Macaron Shells

Dry the almond flour

Spread the almond flour in an oven-safe dish. Dry for 25 minutes at 70°C, oven door cracked open, stirring every 5 minutes. Then let it cool before moving on.

Sift the almond flour

Sift the almond flour through a fine sieve. Weigh after sifting and take exactly 150g.

Sift the powdered sugar

Sift the powdered sugar through a fine sieve. Weigh after sifting and take exactly 150g.

Mix the tant-pour-tant (TPT)

Combine the almond flour and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl. Whisk until the texture looks like uniform flour.

Colour the egg whites

Mix the 55g of whites with a knife tip (or a fork like here) of powdered food colouring until the colour is uniform.

Fold the whites into the TPT

Tilt the bowl to gather the TPT on one side and pour the coloured whites into the bottom of the mixing bowl. Fold the powder into the whites little by little with a spatula.

Cling-film the batter at contact

Press a piece of cling film directly onto the surface of the batter, no air gap. Set aside while you prepare the meringue.

Cook the sugar syrup

Pour the water then the sugar into the saucepan. Drop in a probe and bring to a boil over medium-high heat (8/10) without stirring. Watch until 118°C.

Whip the whites

Start the mixer at high speed (8/10) when the syrup reaches 114°C. Whisk until the whites are nice and foamy.

Pour the syrup over the whites

At 118°C, pour the syrup very slowly in a thin stream between the bowl wall and the whisk.

Cool the meringue

Once the syrup is fully poured, crank the mixer back up to high speed (9/10) for about 2 minutes. Then drop it back to 4/10 for 2 minutes.

Check the bird's beak

Stop the mixer and lift the whisk. Look at the shape of the meringue hanging from the end.

Loosen the batter

Pour a third of the meringue onto the TPT batter. Mix firmly with the spatula.

Macaronner

Add the rest of the meringue in 2-3 batches. Macaronner with the spatula by folding the batter from the edge to the centre. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn with each spatula stroke.

Check the consistency — ribbon test

Lift the spatula and let the batter fall. It should flow slowly like lava.

Fill the piping bag

Slide the tip into the bag. Place the bag in a tall deep glass. Then transfer the batter with the spatula, scraping the bowl well.

Push out the air bubbles

Spread the batter inside the bag and push out the bubbles with a scraper (or a card). Then pack the batter towards the tip and twist the bag closed.

Prepare the template and the Teflon mat

Place a circle template (35-40 mm in a staggered pattern) on the tray, then cover it with the Teflon mat.

Pipe the shells

Hold the bag vertically about 1 cm above the mat and pipe 3-4 cm circles, spaced 2-3 cm apart on the Teflon mat.

Tap the mat and release the bubbles

Tap the Teflon mat against your work surface, holding both ends. Your shells become rounder and the peaks disappear.

Skin the shells

Let them rest 20 minutes in open air. The surface should no longer stick to your finger.

Prepare the oven and bake

Preheat your oven to 150°C in conventional mode (no fan). Place your Teflon mat on an inverted baking tray and bake in the middle of the oven for 17 minutes.

Watch the bake

Watch the shells evolve over the 17 minutes of baking.

Let cool and lift off

Out of the oven, take the mat off the tray and let it cool.

Store the shells (depending on use)

Store the baked and fully cooled shells in an airtight container. Separate the rows with parchment paper to keep them from sticking together.