Happy Feet

Having baked brownies juz a couple of days ago, I wasn’t really in the mood for baking so soon. But the egg-whites have been “ageing” for the past 48 hours. It’s all for the love of Macarons, what else. This would be my SIXTH attempt! Well, okay I’d have one last “fling” with the macs, I told myself. And if I don’t see any “feet” still, that’s it. I guess sometimes things juz aren’t meant to be 😛 I’d be contented with the macs I bought from the stores.

So, before leaving for church on Sunday, I took the aged egg whites out from the fridge. By the time I returned home in the afternoon, the egg whites was in room-temperature and the baking began! This time I chose another recipe I found in the net by “Angry Baker“. The batter is enough to fill four 9×9 inch trays. I left them to dry for about an hour or so, and noted that the mixture was drier then my previous attempts. This raised my hope somewhat and I was really looking forward for macs with the ever elusive feet. But alas, I was disappointed when I took the macs out of the oven. They looked like this:

As you can see, there was no feet! Arrggh! Usually, I’d discard them right away. But I told myself feet or no feet, I’m gonna prepare the ganache for the macs and I’m gonnna eat them to death, anyway! I’ve wasted too much time, and money and have killed to many chicks already! And, feet or no feet, they still taste good. Ladylove joked that they look like spin-tops, and waterchest nuts. I thought they look like mini Big Mac burgers. Heh.

Perhaps it’s the way the macs were being baked, I told myself. So, with the 2nd tray, I baked the method recommended by baker from London (whose website address I’ve forgotten). His way of baking the macs is to bake them using double trays in the first 4-5 mins at 190 degrees. Once the “feet” appear, remove the bottom tray, lower the temperature to 170 degrees and bake for another 5-7 mins. The result is similarly disappointing.

I had done all I know in the pursuit of the elusive feet. But surely, I must have missed out on some crucial and important steps. I ran through the check-list mentally in my head:

• age the egg white at least 24-48 hours – checked
• beat the egg whites into stiff peaks – checked
• fold the dry mixture into the egg whites, but careful not to over-mix them – checked
• make sure that the macs are dry before baking them – checked
• never baked them more than 200 degrees – checked

Then, juz as I was about to throw in the towel, I recalled Evan (God bless her!) pointing out to me the website of a blogger who baked beautiful macarons. I decided to follow her method of baking as a last resort. What she does is that she first bakes the macs at 93 degrees for 5 minutes. She then increases the temperature of the oven to 190 degrees before baking them again for another 7-8 minutes. Basically, it’s the reversal of the earlier method I tried. Usually, I would grab a chair and sit by the oven, taking frequent peeks into the oven, and hoping to see the sign and emergence of the feet in the macs. But so far, they were all in vain! Ladylove told me the macs were probably too shy to show themselves because of my constant gaze at them. Heh. Anyway, this time round, I didn’t bother to look coz I wasn’t feeling very optimistic that the feet would emerge. I went into the living room and watched some TV. Soon, I heard the oven went off. I nonchalantly walked into the kitchen, opened the oven, and…. I was in heaven! They got feet! They got feet! They appeared a little burned, but they GOT FEET, Happy, Happy Feet! I called out for Ladylove! Maybe she is right. The macs are just too shy to show their sexy feet if I keep staring at them!

And this is how my (yes MY!) macs looked like with the ganache 🙂

Despite the feet, I guess there’s room for some improvements:

• The texture of the macs – The macs look kinda “puffy”. The recipe recommended that the grounded almond and the sugar be blended to produce smooth macs. I didn’t want to bother myself with that, and that resulted in macarons that are rough on the surface with a couple of them bearing some cracks. But I’m not seeking “perfection”. For a start, my main priority is to ensure that the feet be formed. Now that I’ve succeeded, yes, I think I’d improve on the dry mixture 🙂
• I’ve added pink colouring to the macs. But they look brownish in colour. Perhaps I had baked them longer than necessary?
• The ganache tasted like “nutella”, and is a little too sweet to my liking..

It’s been quite a ride, in my pursuit of the ever-elusive feet. A colleague of me hinted that my “infatuation” with the macarons is crazy! Now that I’ve accomplished them; I just want to perfect them, and I have proven that success do come with perseverance 🙂

After my macaron-making experience, I’ve come up with a “feet theory”:

• It’s best to age the egg whites for at least 24-48 hours. Some recipes say that we can mimic the process of ageing by microwaving the egg whites for 8-10 seconds. Yet to try this, though.
• Let the macarons sit for at least 2 hours before baking them
• Do not overbeat the egg whites
• Do not overmix the dry mixture with the egg whites and sugar mixture

Keep the above in mind, and chances are, the feet will appear 😉 I know Evan has had no time to dry the macs for 2 hours. What she does is that she “drys” the macs in the oven at 200 degrees for 2 minutes with the oven turned off, and then bakes at a lower temperature. I tried that but it juz didn’t work for me 😦 So I guess I’d juz stick to the method that does 😉

Now that I’ve had some success with macs with feet, I’m not very sure I’m gonna bake them and give them away as Christmas presents to my friends and colleagues after all. It sure takes too much time and energy – ageing the egg whites, and the constant adjustment of the oven temperature. (Maybe I’d get another oven? That way I don’t have to adjust the temperature back and forth. Heh). I may even have to take leave to bake them. Well, I juz may do so, to a couple of really close friends, and I’d have them known that these macarons are so precious, and before they put them into their mouths, remember that the macarons are baked with a lot of sweat, and tons of labour of love 🙂