
Hello and welcome back. I want to share with you my favourite method of making macarons, the Swiss Meringue method. This Swiss meringue macarons fool-proof recipe has been my go-to since learning to make them four years ago. I find this way of making them gives me a stable meringue with a strong more forgiving batter. And I love the results I get, most of the time, probably around 90%. Yes there are still some fails, down to possibly over mixing my batter, underbaking or possible under whipping my meringue slightly.
My Swiss Meringue Macarons Journey
How did it all begin? I attended a French Macaron masterclass in 2019 and after that I then became hooked. After many hours of practicing and trying to understand the different processes involved, I still struggled in achieving a half decent French meringue macaron. With the French method of making the meringue, I was having trouble with its stability, particularly when humidity was high. It was giving me so many headaches with not fully formed macarons. They were either cracked, wonky or had spread-out feet. After many attempts and plenty of mishaps along the way, I eventually found a method which works for me - the Swiss Meringue method.
When I discovered the Swiss way of making macaron meringue, I had a lot less fails, and my bin was saved from failed macaron overload. I began to love making macarons even more and I reckon this method is the best, well, it is for me. It gives me the results I like: compact, smooth, slight dome on the top, delicate ruffled feet and great tasting too! Although my improved macarons may have been down to understanding the meringue science better, getting to know the processes and the feel of the macaronage and of course, more practicing.
The Swiss Meringue Macarons Recipe | Step by Step
This Swiss meringue macaron recipe involves dissolving the sugar into the egg whites while whisking over an au-bain maire (I just use a glass bowl over a saucepan of simmering water). Once there are no granules left in the syrup, it is transferred over to the stand mixer, then whipped to create a shiny, stable meringue with stiff peaks. A sturdy meringue is more likely to produce a full macaron with lovely delicate feet. Also, something to be aware of, if the sugar does not dissolve in the egg white, it will also cause instability of the meringue.
Pros:
Stable meringue yielding a studier, more forgiving batter.
Requires less prep time than the Italian Meringue method - heating of the sugar may take a few minutes.
Fewer fails due to more stable meringue.
Produces a nicer rounded macaron with great feet.
Cons:
Requires heating of the eggs and sugar together.
Not as smooth as the Italian.
Need to have a stand mixer.
If sugar not dissolved, it will result in an unstable meringue.

The Basic Method
Equipment:
Weighing scales are a must. Digital scales are best. Baking is a science where precision is required.
Fine mesh sieve to ensure the icing sugar and almond flour is as fine as possible to produce smooth shells.
A blender/food processor not necessary but can be used to thoroughly combine the almond flower and icing sugar to ensure a completely smooth finish to the macaron shells.
Small saucepan for heating the sugar and egg whites together.
Two large clean glass bowls, one for heating the sugar and egg whites together and one for dry ingredients. Do not use plastic as it holds onto grease particles.
Stand Mixer for whipping your meringue. I find using a hand mixer makes the meringue to voluminous and creates very tall feet. Oven thermometer is a must as we want our oven as close to the right baking temperature as possible.
Baking trays (no sides) I use T-fal Air Bake trays. Cookie trays will also do the trick.
Silicone mat for better shaped macarons and less wastage as not single use. Using parchment can bake slightly uneven along the bottom of the shells.
Piping bags to pipe macarons onto a silicon mat/baking tray and to pipe fillings.
Round tip for piping perfectly round macarons.
Bubble poppers for popping any air bubbles.
Decorating brushes for painting shells with food colouring.
Hand stick blender for emulsifying the chocolate to ensure a smooth, shiny, heavenly liquid.

Ingredients:
Almond flour: blanched, super fine almond flour for smooth macaron shells.
Icing Sugar: Silver Spoon icing sugar made from sugar beet (less course than cane icing sugar)
Granulated Sugar: any granulated white sugar.
Eggs: Free range eggs, egg whites separated from the yolk. Save the yolk for custard or curds.
Food colouring: use food colouring gel or powders. Do not use liquid food colouring as it make the batter super runny.
Chocolate: Couverture chocolate, chocolate that contains a higher percentage of cocoa butter (32% to 39%) than baking or eating chocolate. This additional cocoa butter gives the best finish and taste to your ganache.
Cream: cows double cream or you could substitute for plant based cream.
Unsalted butter: unsalted butter at room temperature to add to the ganache once chocolate has melted into the cream before emulsifying with a hand stick blender.
Tips: Clean all bowls and utensils thoroughly and wipe with either lemon juice or vinegar to remove any traces of grease or oils. Having any residue or grease/fats on any bowls, spatulas, spoons and thermometers can hinder the eggs white being whipped into stiff peaks.
Assemble and weigh out all your ingredients in preparation. Also gather all the equipment you will need to allow seamless transitions between each process.
Invest in Silicone mats they will make your life easier along with nicely formed macarons.
Oven thermometer is a must as we want our oven as close to 150°c as possible to make perfect macarons. Just because your oven says 150°c it doesn't mean it actually is.
Method
Ingredients:
105g fine almond flour
105g icing sugar
100g granulated white sugar
100g egg whites
Oven: Preheat your oven to 150°c (remember a thermometer gives you a more accurate reading).
Ingredients: Before you start, gather all your ingredients together and set up your working space before you begin. This is known as Mise En Place (another French term). The meringue and batter are quite time sensitive and if you take too long before each step, you won’t see quality results. Take that extra time to prep, measure your ingredients precisely and prepare the tools before you start. Measure out the ingredients precisely using a digital scale.
Sift the Dry Ingredients: Sift the almond flour and icing sugar together into a blow. Sift well, possible two to three times to remove any lumps. Almond flour may not be as fine as it says on the packet. You can also add any other dry flavourings such as Expresso powder, cocoa powder or matcha green tea at this stage. I sometimes add freeze dried raspberry or strawberry powder.
Egg Whites: Measure out the egg whites and add with the sugar (ratio 1:1 by weight*) in a separate glass or metal bowl. I use a lot of food colouring powder, so I add this to the egg whites/sugar mix before transferring it over to a pan of simmering water. Whisk the egg whites and sugar while heating. Test the syrup with your fingers to make sure all granules have dissolved. Don’t leave any sugar granules as it will destabilise the meringue. Also don’t let the sugar syrup over heat as this may cause issues such as wrinkly macarons.
Transfer the mixture over to the stand mixer.
Whisk Egg Whites: Whisk on low for 30 seconds, then increased to medium for two minutes, then medium/high until you reach stiff soft peaks. It takes around 10 minutes from start to finish.
Macaronage: I sift the almond flour and icing sugar mix into the meringue, combine and gently fold it to form the batter. In this blog, I also added lemon gel food colouring at this stage. This combining of the meringue and dry ingredients is known as the macaronage. It is important to fold the mixture gently, using a spatula. Fold around the edges of the bowl and once through the centre until the batter slowly runs off the spatula like a "v" with a ribbon or lava like consistency. Also drawing a few figures of 8 is a common indication of when the macaron batter is ready. Macaronage process usually takes three to four minutes. Be careful not to over fold the macaron batter. It should be thick, ribbon like and not too runny. It is better to under fold the batter than over folding it.
Piping: Transfer into a piping bag with a round tip. Hold the piping bag at 90 degrees and begin squeezing. Pipe small uniform circles onto your silicon mat (or parchment paper). The piping tip opening should always be touching the macaron. Stop piping just inside the circle. Make a small quick “c” circular motion with the top to remove it from the piped cookie. If you the tip straight up, it will leave little peaks on top of your macarons.
Resting: After the macarons are piped, tap the baking tray on the work surface a few times. This helps pop any large bubbles that may have become trapped in your batter. Pop any leftover air bubbles with a bubble popper or a toothpick to remove them. Rest for 30 minutes to one hour to allow the macarons to form a skin on the top before baking to help develop a smooth outer shell and feet. You should be able to lightly touch the surface of the macaron and the batter should not stick to your finger. Do not leave your macarons to dry for too long. The shell may become too thick and your shells will not develop feet.
Baking: Bake at 150°c for 18 to 19 minutes (or as required by your oven). Sometimes longer if a lot of food colouring has been added. As times can vary, it is essential to monitor them closely. Note not everyone's baking temperature or time is the same.
Cooling: Leave to cool for half an hour before removing from the silicone mat. If you remove the macarons while they are still warm, they will stick to the mat and will separate.
Filling: Once the shells have cooled completely, fill them with your choice of filling. Popular options include chocolate ganache (recipe below), buttercream, jam, curd or caramels. Pipe a small amount of the filling onto the flat side of the macaron shell and sandwich it together with another shell.
Maturation: After filling, it is recommended to let the macarons mature in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours. This allows the flavours to mingle together for the ultimate flavour and texture.
Macaron Storage: Store filled macarons in an airtight container right away until ready to serve. They will keep in the fridge two to three days. Remove from the fridge and bring to room temperature for 20 minutes before serving. You can freeze filled macarons for up to two months. Remove from the freezer the night before and store in the fridge.
* a higher sugar ratio will make the meringue more stable, however, the results will make the macaron sweeter, crisper and won’t have that melt in your mouth sensation.

Chocolate Ganache
Milk/Dark Chocolate
100g milk/dark chocolate
100g double cream
10g unsalted butter, room temperature
Heat the cream in the microwave for a minute or until simmering (needs to be at least 72°c) and pour over the chocolate.
Let sit for a minute and then mix by stirring small circles with a spatula in the centre moving outwards.
If there are any remaining pieces of chocolate, heat slowly in small bursts in the microwave. Stir. Do not overheat the cream and the chocolate otherwise it will split.
Once combined and smooth, in small amounts, add the unsalted butter.
Emulsify with a hand stick blender until smooth.
Pour into a flat bowl, cover with clingfilm. Once cooled, place in the fridge for a couple of hours. It may not set in that time, just keep checking every 20 minutes to ensure it doesn’t go hard and difficult to pipe.
White Chocolate Ganache
The method is the same but the chocolate to cream ratio is 50g of cream to 100g of white chocolate.
Fruity Flavoured Milk or White Chocolate Ganache
As above with the white chocolate. 50g of pureed fruit such as raspberry, passionfruit to 100g of white chocolate.
Remember making macarons is a delicate process and may take some practice to achieve perfect results. Don’t be discouraged if your first attempts are not flawless. With time and experience, your technique will improve and you will master the art of making macarons.
If you don't fancy making Swiss Meringue Macarons, you can always buy from me.
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