I'm making the macarons from the Bouchon Bakery cookbook and it recommends freezing them for 24 hours before letting them come back to room temperature for eating. The only part I'm not clear on is if I am meant to freeze the whole assembled cookie w/filling or just the cooked halves. If anyone knows what is supposed to be frozen and why I would really appreciate that help..
Freezing Bouchon Bakery Macarons. Whole cookie or just the halves
macarons
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The meringue should be glossy and form soft peaks. When you take your whisk out of the meringue it should look like this:
The French say that when you take the whisk out of the meringue, it has to look a bit like a bird's beak, hence the way the meringue forms a soft peak slightly pointing downwards.
But to be honest, I don't believe that is you problem. I guess you just undermix your batter. People often say it has to fall like a ribbon or like magma, but I always thought that is hard to imagine. You can take a knife and cut through the batter. If it flows back immediately, it's ready. But let me tell you: One or two strokes too much with the spatula and the batter becomes unusable.
And one tip I can give you: The process of transferring the batter into the piping bag also 'mixes' the batter, so maybe don't go too far if you are unsure.
And as already said, it is important to tap the the tray from the bottom after piping as it helps to remove any air bubbles in there. Also, always pipe straight from the top (90° angle). This also helps the batter to smooth out.
I wouldn't recommend you to chance the amount of powdered sugar, as the French use Tant pour Tant (TPT) for their macarons, which means fine almond meal and powdered sugar are mixed proportional to each other.
When mixed perfect, it looks like this:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WhPHUKwckUw/S4WP1eBE7pI/AAAAAAAAB00/gYqFjGOvEiU/s1600-h/5.jpg
When gone too far, it looks like this:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WhPHUKwckUw/S4WP-q8RrdI/AAAAAAAAB08/7R6uO1uGfBQ/s1600-h/6.jpg
Maybe try counting your strokes while mixing, some people say that it helped them.
As a macaron fanatic, eating that is, and collector of recipes and cookbooks, I referred to Les Petits Macarons by Kathryn Gordon and Anne E. McBride and to Pierre Hermé Macaron and, you are correct, the difference is the meringue, itself: French, Italian, or Swiss.
The French method produces the correct texture and taste,light and delicate, for the French macaron.
Italian meringue is more stable, using hot sugar syrup instead of dry sugar, but the macaron is much sweeter, some feel too sweet, and it's more difficult to get the macaron to bake properly.
Macaron can also be made with Swiss meringue, whipping the sugar and egg white over a double boiler, then off heat, although this method is less commonly used.
Best Answer
I don't know about the Bouchon recipe, but my wife just attended a macaroon making class at Mille Feuille last weekend.
They recommended refrigerating the whole macaroon overnight (and up to a week), not freezing. The idea is the moisture from the filling migrates to the cookies. This causes the cookie to be moist on the inside, but still have a firm and somewhat crisp outside.