French Macarons soft and indulgent

Name: French Macarons
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 8.75 oz (250 g) ground almonds; 8.75 oz (250 g) icing sugar; 4 egg whites; 1.25 oz (35 g) flour; 2 tablespoons liquid honey; 1 sachet vanilla sugar or a few drops of vanilla extract

A recipe by Michelin-starred Chef Patrick Asfaux 4.89/5 (37 reviews) · 🍳 9 made it

French Macarons, delicate and elegant — Photo : Aftouch-cuisine

Prep 5 min

Cook 20 min

Total 25 min

Servings 8 serv.

One of my oldest recipes, it's simple to make and the result is excellent. Born in Saint-Émilion in the 17th century, these macarons have nothing to do with Parisian shells: no ganache, just almonds, honey and vanilla.

Ingredients for 8 servings

Adjust for

servings

8.75 oz (250 g) ground almonds
8.75 oz (250 g) icing sugar
4 egg whites
1.25 oz (35 g) flour
2 tablespoons liquid honey
1 sachet vanilla sugar or a few drops of vanilla extract

Step-by-step recipe

1 Preheat the oven to 355°F (180 °C) (gas mark 6).

2 In a large bowl, put the ground almonds, make a small well and in it, pour the icing sugar, vanilla sugar and flour. Mix well and make another small well, gradually incorporating the raw egg whites, then add the tablespoons of honey. The mixture should be very smooth.

3 Put the mixture into a piping bag (or make them with a spoon), lay a sheet of baking paper on your tray and place small balls about 3 cm in diameter on it.

4 Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 355°F (180 °C) (gas mark 6). Your macarons are cooked when they are lightly golden. To remove them from the tray, pour water between the baking paper and the tray, they will come off on their own. Keep them dry if you have the time, because yum yum...

5 You'll also find other excellent macaron recipes made with Italian meringue, this one is more original.

A chef's advice

Don't whip the egg whites into peaks: that's a common mistake here. The whites are incorporated raw, directly into the ground almonds. If you whip them, the mixture becomes too airy and the macarons puff up then collapse during baking. Keep the whites liquid, mix until you get a smooth but not runny mixture. It's this dense texture that gives the characteristic softness.