Ann Reardon

Macaron Recipe Troubleshooting FAQ Cracked, Flat, Lumpy,

 

1. Macaron Cracked

fix macaron cracked

Try rapping the trays on the bench harder or more times before cooking.
 

2. Macarons Flat or Lumpy

See the pictures below which show the results of under-mixed and over-mixed macaroon mixture.

undermixed good overmixed
fix macaron problems undermixed french macaron smooth macaron
overmixed french macaron

2. Hollow macarons

Macarons should not be hollow. This is most often caused by the oven being opened before they are cooked through or the macarons being taken out of the oven too early. The under-cooked middle drops to the base.

 

More questions see the video below:

The video answers the following frequently asked questions:
0:15 Can I have the recipe? …yes… macaron recipe
0:31 Do macarons taste better if you fill them and leave them overnight?
0:58 Do you have a nut free recipe? … yes… nut free macarons
1:38 Can I have the chocolate ganache recipe? …yes… plain ganache, ginger ganache, orange ganache
1:59 Is greaseproof paper the same as non-stick baking paper?
2:18 Do you have a chocolate macaron recipe? …yes… chocolate macaron recipe
2:26 My macarons have a skirt rather than a foot, why?
2:45 What does rapped on the bench mean?
2:54 Can I use liquid colour for macaroons?
3:13 My macarons turned out lumpy, why?
3:50 I can’t get caster sugar can I use powdered sugar for the whole recipe?
4:12 Can I use icing mixture or does it have to be pure icing sugar?
4:18 How do I flavour the macaron recipe?
4:36 Do I have to leave them on the bench before I bake them?
4:56 What is almond meal?
5:04 I don’t have a piping bag 🙁 what can I use?
5:21 I need to make 100 of these perfectly HELP! (how to tell if you have folded enough times)
5:52 Can I put two trays in the oven at once?
6:14 Does your recipe use customary or imperial units?
6:29 Can I use less sugar?
6:36 My egg whites won’t whip, why?
7:00 Can I use wheat flour?
7:03 Do I have to use a stand mixer?
7:10 Can you replace the egg whites with something else?

 

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334 Comments View Comments

  1. Hi Ann my macaron batter turned out sort of a dough consistency. I used icing mixture!!

  2. Re: Your advice about burst feet (“skirts”) at 2:26. After having my macarons come out perfectly almost every time for over a year, I moved to a different country and have been struggling with them ever since (new oven, slightly different ingredients, you name it). I’ve finally conquered the cracks, but now I can’t ever seem to get the feet to rise properly (tried several batches with both conventional heat and convection at 150°C, checked with an oven thermometer).

    Your suggestion is to *raise* the oven temperature. This is precisely the opposite of what most other popular online troubleshooting guides (FoodnNouveau, BraveTart, etc.) advise. They say spreading feet are caused by the macarons rising too quickly and that *lowering* the oven temperature will give them a slower rise, allowing the feet to expand upwards rather than sideways. Could you explain your departure here?

  3. I have to disagree with your video comment that there is no need to dry macaron shells before baking. It is a must depend of the room temperature and weather condition to dry macarons before baking 20-30 minutes. Macaron has to be dry on touch. For that reason in the mixture it has to be icing sugar that has starch in it.

    Thanks.

    • Hi Sergio, this recipe has been tested both ways and the macarons some were put in the oven immediately others left out for 10, 20 and 30 minutes and they all were the same after baking. If you are using a different recipe the results may be different.

  4. I tried the macroons but they turned out runny pls advise what cud be the mistake. Thks

  5. Hi Ann ,
    Tried your receipe, used almond meal and found that the meal needed more processing as it was slightly lumpy, what else happened I used Royal Gel in the egg white & caster sugar mix! when putting in the macroon tray they were a blue after cooking they turned out the same colour as the almond mix on the outside and blue inside, can you tell me how to get the best results for a blue . I put in 5 drops of Gel as this was the colour I was going for.

  6. Thank you for the great instructions. Can I freeze the shells for a couple of days, then the day before needed, layer with ice cream while shells are still frozen and stick back in freezer until ready to serve at party?
    Thanks in advance
    Anita

  7. Hi ann, i hv tried ur recipe about 8 times, but it didn’t good
    No feet cames out, always cracked even i had set it about 30 , 40 and even 60 minutes , and when its cracked the meringue always cames out from the it, my oven is small, i put it on the middle rack, and baked it on 130 degrees celcius, and my oven has 3 different heat, top heat, bottom heat and both of it, so could you tell me what exactly i have to do ? Which heat that i have to use to baked this macarons coz i really desperated, help me please 🙁

  8. Thank you for your troubleshooting FAQ’s! Thinking of making these for my daughter’s bridal shower!

  9. Ur videos r rlly helpful..i tried ur recipe today, bt ddn get to see feet in it .. I dont really kno the problem..then I thot it might b bcos of low temperature nd increased the temperature nd then it gt cracked.. Cud u pls help me?i found u r the nly one who replies readers comments promptly

  10. Hi… brilliant recipe! Just wondering if the 150c temperature is for a fan oven/top oven?

  11. Hi Ann, just wanted to thank you for the troubleshooting guide! My macarons finally came out perfect on my third attempt.

    FYI macarOOns are meringue-like cookies (usually coconut flavored) so they are definitely not the same thing as macarOns.

  12. Hi Ann, my macarons had cracks on them , were browned, several of them had a hollow base, they did not come off the parchment paper clean, had no feet !
    For the process I halved the recipe and I used a Kitchen Aid mixer at medium speed , but long before the 10 minutes the whites and castor sugar reached the stage were they did not drop off the bowl when turned over. I continued to whip the mixture for another minute more as I was afraid it might get over mixed. I then added coloring gel, beat for another 10 mins. I folded in the almond mixture.i thought I got to the right consistency but when I tried to pipe the macarons it was hard to control the mixture. It felt a little too liquidy. Then on the oven front, while the macarons were inside the oven, I found the free standing oven thermometer read 350 So I held the oven door open for a while until the temperature came down to 300. The macarons were baked on the middle shelf. The oven has a fan..
    Please advice, thank you so very much!

    • The previous picture was not clear so here s another one. Few of the macarons had a hollow base.

      • hi Neena, hollow macarons can be over whipped or taken out of the oven too soon or oven temp dropping before they are ready from opening and closing the oven.

    • Hi Neena, Every mixer is different so whip your whites just until you can turn the bowl upside down and no more, add the colour and whip just for 20 sec more in your mixer or until combined. Holding the oven door open while they are in causes the inside of the macarons to drop hence why they were hollow, macarons are very fussy with the temperature so make sure it is right before they go in. You will get there, just try again. 😀

      • Thanx a ton Ann for your encouraging reply. Inspired to try again! 🙂

  13. Awesome. You look tired.

    • I meant to say awesome recipe :), and you look tired. 🙁

      • Not like awesome you look tired… like I want you to look tired… You know what? I’m going to stop posting now. 😐

        • Hhahaahahahahaha lol

  14. Dear Ann
    For the macaron can I use brown caster sugar than white caster sugar ??
    TELL ME PLEASE!!!!!

    Thanks
    Kate

    • Hi Kate, Good question I have never experimented using brown caster sugar in fact I have never seen it for sale here, give it a try and let me know how it goes.

      • Hi Anne I have used brown sugar to make meringue with success so I reckon it would work

  15. What’s up everyone, it’s my first pay a visit at this website, and post is really fruitful in support of me, keep up posting
    these posts.

  16. What happened???? 🙁 Soooo disappointed

    • Im just starting out with baking so i am by no means an expert, but it looks like they needed to cook longer, or you aren’t using non-stick baking paper.

  17. I have no idea what I did wrong, I tried to make these yesterday and they were cracked, but after a few more taps on the second batch they were good. With the success yesterday I figured I’d try again today, however, it would seem I’ve gotten worse overnight. Please help 🙁

    • It kinda looks like you overmixed. They look flat.

  18. Hi, I really want to know did I undermix or overmixed? Really have no idea what happened. I’ve been making macarons for many times already. But sometimes it will turn out like this.

    Thank you

    • I would think overmixed. They would probably look more lumpy of you undermixed.

  19. Can I use wax paper instead of parchment paper?

  20. Should I add vanilla extract while i’m mixing the egg whites ?

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