6)              Surface on which you are piping may make macaron shape funny.

For some reason, I found that silpat was a much more stable surface to pipe onto whereas my parchment macarons turned out a little funky sometimes, even though I had piped them in perfect circles.  Silpat is just an awesome product to use since it’s reusable up to 4,000 times and is still easy to clean!  Good investment in my books.

工作布對馬卡龍的成型有很大關係

廚房裡隨手可得不沾烘焙紙(parchment), 這是一種塗佈矽利康的不沾紙, 在烘烤麵包或餅干時非常好用. 可是把馬卡龍擠在Parchment上面與擠在 Silpat (一種軟質矽膠板)上頭時, 卻有明顯的不同. 前者即使剛擠出來時是圓圓的, 但很不容易固型. 相反的, Silpat上的馬卡龍就較穩定. Silpat容易清洗, 又可以重覆使用數千次, 雖然所費不貲, 但仍值得投資. 又要申明了, 我不是在推銷.

7)               Under-bake/over-bake macaron.

If you under-bake your macarons, they will be extremely chewy and wet, but if you over-bake, your shells will brown and they may hollow out as well.  For me, at 310F, the 11 minute mark has worked out well for me.  I suggest you experiment with temperatures with your oven if you are having problems.  Not all ovens were built equal, so you should optimize the temperature for your oven.

烘烤不足或是過度烘烤

如果烘烤的時間不過, 馬卡龍變得溼軟, 相反則變為焦黃與中空. 用我的烤箱溫度設定在310度F (155度C), 則非常適當. 每個烤箱設定與環境條件皆不同, 你必須多試幾次, 才能拿捏的準.

8)                Oven gets hot after first batch which browns your second batch of macarons.

               I noticed that my second tray of macarons usually browned whereas my first tray didn’t.  I tried to counteract this    by lowering the oven temperature by 10-20F after the first batch came out, before I put the second batch in.  Since the oven is already piping hot by the time the second batch goes in, this small intermediary step helps bring the temperature back down a bit so your second batch doesn’t get scorched.

烤箱餘溫讓次盤馬卡龍容易焦黃

雖然烤出來這一盤馬卡龍OK, 可是次一盤卻容易焦黃. 為了解決這個問題, 將次一盤放入烘烤之前, 我先將烤箱降溫10-20度F (6-11度C), 雖然烤箱在放入次一盤馬卡龍時已開始加熱, 這個多出來的步驟, 讓次一盤馬卡龍不會焦黃.

Slightly browned sesame & coconut macarons (they were hollow too).

9)               You suck at piping and pipe ugly ass macarons.

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT pipe macarons as you would a pile of poo.  It is not too difficult to pipe macarons and once you’ve done it enough, the size and positioning of your macarons will start to even out.  All you’re looking to do is put your tip close to the piping surface, apply a bit of pressure leaving the tip stationary, and just when you’ve seen enough liquid come out, release pressure and lift up.  I would say err on the side of piping smaller since these suckers tend to expand out a bit.  Otherwise, you’ll get amalgamated monsters that bleed into one another.

擠型實在不敢恭維, 千萬不要像麥當勞的霜淇淋

馬卡龍要從花袋裡擠出來時, 首先確定在不沾布上的位置, 將花嘴靠近不沾布表面保持不動, 輕微出力擠壓花袋, 待擠出的馬卡龍量已足夠, 馬上停止擠壓並將花袋往上提起. 擠出的馬卡龍會往外擴散, 所以在稍小時就停止, 否則待擴散後它會像怪獸般把隔壁的馬卡龍也淹沒了.  記住哦, 不要擠出旋轉式的馬卡龍.

Watch the French guy school the Asian girl in piping macarons:

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/pohskitchen/stories/s2895326.htm

以上連結可以見試法國甜點主廚在教亞洲女孩擠馬卡龍.

10)            You're too excited and try to rip the macarons off the baking sheet too soon after they come out of the oven.

You must be patient.  I know, it’s so hard when you’re delighted that the macarons turned out beautifully uncracked and with feet!  I usually let the macarons sit on the tray for one to two minutes before sliding the sheet off the tray for about 10 minutes before I start to peel the macarons off and transfer them to a cooling rack.  If you’ve done all other steps correctly, it shouldn’t be hard to gently peel the macarons off.  Remember, BE GENTLE!  Cooled macarons are slightly easier to peel off the sheet.

你迫不及待要將烤好的馬卡龍從不沾布取下, 功虧一簣.

要有耐心, 我跟你一樣, 看到烤出來的馬卡龍如此漂亮無裂痕有裙襬, 恨不得馬上取下抹餡. 我通常讓馬卡龍靜置在烤盤上2分鐘, 再將不沾布從烤盤取下約10分鐘後, 再取下馬卡龍置放在冷卻架上.  如果你按步就班, 應該輕鬆地就可把馬卡龍從烤盤布上取下. 記住哦, 要溫柔. 冷卻讓馬卡龍教容易脫離不沾布.

Good luck!