French Macaron Baking Class
With the skill and patience of master pastry chef Stéphane Tréand and the help of my daughter, the Young Baker, these lovely French macarons turned out nearly perfect. It’s still hard for me to believe that I had a hand in making them.
Characteristics of a Perfect Macaron
Two hours in a gleaming professional kitchen, adjacent to ST Patisserie Chocolat in South Coast Collection (SOCO) and I left with an elegantly boxed treasure of exquisite two-color cassis macarons and a whole lot of knowledge about the techniques that go into making macarons and what a perfect macaron should be like. Never a huge fan of the diminutive – I have a savory tooth vs. sweet and prefer a cheese course over dessert, chef Stéphane Tréand described a “cookie” whose outer shell is slightly rounded with bubbly “feet”, the ruffled edges of the shells; the delicate shell itself is initially crispy, cracking at first bite to reveal cake-like moistness underneath and the luscious, vibrantly-colored sweetness of the filling. I may be late to the party, but I arrive as an exuberant convert ready to spread the gospel according to chef Stéphane Tréand.
How to Make French Macarons with Master Pastry Chef Stéphane Tréand
ST Patisserie Chocolat by master pastry chef Stéphane Tréand offers a selection of modern and traditional French pastries, chocolates, and other artistic delights. In addition to the patisserie, Stephane also shares his passion through teaching classes at his adjacent school, “The Pastry School”. Classes range from 1-hour demonstrations for food enthusiasts to intensive 3-month programs for professionals.
Here’s what I learned in two short hours – which were probably two long hours for Chef Stéphane Tréand. Kudos to chef for his undying charm and patience!
Types of Meringue
First of all, if you’re a baker, which I am not, you probably know there are three different kinds of meringue. We, of course, used French Meringue. But there are two other kinds – Swiss and Italian. Chef Tréand explained the differences and best uses for each.
A whipped mixture of sugar and egg whites, meringue is used to lighten soufflés, mousses, and cake mixtures; to make pie toppings for pies such as Lemon Meringue and desserts like Baked Alaska and crisp baked meringues. There are three types of meringue; their differences lie in when and how the sugar is added:
French Meringue This uncooked meringue is the one most people are familiar with. The sugar is gradually beaten into the egg whites once they have reached soft peaks, and then the mixture is whipped to firm peaks. (It’s best to use superfine or a mixture of superfine and confectioners’ sugar for this, because they dissolve quickly.) This type of meringue is the least stable but also the lightest, which makes it perfect for soufflés.
Italian Meringue The most stable of all the meringues, this is made with a sugar syrup that has been heated to the soft-ball stage (236°F to 240°F). The hot sugar syrup is gradually beaten into the egg whites after soft peaks have formed and then whipped to firm glossy peaks. Its stability and smooth texture make it great for egg white buttercreams and mousses.
Swiss Meringue Firm and slightly denser than the others, a Swiss meringue is made by stirring sugar and egg whites together over a pot of simmering water until they are very warm to the touch before whipping them (types of whisks). The early addition of the sugar prevents the egg whites from increasing as much in volume as they do in the other meringues, but adds to its fine texture. Swiss meringue is particularly good for baking crisp meringue cake layers and for topping pies. {Source: Fine Cooking #116, pp. 87}
How to Make French Macarons Video
In this short video, Chef Tréand shows us how to pipe the shells to make perfectly round, uniformly sized macaron shells. It is definitely the hardest part of the process and requires finesse that comes with years of practice. Even after making a mess of trying to transfer cassis puree to my piping bag, chef told me I did really well at piping considering it was my first time. See what I mean…as charming as dandy Oscar Wilde who also said “If a woman cannot make her mistakes charming, she is only a female.”{Oscar Wilde, Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime and Other Stories}
- 335 g Almond Powder
- 440 g Powdered Sugar
- 270 g Egg Whites
- 5 g Egg White Powder
- 150 g Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Food Coloring paste not liquid (optional)
- 250 g Cassis Puree
- 1 sheet Gelatin
- 275 g White Chocolate
- 25 g Butter
- 30 g Cocoa Butter
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Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 C)
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Sift almond powder with powdered sugar. It is very important to do this just before using.
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Whip egg whites while gradually adding 1 cup of the sugar. Then, little by little, add the rest of the sugar, whipping continuously until stiff peaks of meringue have formed.
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Mix the almond powder/powdered sugar mixture into the meringue, blending with a spatula until fully incorporated. The batter should be smooth and shiny. Divide the batter into two bowls and add 1/2 teaspoon of food coloring paste to one of the bowls, if you want two-colored shells.
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Using a piping bag fitted with a 10 mm round tip, fill the bag with meringue and carefully pipe 1-inch rounds onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 300 F for 12 minutes. Chocolate shells will take longer - about 14 minutes.
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While the shells are baking, simmer the cassis puree in a heavy medium-sized saucepan over med-high heat and soak the gelatin sheet in cold water for at least 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, add gelatin sheet, and pour onto the white chocolate.
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Add cocoa butter and butter. Mix well.
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Remove the shells from the oven. Allow to cool slightly. Using your hands or a spatula, lift the shells from the parchment. Match the shells, one top down and one top up. Pipe a small amount of filling onto the upside-down shell and gently place the other shell on top.
Macarons are best when refrigerated until the next day or even 2-3 days later, which allows the flavor to infuse into the shell.
Macarons freeze well and keep for up to 3 months.Freeze in a single layer, once frozen they can be layered in between sheets of parchment in an air-tight container.
Chef Treand recommends using Deglon Rubber Ended Maryse Spatulas
ST. PATISSERIE CHOCOLAT and THE PASTRY SCHOOL
The shop is open Tuesday -Thursday 10am-1pm and Friday 10am-3pm, Saturday 10am – 4 pm. Closed Sunday and Monday.
ADDRESS:
Jamboree Plaza, 3057 Edinger Ave., Tustin, CA 92780
949-500-4807
dvlwearsparsley
I love this Priscilla!! I have so much almond meal, I’ve got to use it up. Also, where would one get egg white powder? Really can’t wait to make these!!
Priscilla
Hi, Natalie – You should be able to buy egg white powder at Whole Foods or other health food store, maybe even Vons or Albertsons if they have a well-stocked health food section. Have fun with flavors and they will keep well for a week 🙂
ally
Beautiful works of artistry! You have all the fun experiences!! xo
ClinicalPosters.com (@ClinicalPosters)
I have never attempted to bake macaroons but love to taste them occasionally.
Wendy
I am a little confused by your instructions that say to add sugar to the egg whites and also sift almond meal and powdered sugar together. However, the ingredients only list 1 instance of powdered sugar. Does this mean we should divide evenly between putting sugar into the almond meal and the egg whites or are there separate portions of sugar here?
Priscilla
Hi, Wendy – you are absolutely right and I’ve corrected that in the recipe. There is 150 g of granulated sugar that is blended into the egg whites for the meringue. Thank you 🙂
jlaceda
I took a macaron class here in Toronto with Mardi of Eat, Live, Travel blog. I also learned a lot – specifically the 3 types of meringue! I like French and Swiss meringues! So good. Have yet to try Italian – but that has to change very soon!