Step By Step Earl Grey Macarons with Earl Grey Buttercream Recipe (2024)

Thanks again everyone for participating in my MacaronGiveaway! For those of you who want to try making Earl GreyMacarons, this step by step blog post is for you! Before we start,here is a list of kitchen items you will need for the best chance ofsuccess with making those macarons:

• a scale (crucial for measuring to the exact gram or oz!)

• fine mesh sifter (I picked mine up from the dollar store)

• food processor (try to find one that will last. I went through 3 of them in the past year)

• Kitchen Aid (or similar), a hand mixer can also do the trick

• piping bag and large round tip

• Parchment paper or Silicon Mats (mine are from Crate & Barrel & Silpat)

• gel food colouring (I am currently using the Wilton brand)

• thicker baking trays (this helps prevents the macaron shells from getting too much heat)

• toothpicks
  

Ingredients for the Macaron Shells:

100g of Aged Egg Whites (2-3 days in airtight container atroom temperature)
225g of Powdered Sugar (also known as icing sugar)
125g of Almond Meal
5g of Dehydrated Egg White Powder (also known as albumen)
28g of Granulated Sugar

French Meringue Method for Macaron Shells:

1.Measure all ingredients with a scale.

2. Process almond mealand icing sugar in the food processor.

3. Sift the blendedalmond meal and powdered sugar through a fine mesh.

4. Startbeating egg whites at low speed (2 on my Kitchen Aid).

5. Whenegg whites are foamy (mousse-like) add in the dehydrated egg whitepowder (albumen) and granulated sugar mixture.

6. Choose thecolour you want for your Earl Grey macarons. I used a blue gel foodcolouring for these shells (Wilton Sky Blue). Don't be afraid to makethe macarons a shade darker as the colour will lighten in theoven.

7. Increase speed on Kitchen Aid to 4. Beat egg whitesuntil "soft peaks" form (stop, and tilt head back, look tosee if egg whites form a small bird's beak). Do a check by stoppingthe mixer and tilting the head back to check the firmness of thepeak. If a peak stays up, then you are done. Ensure that they are notstiff or foamy since that means you have gone too far! You have nowmade the "meringue".

8. Slowly add the blended almond meal-powdered sugar mixture 2tablespoons at a time to the meringue you have created. Try using Chef Nini'smethod.

9. Mixing in a clockwise rotation seems best. The processthat she describes is slowly adding your almond mixture into the eggwhites in a clockwise direction. She also split her almond mixtureinto 6 parts. Mixing in a clockwise direction do the following:

1stpart= 16 turns
2nd part = 11 turns
3rd part = 14 turns
4thpart = 11 turns
5th part = 11 turns
6th part = 23 turns. Take alook at the video for a more detailed visual.

Here the macaron mixture flows like 'magma'

10. Once the mixture feels and looks like magma (flows slowly - aspictured above) transfer it to a piping bag.

11. Pipe outsmall circles. I tend to pipe down and then do a quick circularmovement to the right to finish piping one shell.

12. Pipeapproximately 30 shells on each tray. Before piping the next sheet,firmly rap tray on floor or counter to get rid of any air bubblesinside the shells. This is called "tamping".

13.Use a toothpick to pop air bubbles on shells (this part is essentialotherwise you get volcanoes instead of smooth macaron shells)

14.Let macarons sit for at least 30-45 minutes until a skin forms and isdry to the touch (this is also an important step)

15. Preheatoven to 250-295 degrees Fahrenheit.

If baking at 295F put onetray in the oven and bake for 8 minutes, then rotate tray (by now thefeet should have formed!) and bake for another 11 minutes.

Ifbaking at 250F (which I've been doing since we moved), bake theshells for 20-30 minutes before rotating the pan and baking foranother 10 minutes. This allows for the shells to rise slowly enoughto form a firm crust and the sought after pied (feet)

16. Takeout of oven, allow macarons to cool.

17. Peel fromsilpat/silicon mat, and get ready to fill with yourbuttercream.

Note: Everyone's oven is different! I highlyencourage you to experiment and bake some test batches and takenotes. I use a table to help me with the headings: Resting Time,Temperature In, Bake Time and Results. For instance, when I used tolive on the 10th floor of a south facing building I was resting mymacarons for 30 minutes and then baking them at 295F for 8 minutes,rotate and then another 11 minutes. Now that we have moved and have adifferent oven I am baking my macarons at a lower temperature of 250F(which really measures at 275F) for 20 minutes, rotating and thenanother 10 minutes.

Earl Grey Buttercream (based on Pierre Herme's method)

80gcaster sugar (superfine sugar)
25g water
1 whole egg (~60g)
1egg yolk
160g soft unsalted butter (cut into cubes)
One bag of doublebergamot (Earl Grey) tea

Directions:

1. Bring sugar and water to a boil in asmall pot.

2. Heat the sugar to 250F(120C). If it boils clean thesides of the pan with a damp pastry brush. Try not to continually mixthe solution. Allow it to heat on its own.

3. In another bowl orthe bowl of your Kitchen Aid whisk the eggs and egg yolks until itlightens in colour.

4. Once the hot sugar mixture reaches 250Fpour immediately into the whisking egg mixture. You may find turningdown the whisking speed temporarily will help prevent hot sugarthreads from flying everywhere. However, it is imperative to pour thehot sugar mixture in quickly and then increase to a higher whiskingspeed.

5. Continue whisking until the mixture has cooled downcompletely. It will start to look like a meringue and be glossy.

6. Meanwhile, cream then whisk the butter until it hasthickened.

7. Once the egg mixture-meringue has cooled, add thebutter.

8. Continue whisking until the butter cream is smooth. Itmay curdle slightly but this is okay. Keep whisking and the buttercream will come back together.

9. Cut open the tea bag andsprinkle into the buttercream and whisk until smooth.

10. Immediatelytransfer butter cream into a piping bag fitted with a nozzle and pipeaway.

11. Pipe a small mound of butter cream onto each halfshell.

12. Top with the matching shell to finish the macaron.

Once you are done matching and topping shells, resist thetemptation to eat them! Macarons should be stored in the fridge in acovered container for 2 days to reach its optimal flavour andtexture. When you are ready to eat them, take out of the fridge twohours before eating. If you are making an entire batch for a specialevent or can't finish all of them (like me) freeze you macarons in acovered container. Prior to eating defrost in a covered container for2-3 hours in room temperature.

These macarons taste quitedelicious. As you take a bite of the macaron, it is similar to takinga sip of Earl Grey tea. Pairing these macarons with Earl Grey Tea ona sunny afternoon would be perfect! Alternatively, bring them out toeat at a picnic, for dessert or even a small afternoon snack.

If you happen to be in the Edmonton or surrounding area and want to actually purchase these macarons, I do sell them! Go check out my macaronpurchasing page for details!