Easy French Macaron Recipe (Macaroons)
I am often asked why have my macarons failed?! Why are there no feet?! Why have the macaron shells cracked? And which recipe do you use for your macarons? So here it is… french macaron recipe and troubleshooting.
On a recent holiday I found a 200 year old cookbook on my mums bookshelf. It tells that King Henry VIII granted an estate in Leadenhall Street to a Mistress Cornewallies in reward for the fine puddings that she presented to him. Follow these easy steps to make macarons fit for a king. You will aquire such indulgence that is pleasing to the palate and if you’re lucky enough perhaps you too will be granted an estate!
The picture above shows the 200 year old macaron recipe. They called them almond puffs. Personally I prefer to make them using my electric mixer using the recipe below.
French Macaron Recipe Ingredients
4 large egg whites (or 5 small) approx 140g (4.94 ounces)
1/3 cup or 70g (2.47 ounces) caster sugar (also known as superfine sugar)
1 1/2 cups or 230g (8.11 ounces) pure icing sugar. IF you wish to use icing mixture INSTEAD of icing sugar you will need 1 3/4 cups or 275g (9.7 ounces) icing mixture
1 cup or 120g (4.23 ounces) almond meal
2g (0.07 ounces) salt (tiny pinch)
gel food colouring (optional) note too much liquid will make the macarons fail so if it is your first time making them try with no colour until you’ve got the technique sorted.
Macaron Recipe Directions
This recipe makes approximately 40 shells or 20 filled macarons
Preheat the oven to 150C (302 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sift the almond meal and icing sugar and salt together, discarding any almond lumps that are too big to pass through the sieve.
Place egg whites and caster sugar into a bowl and mix with electric mixer until stiff enough to turn the bowl upside down without it falling out. How long this takes will depend on you mixer.
Continue to whip for 1-2 more minutes.
Add gel or powdered food colouring and continue to mix for a further 20 seconds.
Fold the almond & sugar mixture into the egg whites. This is the most important step and where most first time macaron bakers have trouble.
It should take roughly 30-50 folds using a rubber spatula but obviously this will vary depending on your folding technique. The mixture should be smooth and a very viscous, not runny. Watch the video to see what you are going for. Over-mix and your macarons will be flat and have no foot, under mix and they will not be smooth on top. See the macaron troubleshooting post for examples.
Pipe onto trays lined with baking paper, rap trays on the bench firmly (this prevents cracking) and then bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes. Make sure you are using NON-stick baking paper or they will stick. Check if the macarons are done by quickly opening the oven and slightly pressing on top of one – if it squishes down slightly it’s not yet ready, close the oven so the oven temp doesn’t change. Taking them out of the oven too soon will mean the insides will drop and you’ll have hollow shells.
PLEASE make sure you watch the macarons FAQ and troubleshooting video. This way you can learn from the mistakes and questions of those who have made them before you.
Filling your macaroons
My favorite is flavoured ganache, but you can use jam and cream, butter cream or just eat them plain.
Ganache Recipe
100g (3.53 ounces) chocolate
30ml cream
Bring the cream to the boil and pour over the chocolate. Let stand for a minute and then stir. If it is not adequately melted then microwave for 20 seconds and stir – repeat until smooth. Allow to cool and thicken before piping onto macarons.
More macaron recipes for you:
easy macaron recipe
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Macaron trouble-shooting & FAQ
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nut free macarons
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orange choc macarons
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 macaron ice cream sandwich |
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chocolate macarons
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Can you use egg whites from a carton for the macarons?
Hi kathrin in the carton they have been heated to pasteurize them so they no longer whip up in the quite the same way.
I tried this recipe and it is reallllllyyyyyy gooooooddddd but I think It is a bit too sweet for me how much sugar should I take out
Hi Phoebe, the shells need the sugar, you can add salt to make it taste less sweet or use a filling that is not as sweet
Hello Ann.
How long can I store the macarons I’ve made according to this recipe? Would they last longer if I’d just store the shells and assemble them when they’re needed so the shells won’t absorb the moisture from the filling (I want to use your favorite recipe for chocolate ganache)?
Thank you very much 🙂
Hi zina, I store the unfilled shells in an airtight container for a week, others store them filled and frozen but they never last long enough in our house to check that out.
Hi Ann. Can these be frozen before the filling goes on?
Thanks for this nice and yummy recipe of macaroon recipe it will add a value to your kitchen
30ml of cream for the ganache can’t be right, can it?
I’d guess 130ml is needed.
30ml is right, its a thick ganache
Thanks Ann! You’re brilliant and your videos are so helpful.
Hi Ann , do the eggs have to be at room temperature before beating or straight off the fridge?
straight out of the fridge is fine
Thank you !
Your youtube video made me hungry!! haha omg I love Macaroons!!!
Hi Ann, how many macarons does this recipe make?
Tried it for the first time today. Didn’t sift it because the only sifter we have around is tiny, and it probably would’ve taken me an hour to get through it all. Turned out okay, but I did fold it a few too many times so they turned out a bit flat.
I also had the problem with them going hollow. Might be something with my oven because 20 minutes was nowhere near enough. I’ve had them in there for 30-35 minutes now and the inside is still raw.
Did you set your oven to the correct temp? The recipe says 150° CELSIUS, which is aprox. 300° Fahrenheit. Otherwise you may want to invest in an oven thermometer.
thanks for the recipe, what do we do with the icing mixture that appears in the ingrediants?
Hey Ann,
in the macaron video you mentioned that the egg whites is to be beaten for about 10 minutes, can I know the speed that you had used to beat the egg whites?
Hi Ann
can you please make a rainbow cake
Ann thank you for your recipe. I was concerned this would be too technical for me but are a massive success. I will be making them again for my daughters 1st birthday.
well done Jo!
Hi Ann can you please tell me is .Almond meal same as almond flour? Can I use almond flour?
If you’re going to use almond flour make sure its blanched 🙂
Thanks Courtney
hey Ann, how many macarons can your recipe make ?
Hi ann. How long will the macaroon keep for once baked?
Thank you.
you can freeze them for up for a month or just keep them in an airtight container for a week
Hi, thanks for the wonderful tutorial. I need to know what would be the best way to use different colors in one batch(3 or 4). I did some today and I think I over whipped them 🙁 Thank you , have a nice weekend
What is icing mixture? I’m from the US and I’m not familiar with that and I didn’t see a direct mention in the instructions
Confectioners sugar 🙂