, I tend to find that the delicate macaron shells make them harder to peel off silicon mats, especially if the mats are not squeaky clean, so I prefer using parchment paper. I like that I get consistent results: my shells never get stuck to parchment paper.

Plus, using butter would affect the flavor of the shells which contain no fat. Wax paper is not oven-proof, and macaron shells would stick to aluminum foil. As stated above, I recommend using a surface that allows you to peel the macaron shells right off without having to grease it. Good examples are Ateco Plain Pastry Tubes, size 6 , size 7 , or size 8.

They cost a few dollars each, or you can buy a full set. I favor using disposable pastry bags because they are flexible thus easier to handle. Stainless steel is easier to clean, and a squeaky clean bowl guarantees a stiff meringue. Plastic and glass are not good surfaces either as the whites tend to slip down the sides of the bowl and plastic attracts grease because of its porous surface.

A classic stainless steel cul-de-poule is super versatile in the kitchen and will last you a lifetime. Stainless steel is a very resistant surface.