So how did I spend my Christmas, you ask? None other than with my trusty, crumb-stained whisk, my caramel-encrusted saucepan, and my warmly endearing Gaggenau oven. I decided to embark on the perfect macaron conquest as with hundreds of other fellow pastry-chef-or-baker wannabes; much to the delight of my friends, much to the horror of my parents (both of whom cannot stand the slightest bit of grease left behind in their kitchen), and much to the detriment of my already stretched attention.
Although my past experiences with macarons have been reasonably alright and flavorful, I’ve just never managed to get that one with the perfect textured shell with a puffy support of ruffled edges. I think this time, though, we’re nearly there. It helps that I’ve now gotten a sense of what is good macaronage, but I think what really made the difference was the almond flour I had acquired from our last trip to San Franscisco. Call my kitchen ridiculously skewed- we have two ovens of different sizes, a steamer, two coffee machines, two microwaves, and yet not a decent food processor or the like to ground my almond flour. So it was a life-changing moment when I bought a more finely ground flour from the US.
It was a beautiful moment.
They aren’t perfect yet, there’s always room for improvement! Some little pointers to remind myself to take heed of next time:
- Check the macaronage, this time was just about two or three folds too much so it was less viscous and the batter spread a little too much.
- Remember to turn the oven on fan mode, just salvaged it this time!
- Leave the macarons out for longer, this time we had to go for dinner so there was no other choice, but longer time= poofier ruffled edges!
- More filling. To compensate for the sweet taste, less sugar.
- Improve piping skills.
Ruru 