Today I end my quest for the macaron. I have achieved a certain level of success, certainly not perfection but they are pretty and they taste good. But I just don’t think I can make one more batch.
I set out to achieve a good, unbrowned color today. So my intention was to replicate yesterdays batch # 10 with one variable — put a sheet pan on the top rack to block my heating element.
I also used real eggs this time for the first time but, honestly, I didn’t notice much of a difference except that the meringue beat up faster. I also used clear (imitation )vanilla extract to see if that would make the color more vibrant but it didn’t make a difference and there was a difference in taste.
I learned a huge lesson today about heat and my oven. I got inconsistent results between trays of the same exact batter because my oven was overheating over time.
| Tray 1: starting from the left: 300F with convection on — beautiful; Tray #2: I threw it in the oven right after the first tray and I didn’t pay attention to it until the timer went off — Most of them had ruptured from the top like little volcanoes; Tray #3: I tried to solve the problem by decreasing the oven temp in 5 degree increments down to 285F which saved most of them from rupturing but they were all hollow! Tray #4: I left the temp at 285F and left the oven door open to cool it down for a few minutes. Then I reset it to 300F and put the last tray in — nearly perfect results again! Silly oven. |
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1)Real eggs vs liquid egg whites did not make a huge difference for me.
