I first encountered proper a macaron and Madeleine on the streets of Paris.Those classic French baking treats lit up the windows of patisseries like baubles on a Christmas tree. The range of colours and flavours was staggering, and I honestly didn’t know which way to look, or how I was going to manage trying them all. This was also a long time ago, when I was younger, fitter, and could eat a lot more decadent goodies without paying the price later. Sigh.
Of course, years later they’re still a family favourite – brought out for special occasions, or for a real pick-me-up with a cup of coffee – and I love to bake them for friends and family. Over the years I’ve heard a lot of people rave about both macarons and Madeleines, and they both have some similar attributes; light and airy, amazingly tasty, and also easy to make!
Easy to make? Yes, they are! All that magic and mystic is actually just patience and attention to detail. There’s nothing tricky or magical here, it’s just honest baking with integrity. That’s what prompted this cooking class (in partnership with ChefPassport), as we wanted to bring this information to you at home, and show you just how simple they are to make.
So, that’s what this week’s blog is about – it wasn’t released on Sunday, because today is a special online event that I’ve been saving the release of these recipes for. With that in mind, I’m going to be sharing two recipes, because this is a special day, and I truly hope you’ll make these two iconic Parisienne treats.
How to make macarons and Madeleines
This, is much easier than you’d think, and you won’t need a lot of fancy equipment either! In fact, if you’re feeling brave, this can all be done by hand without using any appliances!
Here’s the equipment you’ll need:
Macaron Equipment:
- Small and Medium Mixing bowls
- Hand Whisk/Stand Mixer, w/whisk attachment
- or a hand whisk
- Sieve
- Piping bag, + Piping bag nozzles
- Spatula and Palette knife
- Parchment paper
- 2 Baking sheet
- Wire rack
- Piping guide
Madeleine Equipment:
- Small and Medium Mixing bowls
- Hand Whisk/Stand Mixer, w/whisk attachment
- or a hand whisk
- Sieve
- Madeleine tray
- Cooling wire
- Spatula
- 1 Baking tray
- Pastry brush
Things to remember:
Work with light hands – don’t over mix the ingredients, and be gentle. Baking both of these treats is more like making love (this is French cooking after all) than taking on a heavy-weight boxer; you’ll get better results if you’re careful and attentive, rather than bludgeoning your way through.
Keep it clean – clean bowls will give you the best air to your egg whites or egg mixture, so make sure your bowls, whisks, etc are all spotlessly clean and dry!
Ambient temperature – all your ingredients MUST be at room temperature, or the mixes just wont work properly, you won’t get a nice rise, and only disappointment awaits.
Patience – see the first point again, now apply more patience, this is about baking perfection, not a race to the finish.
Special Macaron Ingredients
Flavourings and colourings: you’re going to want both to really give your macarons that special kick. You can check out my list of recommended ingredients here.
And with all that said, and done, let’s get baking! Here are my recipes for macarons and Madeleines!
Macaron Recipe
Macarons
Equipment
- Mixing bowls
- Sieve
- Electric mixer
- Spatula
- Baking sheets - 2
- Macaron piping guide - downloadable on site
- Piping bag and round nozzle
- Baking parchment
Ingredients
- 100 gr icing sugar
- 60 gr almond flour also known as almond meal, and ground almonds
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 50 gr egg whites - at room temperature
- 25 gr caster sugar
- Food colouring - gel/paste is best! optional
- Ganache, or Buttercream filling
Instructions
- Sift the almond flour, and icing sugar separately into a medium sized mixing bowl. Then combine thoroughly. It's essential not to have large lumps of sugar or almond flour/meal.
- Whip the egg whites, vanilla essence, and caster sugar until firm peaks are achieved - you should be able to lift the whisk and the peaks stand up without falling over.
- If you want to dye your meringues, now's the time! Add a small amount of colouring, then slowly add in the almond flour/icing sugar.
- Using a metal spoon, gently fold all the ingredients together, being careful not to over mix! The mixture should look like a thick batter, that gently flows off your spoon, with no lumps or discoloured bits.
- Pour the batter into an assembled piping bag - this is easier done if you place the nozzle of the bag in a tall glass, opening the piping bag up and over the mouth of the glass.
- Using the piping guide underneath the parchment paper, begin filling the circles from the centre out.
- Once completed, give the baking sheet a tap on a work-surface to remove any air bubbles. Leave the macarons to sit and develop their 'skin' - this can take up to an hour, or longer in more humid kitchens.
- Bake them at 160˚C/300°F for 15-20 minutes, until the macaron has risen up and the 'foot' appears below. The macaron is ready when the 'foot' looses its stickiness.
- Remove the macarons from the oven, and allow to cool on the parchment paper on a cooling wire/wire rack. Do not attempt to lift them until they're cooled or they'll break apart!
- Once cool, assemble your French macarons by putting a dollop of ganache or buttercream filling on the inside of one macaron, then sandwich it together with another macaron. Then, enjoy them with a cafe au lait, hot chocolate, or cup of tea as you prefer.
and now for the…
Madeleine Recipe
Madeleines
Equipment
- Madeleine trays
- Mixing bowls
- Sieve
- Electric mixer
- Spatula
- Measuring cups and spoons
Ingredients
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp orange/lemon zest
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 2 Tablespoons orange/lemon juice
Glaze - optional
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Heat oven to 180˚C/350˚F.
- Grease your Madeleine pan with butter, and a light dusting of flour.
- Mix flour, baking soda and baking powder, reserve until later.
- Whisk together in a separate bowl, the eggs and sugar.
- Add the vanilla and zest, combine thoroughly.
- Whisk in melted butter, followed by juice.
- Fold in flour mixture in two batches. Do not over mix.
- Rest the batter for 10 minutes.
- Spoon the batter into Madeleine pan cavities. - Use a large teaspoon, you won't need a lot of batter per shell shape!
- Bake for 9 to 12 minutes.
- Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
Notes
Thanks for checking out this post on how to make classic French macaron, and of course how to make Madeleine too. I do hope you make them soon, and if you do, please come back and post a comment, or share a photo with the tag: #LarderPantryandGarden.
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