'J' 'A' 'C' 'K' and the all day macaron marathon.
To cut a long story short - J & A & C & K spent a day in the kitchen making macarons.
Our first feet (although somewhat dainty)!!!
It takes a bit of patience. Piping takes some practice. Practice makes perfect.
It gradually gets better!!!
What an amazing selection of macarons. Just excited thinking about my own next batch. What did you think of Nigella's recipe? I've read mixed reviews.....
ReplyDeleteThanks Julia,
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see your next batch and the lovely photos that will go with them.
After doing the Savour class, I have been passing my knowledge on to my lovely group of friends 'J.A.C.K.'. And what fun it has been. With the help of all you lovely people out there in blogging land, I have compiled so much information on how to get the perfect macaron.
As you can see from the photograph, they came out looking far better than Nigella's in her book and had lovely little feet. They were stunningly melt in the mouth, crispy shelled with a lovely soft centre. However, the pistachio buttercream was very sweet and the recipe for it could have been halved. The shells were more rustic looking than other macarons we have made and they weren't shiny either.
This was my friend 'J's' first solo flight. I was surprised that she used Nigella's recipe rather than the one that I gave her. (She wasn't confident to use the Italian method by herself. She did let them stand for over 20 minutes rather than Nigella's 10 minutes though to get the feet.
what type of oven did you use? conventional or convection? :O
ReplyDeleteConvection oven to 150 - 160˚C or conventional to 160 - 170˚C.
DeleteThis is dependent on the recipe and method used and your oven.
French Method: 150˚C convection.
Spanish Method: 160 to 165˚C convection.
Italian Mehtod: 150˚C.
See my blog page: http://bakeitoff.blogspot.com.au/2009/10/macarons-tips-tricks-and-how-to.html
Note: But first, get to know your oven. Be prepared to experiment a little, use a little trial and error, a have a little patience and persistence as every oven is different. It will pay off in the long run. Convection ovens take less time and conventional oven take longer. Test your oven for hot spots. I use bottom heat only in my oven as the top heat browns the macarons too quickly. It is a good idea to do a practice run with only a few macarons and experiment with your oven to get it right.