Macaron Troubleshooting Guide

Macarons Did Not Develop Feet:

– Macaron shell is too “wet” due to humidity or ingredients themselves had too much moisture FIX: turn on range-hood fan while letting macarons dry, turn on dehumidifier, use “aged” egg whites, avoid use of liquid colouring.

– A skin did not develop before shells were put into the oven FIX: wait at least 30 minutes AND until a “skin” has developed before placing macarons in the oven. It should have a dull matte finish.

– Baking Temperature Too Low FIX: Increase temperature to allow shell to develop properly.

– Poorly Beaten or Broken Meringue FIX: Use some cream of tartar or salt to stabilize meringue while beating. Use a clean oil-free bowl and ensure egg whites are free of any yolks. Make sure you achieve stiff peaks but stop beating egg whites once it reaches that stage.

Macaron Feet Develops Quickly and Outwards Past Its Shape

– Baking Temperature Too High FIX: Turn down oven temperature, increase bake time.

– Flat Pancake like Shells from Over-mixed Batter FIX: learn when to stop folding during macaronage

Macaron Feet Rises Quickly and Upwards, Feet is Way Taller than its Rise:

– Baking Temperature Too High FIX: Turn down oven temperature, increase bake time.

– Over Whipped Egg WhitesFIX: Stop whipping egg whites once it reaches stiff peaks in the French method. Stop whipping egg whites once it returns to returns to room temperature in the Italian method

– Improper Macaronage Techniques FIX: Deflate some of the air in the batter by using proper folding techniques, should flow like molten lava, do the “Figure 8” test to test consistency

Macarons have Hollow Shells: (READ THE FULL POST HERE)

– Under Whipping of Egg whites FIX: Make sure you beat the egg whites until stiff peaks before stopping. This will “dry up” the meringue. It should clump into a ball inside the whisk. You want as little moisture as possible.

– Broken Meringue Due to Over Whipping of Egg whites FIX: Stop mixing egg whites once the white cling onto the bowl and a small clump of meringue is stiff. Stop beating whites as soon as whites have returned to room temperature for Italian method. It should look very thick, glossy and flow off the whisk like a bird’s beak.

– Under Baked Shell FIX: increase oven temperature to allow the body to rise fully, French method macarons bake well at degrees of at least 300F+, break open a sacrificial shell to check if it has fully set before pulling out the whole tray, bake until fully set

– Improper Macaronage Techniques FIX: Deflate some of the air in the batter by using proper folding techniques. Should flow like slow molten lava. Do the “Figure 8” test to check consistency.

Top of Macaron Shells are Browning

– Baking Temperature is Too High FIX: Decrease temperature, increase bake time.

– Too Close to Heat Source (assuming the heat source is from the top) FIX: Move further away from heat source while baking. Place an empty tray on the rack above it to shield it from the heat.

Bottom of Macaron Shells are Browning

– Baking Temperature Too High FIX: Decrease temperature, increase bake time.

– Too Close to Heat Source (assuming the heat source is from the bottom) FIX: Add an extra pan on the bottom of the current tray

Macaron Shells are Lopsided

– Improper Piping Techniques FIX: Make sure you are piping the batter straight down onto the paper or mat while holding the bag perfectly vertically. Dab a little bit of batter on the bottom of all four corners of the parchment paper so it will act as a “glue” to keep the paper in place while you pipe.

– Using Too Strong of a Fan FIX: Avoid using strong fans. Turn on fan in range hood as the air direction will be vertical and more uniformed. Dab a little bit of batter on the bottom of all four corners of the parchment paper so it will act as a “glue” to keep the paper in place.

– Oven’s Convection Fan is Too Strong FIX: Avoid using convection fan. You may need to increase time and decrease temperature since your oven may not be as hot without the convection fan. Dab a little bit of batter on the bottom of all four corners of the parchment paper so it will act as a “glue” to keep the paper in place.

– Warped Baking Pan FIX: Use a good quality pan that won’t buckle in high temperatures. Throw out old warped pans

– Shells Rested for Too Long FIX: Place shells in oven once it has developed a “skin”

– Baking Temperature Too High FIX: Decrease temperature, increase bake time.

– Improper Macaronage Techniques FIX: Make sure you are folding the batter properly and the wet/dry ingredients are homogenous before piping. Deflate some of the air in the batter by using proper folding techniques, should flow like molten lava, do the “Figure 8” test to test consistency

Macaron Shells have “Nipples”

– Batter is Under-Mixed FIX: Add a few more folds next time. Learn to judge when to stop folding macaron batter. Rap the tray of piped macarons on the counter a few times, this will smooth out nipples from a properly mixed batter.

Macaron Shells are Lumpy and Bumpy

– Batter Not Mixed Properly FIX: Make sure you are folding the batter properly and the wet/dry ingredients are homogenous before piping.

– Almond Flour and Powdered Sugar Not Sifted FIX: Throw both ingredients into the food processor, sift and discard bits that cannot be sifted.

Macaron Shells are Not Round

– Improper Piping Techniques FIX: Make sure you are using the proper piping techniques. Hold the bag vertically while piping, squeeze an equal amount on all sides.

– Clogged Pipe Tip FIX: Clean out tip of debris

– Batter is not incorporated properly FIX: Use proper folding techniques to create a homogenous batter. Non homogenous batter creates “bumps” while piping.

– Use of and/or low quality parchment paper FIX: Use high quality parchment that won’t curl easily when it comes into contact with the batter. Dab a little bit of batter on the bottom of all four corners of the parchment paper so it will act as a “glue” to keep the paper in place. Use a silpat mat instead, it will create beautiful round macarons every time.

– Over-mixed batter FIX: Learn to judge when to stop folding macaron batter. Immediately, as soon as the batter looks homogenous, pick some up with the spatula, drop it back into the bowl and observe how it falls back into itself. It should not look like a “PLOP”. Rather, it should look like slow moving molten lava. It should fold into itself a few times like a ribbon but not like runny pancake batter.

Macaron Shells are Concave like a “Contact Lens”, Bottom does not Stick to Mat

– Over-mixed Batter PLUS use of Silat Mat- Batter is too runny PLUS use of Silpat MatFIX: This is one of the least discussed troubleshoots out there. If the batter is too runny, the shells will not develop properly. When piped onto a silpat mat, this problem is exacerbated by the fact that it will not stick onto the mat at all once baked. The feets will not stick to the silpat and breaks away. The body also rises to the top without touching the mat so it never full cooks on the bottom. If you find that your batter is already over mixed and unsalvageable, pipe them onto parchment paper instead. It will develop on the parchment paper but it will be runny and therefore, not round. A little more heat during baking helps fix this already broken batter. Preemptive measures include ensuring that you’re using aged egg whites and whipping it to stiff peaks. This makes a big difference!

Macaron Shells are as Flat as Pancakes/They Spread Quickly Once Piped

– Over-mixed Batter FIX: There is no way to salvage batter that is over-mixed. Once you deflate all the air in the meringue, the shells will not develop properly once placed in the oven. Start again. If you do want to bake them anyway, make sure you do not use a silpat mat as they will not stick to the mat and you will end up with concave shells that cannot be filled.

– Wet Batter FIX: Ensure your egg whites are aged and you are have reached stiff peaks before folding. Do not overfold as mentioned above.

Macaron Shell has Cracked

– Did not rap the tray against the counter after piping FIX: rap the tray firmly against the counter after piping. Flip the tray around and do it again in case you missed certain spots.

– Hot spots in the oven FIX: make sure you are getting good circulation in your oven by only baking one tray at a time.

– Meringue not stiff enough FIX: beat until stiff peaks form.

Macaron is Hard and Dry:

-Over baked shells FIX: this is an easy fix! Fill the macaron with the filling and allow it to “mature” for 24-48 hours. It will soften up. You can always brush the bottom of the shell with milk or a syrup in the same flavor as your filling to help soften the shell.- Turn down temperature or decrease baking time on your next try

Macaron is Wet and Sticks to Pan after Baking:

– Under baked macarons FIX: Increase temperature or bake time

– Improper Macaronage Techniques FIX: Deflate some of the air in the batter by using proper folding techniques, should flow like molten lava, do the “Figure 8” test to test consistency. Do not overfold.

Macaron has Inconsistent Results within the Same Batch:

– Poor Circulation in Oven FIX: Use convection setting, only bake one tray at a time.

– Poor Macaronage Technique FIX: Make sure batter is fully incorporated and you use the right folding techniques to deflate some of the air in the meringue

– Inadequate Resting Time FIX: Make sure shells have developed a “skin” and looks dull and matte before placing in the oven.

– Under Beaten Egg Whites FIX: Make sure meringue reaches stiff peaks in the French method

Macaron are wrinkly and/or blotchy:

– Temperature too low FIX: try increasing your temperature by 25-50 degrees

– Overbeaten meringue FIX: Stop beating once the egg whites have clumped in the whisk and reached stiff peaks

– Overmixed Batter FIX: Fold only until the Figure 8 stage. Add colour in the meringue stage and not the folding stage as it’s easy to overmix batter

– Incorrect ratios of ingredients FIX: if adding other ingredients to the shells such as cocoa powder or matcha powder, ensure that you’re adding an amount that won’t compromise the integrity of the make up.

– “Oily” ingredients FIX: over-processed almonds or addition of other ingredients that comprimise integrity of the shells. Always grind almonds with icing sugar. Check that your gel colours have not become runny. Check the expiry date and composition of dry ingredients added to shells (cocoa powder, match etc.). Almond flour can be baked in the oven prior to use to “dry it out”. Better yet, make your own almond flour for the most consistent and stable results. Here’s how to make your own almond flour.

Macarons are porous with holes:

– Meringue too soft or broken FIX: Beat meringue until stiff peaks and stop immediately once stiff peaks has been reached.

– Batter too wet FIX: Watch out for addition of ingredients with too much moisture like extracts, water-based food color or expired gel colours. Do not use extracts in the batter if you don’t have a reliable recipe for this.

Note: porous macarons are not due to oven temperatures.

Macaron batter gets thicker while folding.

– Incorrect measurements of ingredients FIX: a kitchen scale is a must when making macarons. If you use cups to measure your ingredients, you might end up with too much almond flour or too little egg whites leading to a thick dry batter that never thins out no matter how much you fold.

– Incorrect measurements when splitting the batter to make multiple colors. FIX: Use a kitchen scale to carefully weigh out ingredients. Make one batter at a time for each color. Completed batters can be kept inside a piping bag for up to 2 hours.

– Meringue too dry FIX: Do not overbeat meringue. Stop once the meringue does not slip in the bowl when turned upside down.

– Gel colours are corrupted FIX: Shake bottles before using and add the colour during the meringue stage instead of the folding stage. Make sure they are not expired.

Here are some other posts which will help you fix your macaron problems once you have pinpointed what the problem is after reading the Troubleshooting guide: