1) Your eggs aren't really aged enough so that may affect outcome of your shell quality.
The literature/video research I did on this topic is mixed. The idea behind aging your egg whites is two-fold: the first point is that by placing your egg whites in the refrigerator for a couple of days, there is a chance for some of the moisture to evaporate. The second point is more scientific in nature and basically boils down to giving the proteins in your egg whites a chance to strengthen therefore making your macaron shell more sturdy and stable. The bottom line from my experience is that it is much easier to work with aged egg whites (at least for 2-3 days), and I have found a difference in the stability of the shell.
雞蛋太新鮮了, 應選較老(成熟)的蛋白, 否則他會影響馬卡龍餅干的成功率..
把新買的雞蛋放入冰箱冷藏幾天, 這可以讓蛋白的水份逃掉一些. 當蛋白裡的水份含量較少時, 所打發的蛋白霜密度較高, 挺拔直立較久, 所做的馬卡龍也穩定. 我的經驗是將蛋白靜置2-3天才拿來打發. 這時你可以看出明顯的差別.
2) The humidity of your home affects the length of time required for skin to form.
I noticed that I have recently had much more success with baking macarons. Why? Because the weather got colder! The lack of humidity in the air has made it a relatively easy process for my macarons to form skins before I bake them and, as a result, I have increased my success rate! If you are baking under humid conditions, try to find the driest and least humid place to leave your piped macarons out to dry. And, give your macarons more time to form that tough skin that is necessary for a beautiful shell if it’s humid where you are.
室內濕氣影響馬卡龍皮膜層的形成.
多倫多的季節已入秋, 最近我在烤馬卡龍的成功率顯著提高. 原因要歸功於氣溫下降. 空氣中的相對濕度下降有助馬卡龍皮膜的形成, 因此送入烤箱後烘烤能得到較高的成功率. 如果你在相對濕度較高的場所製作馬卡龍, 找個較乾燥的角落讓剛擠出的馬卡龍乾燥. 並且乾燥時間要延長, 這樣才能形成堅固的皮膜層.
If your macarons look like this, they are not ready to be baked!
皮膜形成尚不夠, 再等等.
3) The skin that formed is not hard enough and your macarons crack in oven.
I have watched many videos on YouTube where the people just pipe their macarons and put them straight in the oven. This completely baffles me because anytime I did this, the macarons would crack and fail miserably. I leave my macarons to rest and I never use time as my guideline. The best way to check if your macarons are ready to be baked is if you tap your finger against the surface (and I usually choose an ugly shaped macaron to test out since I don’t want to ruin the ones that look perfect!) and see if a) a skin has formed and b) the skin is fairly sturdy/borderline hard. You’re looking for a skin that is sort of like a thin layer of leather. Also, the skin is noticeably matte and no longer shiny. That’s when you know it’s ready to preheat the oven and then bake those suckers.
馬卡龍的皮膜層不夠堅固, 所以在烘烤過程中龜裂.
在YouTube影片中, 許多人直接將擠出來的馬卡龍送進烤箱中烘烤. 這種作法著實讓我困惑. 每次我這麼做, 烤出來的馬卡龍不是龜裂就是一團糟慘不忍睹. 我讓擠出來的馬卡龍靜置, 不用時間來計量皮膜是否足夠生成. 最好的測試皮膜是否夠厚過強可以送入烤箱的工具是自己的手指頭. 當你的手指碰觸馬卡龍表面時, 你就可以知道皮膜是否形成, 以及皮膜是否夠厚. 你要的是一層像薄膜似的皮層, 它不光滑而是霧霧的. 此時你可以開始將烤箱預熱, 準備烘烤這些碟狀馬卡龍.
Cracked shells of macarons that were not to be…
4) Over-mixing/under-mixing egg whites.
I don’t think I’ve over-mixed my egg whites, but I definitely have under-mixed. Needless to say, my macarons ended up falling flat on their face when baked. No feet L Lesson is: WHIP YOUR EGG WHITES TO STIFF PEAKS! This is not the hardest part of macaron technique. There are many pictures and videos online of what stiff peak egg whites look like!
蛋白攪拌過度或攪拌不足
我不認為我會過度攪拌蛋白, 但我可以確認總是攪拌不足. 所以不用說便知結果是烤出的馬卡龍是平的, 整體沒有圓弧狀. 把蛋白打發至尾巴翹起不下垂, 老生常談不必多講, 網路上有的是圖片與影片告訴你STIFF PEAKS美麗的樣子.
5) Over-mixing/under-mixing combined macaron mixture.
This one is probably the trickiest step and one step where it’s harder to know what is the “right” amount of mixing without experience. When I under-mixed my mixture, I ended up with meringue cookies since I did not take out enough air when I was preparing the macaron mixture. Albeit, they were delicious, but I was not impressed! I believe if you over-mix your mixture, your macarons don’t rise as nicely. Just try and look for the moment when your macaron mixture a) has a sheen to it and b) has a lava-like consistency (i.e. it’s flowing quite fluidly, but not dripping), and you should be good. Again, this is probably the hardest judgment call to make if you don’t build a bit of failure experience up :P
混料後不適當的攪拌.
對我來說這是製作馬卡龍過程中最詭異的一個步驟. 沒有量的基準, 憑著的完全是經驗法則. 混料後的攪拌如果不足, 做出來的不是馬卡龍而是蛋白餅干, 因為混料裡的空氣沒有被拌出. 儘管它們仍然很好吃, 但我不會心動. 我相信如果你充分的攪拌它, 做出來的馬卡龍無法膨脹的很均勻. 怎麼辦? 唯一的辦法就是去嘗試, 當你發現馬卡龍混料泥有 a)光澤時, 及 b)像岩漿可以流動而不擴散, 這就是適度的攪拌. 再一次多嘴. 這是經驗法則, 從失敗的經驗得來.
Under mixed meringue cookie disguised as a macaron.
Cracked meringue cookies
