My eternal thanks to this blog and members!

I tried the recipe that was posted on Rose’s blog with David Lebovitz’s Chocolate Macaron recipe on the weekend…
I couldn’t believe the result for my first ever macarons (see pics).

I didn’t have the prunes to do his prune chocolate filling but will next time as it sounds wonderful.
Instead I made a vanilla bean milk chocolate ganache with a touch of Grand Marnier….

Oh… one thing….if you make them DO wait the 24 hours prior to eating - it is definitely worth the wait as the texture is even more melting.

I must look for this recipe as yours look wonderful!  It is so tempting to want to try everything you see on blogs especially when someone says how good they are!  God help my waistline!!!!

Mmmmmmmmm .

Those look fabulous, not at all like a “first” attempt!  Well done!
Julie

Yum! Great job Cate! Looks just like the ones on David Lebovitz’s site.

Thanks all… I was so apprehensive as macarons are such an institution and like souffles not often attempted at home but David’s blog and straightforward recipe gave me the confidence to try!

and now I must hit the gym…..

I made these macarons last week and they were fabulous.  I filled with Rose’s ganache and gave to my ‘tasters’ who all declared them a hit.  Today I made a double batch with the view to selling them at the Farmer’s Market.  They ALL cracked on top and either did not have the required ‘foot’ or it was puny.  I thought the dough was stiffer than the previous batch I’d made and I think I may have beaten the egg whites stiffer than before.  Could this be the problem?  Any ideas appreciated and what to do with all the failed macarons???

Hi Annie,

I’m no macaron expert having just made them a few times now from David’s recipe…but the only time some of mine cracked and failed was when I put two trays in the oven at once and the tops of the macarons on the tray underneath cracked badly.

I suspected this was because they cooked slightly faster due to the extra heat coming down from the warm tray above and they formed a ‘skin’ too early and cracked when they rose.

Also, you said you made a double batch - I’ve never done that for macarons but just wondering if perhaps you may have over mixed when folding and deflated the eggwhites too much so they didn’t rise as well as the single batch? (I’m so guilty of over-folding with bigger volumes of eggwhites in other recipes!!)

What to do with all the failed macarons… hmmm how about chop or crumble into whipped cream and serve with strawberries - a decadent twist on Eton Mess dessert!

Thanks Cate for the quick reply.  I’m just about to start another batch.  I did only bake one tray at a time, but I think I over beat the eggwhites as the mixture was drier and harder to pipe.  Then I probably overbeat adding the dry ingredients.  Thanks, and I’ll report back!  Choc Eton Mess sounds yummy and strawberries are in season here now.

Hi Cate,

While you were sleeping…  I made another double batch and they are just great.  The batter consistency was much looser this time so I’m pretty sure that I had made the egg whites too stiff the previous time.  I’m wondering if there is more than one reason that they may crack.  I did a bit more research on the internet and there seems to be a few reasons - delicate things!  As I’m going to sell them at the Farmer’s Market I need to make big batches - hopefully the hordes will be tripping over each other to get to my macarons. Ha Ha!  Thanks for your help.