Bet you didn’t know this but I too have problems with my home oven. I always tell all of you to know your own oven well because every oven is different. What works for one baker might not work for another so it’s actually quite fruitless to ask what temperature someone else is using and hope to get the same results. It all depends on a combination of conditions like your baking time, the mats you’re using, how big your shells are etc… One thing I can tell you today is that you need a consistently high temperature to get those #nohollow shells you’ve been seeing all over instagram.
For me, I had just purchased a double oven for macarons two months ago and I have been giving this little thing a LOT of love and respect. I knew that our partnership together would either result in the creation of countless whimsical and beautiful macarons or – not. Although I was excited to have two completely separate compartments to bake two trays of macarons at one time, I was also a little fearful of my new friend. Would I be able to bake just like how I used to? In the beginning, it was definitely a big learning curve which I am still working on. After two full months of running through countless baking experiments, I came to the conclusion that the temperature in my oven seemed to be all over the place and that can be the death of macs!
Because if you want fluffy, fully set shells like this one, you will need to ensure that your batter is strong and that you’re using the right temperature. It needs to be high and it needs to be consistent! The meringue requires a strong heat for it to rise properly. I recommend starting off with 320F and then adjust according to your needs.
I use an external thermometer to monitor my oven temperature and I’ve found that there could be variances of up to 50 degrees! This really got me worried so after lots of experiments, I decided to have my oven serviced sooner rather than later since I still had warranty.
Here is what I learned from the technician today (your oven may be different):
The temperature in the oven during the first 30 min. can be quite unstable. The oven will pre-heat to a higher temperature than the one that was set and it will drop and then increase again to reach the initially set temperature. After that point, it begins to level off and cycles more stably with a 5 to 15 degree variance.
If you’re having problems with maintaining your temperatures, try running your oven for 1.5 hours without opening the door. Then watch the external thermometer every 5 min. to see if there is a point at which it becomes stable. Next time, you will want to put your tray in at that point. Hope that helps the next time you struggle to control the temperature in your oven. If you need more help, read this other post I wrote on how to use your home oven correctly to bake macarons.
And last but not least Ta-da! Here are my little lambs straight out of the oven.
Happy Baking to You
XOXO,
Mimi
Some of my other #MacaronArt
Baby Pooh Bear Macarons with Batman Halloween Costumes (Template)
October 22nd, 2017
Froggies in the Marsh Weeds
February 19th, 2015
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie Macarons & My Canada 150 Story
July 1st, 2017
The Best Swiss Meringue Buttercream for Macarons, Cakes and More
April 4th, 2018
Chinese New Years Mandarin Macarons with Mandarin Jasmine Ganache
February 7th, 2016
Linh says
Hi mimi
Do you have workshop in Vancouver? I’m living in Seattle and would love to join. Also, what oven brand are u using?
Thanks a lot.
Linh
Mimi says
Hi Linh. sorry, I don’t have any workshops 🙂 I am using a dual compartment “true” convection oven from Frigidaire Gallery. XOXO, Mimi
Elny says
Hi Mimi, admire your work as always.
Pls advise how long you let skin develop before baking the macaron?
Btw, Wld you pls make video tutorial of how making lamb macarons? They are so adorable. I wanna make them for my daughter.
Many thanks.
Elny
Mimi says
Hi Elny,
I usually like a firm skin. Roughly around 30 minutes in my climate. I also don’t have problems with humidity here and make them even on rainy days because it nearly rains everyday here in Vancouver haha.
XOXO,
Mimi
Linh Tran says
Hi Mimi,
I love your article. Could you please give me some advices on making white color shell macarons? I have no problem when baking with other colors but I don’t know why I always have either hollow or brown shells with white macarons. I use bright white americolor 4 drops for a batch making 20 shells. I have tried baking at 150C for 15 minutes, result brown; 135C for 18 minutes, still brown; 150C for 10 mins, undercooked; 135C for 15 mins, hollow. I’m using AEG Competence oven. I don’t know how to make a perfectly white color shell macarons. Please help!
Thank you,
Linh
Mimi says
Hi Linh,
Have you tried lowering your rack position? I think 135C is a good temperature for doing light colors. You may need more than 15 minutes though. You can also try opening the door to let out the hot air near the tail end of the baking time to prevent browning. Here’s another post that might help:
using oven properly for baking macaronsmashimaro white macaron tutorial
XOXO,
Mimi
Michelle says
Hi Mimi,
My name is Michelle. What a bunch of gorgeous little lambs you’ve made~~~~ Are the white parts of the lamb pipped with macaron batter too or is that actually icing that’s added in the end? 😀
Mimi says
Thank you and it’s all batter! I usually only work with all macaron batter to preserve the integrity of the macaron’s flavour and texture. I do not like royal icing on macarons, it’s too sweet when added onto an already sweet macaron shell. If needed, a little bit here and there is okay.
Xoxo,
Mimi
caron says
Mimi do you bake 320 F in convection mode? i cant get my light colors to not brown.
Mimi says
yes I do. You can try lowering it to 280 and then baking for 18 minutes. start from here and see how it goes. pipe them half on one tray and half on another tray. try each tray at a different temp.
xoxo,
Mimi
Sarunrat says
Hi Mimi
I had just purchase the Pro Bake Convection Oven. I still cannot find the right temperature for my macarons.
The color came out not evenly and shell had the hollow. What kind of oven that you use to bake your macarons?
please give me your advise.
Thank you so much
Mimi says
I use a double oven that has true convection (European) on both top and bottom compartments.
Here’s another post on using your oven properly to bake macarons.
XOXO,
Mimi
Sam says
Hi, Mimi! I just found this article and I had to contact you! I have the same oven as you and I’m about to kick it! I made macarons without problems until recently, now they are all hollow! I have a thermometer and you’re right, I’m seeing 50-degree differences. I can’t nail it down! Any tips for what you did with this specific oven to fix it? I”m pulling my hair out here!
Mimi says
Hi Sam,
It is definitely quite interesting. I actually found the bottom compartment to run exactly to temp and the upper compartment to be 50F behind. For my upper compartment, I compensate by adding 25-40C additional to compensate for the difference. You can be like me and have it serviced too… However, I found it ended up being 50 off still. At least it’s very stable and doesn’t drop and increase throughout the baking process which is what we are looking for. You can also take out your oven manual to calibrate the oven but it will only help you by showing you the compensated temperature difference. A stable temperature level is what we are ultimately aiming for.
XOXO
Mimi
Jo says
Practice makes perfect! I love your perseverance Mimi! Cute macarons as usual.
xo Jo
http://www.whiterosesandcoffee.com/