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Pastries and Cookies

Italian Meringue Macarons

by Lisa

Trained pastry chef

Italian meringue macarons sandwiched with a creamy filling

4.8 (14)out of 5, 14 ratings

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Prep
10 min
Bake
20 min
Dry
3 hr
Total
3 hr 30 min
Makes
25 pieces

My dear macarons... to this day they are a thorn in my side! I have tried hundreds of recipes, tested all sorts of techniques and suffered countless failed batches! Here I'm sharing a recipe that was used at one of the bakeries I worked at. To this day, 4 years later, this method is still my favorite and the most reliable one. Still, at this point I of course have to remind you once again that practice makes perfect, ok? Don't despair if it doesn't work right away. Some of mine still go wrong sometimes, but this recipe gives me the best results. I wish you lots of success, patience and fun.

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Notes:

Tips and notes

  1. Push the ground almonds through a fine sieve several times. This breaks up any lumps and makes the tant pour tant (almond mixture) finer.
  2. After sifting the almonds, mix them thoroughly with the powdered sugar and sift several more times! (The more, the better!)
  3. I recommend separating the egg whites the day before and letting them age in the fridge, for example in a jam jar.
  4. Adding the sugar syrup naturally makes the meringue hot (and it should be!). You don't have to beat it until completely cool; you can fold it into the rest of the mixture while it is still warm.
  5. Macarons take a lot (!) of practice, patience and a delicate touch. I tried endless recipes until I developed this one for myself, and I have been baking with it without problems for years. But just because it works for me doesn't mean it will work for you! 

Ingredients

Makes 25 pieces

  • 1 cup plus 2 tbsp112 galmond flourIn Germany this can mean finely ground blanched almonds or a partly defatted almond flour. For macarons and cakes, use finely ground blanched almonds. In the US use blanched almond flour (superfine), not defatted or keto almond flour; in the UK, finely ground blanched almonds.
  • ¾ cup plus 3 tbsp112 gpowdered sugarVery finely ground sugar for icings and dusting. In the US use powdered sugar (confectioners' sugar); in the UK, icing sugar.
  • 3 tbsp45 gegg whites
  • 3 tbsp45 gegg whites
  • ½ cup plus 1 tbsp115 ggranulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp30 gwater

Method

  2. Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar together through a fine sieve several times.

  3. Put the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. There's no need to stir or swirl.

  4. Whip the first portion of egg whites with a hand mixer and wait until the sugar reaches temperature. Use a digital thermometer to cook the sugar to 248°F (120°C), then take it off the heat IMMEDIATELY.

  5. Pour the sugar syrup into the egg whites in a thin stream while you keep beating! (If you pour the sugar in too quickly, the egg whites will collapse, so be patient and take about a minute.) Once all the syrup is in the egg whites, keep beating the meringue for a little while so it loses some heat and everything is evenly combined.

  6. Add the second portion of egg whites to your almond flour and powdered sugar mixture (the technical term is tant pour tant) and mix it with your hand mixer until you have a very firm paste. This is the point to add color. Gel or paste coloring works, but I've always preferred powdered coloring! Once the meringue has been added, coloring it again is not a good idea!

  7. Stir a third of the meringue into this paste (you can be fairly rough here, don't worry if the mixture “deflates”!), then fold in the rest of the meringue in 2 portions.

  8. Fill the batter into a piping bag fitted with a round tip about ⅜ inch (1 cm) in diameter. It's best to pipe them onto parchment paper, leaving a few centimeters (about an inch) between them. And then you have to let them dry... the drying time depends on the weather and the humidity, so be patient! If they just won't dry, you can also put a fan on them.

  9. But don't forget to turn the baking sheet regularly so they can dry on all sides. On bad days this takes up to 4 hours for me! Please let them dry too long rather than too short, ok?

  10. Preheat the oven to 250°F (125°C) convection (fan). As soon as the surface of the macarons is really dry, bake them for 13 minutes. Then let them cool on the parchment paper and fill them as you like with ganache, jam (in Germany any jam, not only citrus marmalade; in the US use jam or preserves, seedless for a smooth filling; in the UK, seedless jam), lemon curd or something similar.