Today I’m sharing another set of goodies I made for the Holiday Party we just hosted. If you missed the first post in this instalment, you can get the recipe for the 30 Minute No-Bake Panna Cotta Dessert right here.
These festive red shells were made by adding a generous amount of Americolor’s “Super Red”. About 4-5 drops will do the trick. I find Americolor’s gel colouring to be very stable when baked and I don’t lose too much of the colour in the baking process. When I first started baking macarons, I often heard that you need to add a LOT more colour than you actually need because the colour will fade after baking. After baking many a batches with Americolor, I haven’t found any problems with my shells losing its colour after baking. One of the interesting tidbits that arose in the discussion some of my IG baking friends had on one of my posts was that certain gel colour brands just don’t work as well. Another issue I can think of is that when shells get over-baked, they also tend to “lose” it’s colour because it has started to brown. So watch out for those two issues. One, you’ll need to get yourself some quality gel colours and two, you’ll need to know how to use your oven properly to bake macarons. Click the link to read that post.
Another coveted aspect of a picture-worthy macaron is the round and smooth shell. Here are some tips to achieve that plus a YouTube video I made in case you wanted to watch it instead.
TIPS for rounder, smoother macaron shells:
- Always use blanched (skinless) almonds to make the almond flour
- Always grind your almonds with the sugar to prevent it from become too buttery or gummy. Here’s how to grind your own almond flour.
- Grind store-bought almond flour too! This will remove clumps and further refine it.
- Always sift the almond mixture to aerate it and isolate large pieces.
- Discard what can’t be sifted.
- Pipe with an injection syringe for more control See it in my YouTube video and buy it here.
- Pipe shells onto a silicone mat for rounder shells.
- Make sure your meringue is stiff enough. If your batter is weak and too soft, it doesn’t hold a nice round shape when piped.
- Fold the batter well enough but don’t overdo it. The shells also get bumpy when it’s over mixed.
- Rap the tray hard against the counter to pop any trapped air bubbles
- Use a toothpick to pop any leftover air pockets (See this step in my Youtube video)
- Let the shells dry until they have developed a “skin”. This will prevent them from cracking in the oven.
Instead of a traditional red and green motif, holiday red can look really modern next to black and gold.
Here are the red macarons all dressed up with gold!
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Melody says
Whenever I put toppings on my macs before baking (sprinkles, a light dusting of finally ground nuts, or even just a sprinkle of cinnamon) they crack! Any of the same batch that don’t have toppings are perfect. Is there a trick to this? I put the topping on directly after rapping the sheets and popping bubbles. Tia
I should say I give them ample time to dry
Mimi says
Hi Melody,
Make sure your shells haven’t started drying after you have done your rapping and popping of bubbles. That can cause the skin to be compromised and break apart once baked. Also, make sure that you aren’t waiting for them to dry for too long after adding the sprinkles… the skin can stick onto the sprinkles too tightly and break apart with heat. XOXO, Mimi
Taylor says
I have banged my tray on the counter, and the bubbles popped, but left an indentation of a popped bubble in the top. Any ideas?
Mimi says
Your batter sounds like it has dried up a bit before you popped the bubbles. It would help if you popped it sooner after piping and if you bang your trays after to re-settle the battle. XOXO, Mimi
Carol Harral says
I tried to make three batches of macarons…each one spread. What did I do wrong?
Mimi says
Hi Carol,
If you look on the troubleshooting guide on the blog, it will address these issues and how to fix it. XOXO, Mimi
shea mighell says
Hey Mimi,
Can you explain why shells crack? I tried a recipe that wasn’t yours bc I don’t have a food scale yet and they didn’t include cream of tartar. Is that what it is? Maybe I didn’t deflate it well enough?
Mimi says
Hi Shea,
There are a few different reasons for cracked shells, you’ll find it here and how to fix it – Troubleshooting guide.
xoxo, Mimi
Julie says
Your colors are beautiful. What would you call “a generous amount” of color. I’m apprehensive about adding too much, but I’ve not gotten great results as you have. Thank you!
Mimi says
For my base recipe, I usually add 1-2 drops (how much exactly is 1-2 drops… that would also depend how hard you squeeze the bottle), I would even go up to 4-5 sometimes if I need it to be more vibrant. One thing to watch out for is, buy the darker colors if you’re making dark colours. Don’t try to add a ton of light colors in order to achieve a dark colour, you end up compromising the batter with too much moisture.
XOXO,
Mimi
Jessica Banks says
Mimi, what is that tool called? Thanks!
Jessica Banks says
Never mind, figured it out since it’s a link 🙂 thanks for all the good macaron advice… Much appreciated!
Mimi says
Oh yes, the link goes to the tool. I’m glad it helped you! Thanks for your note Jessica.
Mimi