Gerbet macaroons make our head tilt a bit, similar like when we look at a newborn baby. Parisian Gerbet macaroons are cute indeed. They instantly flair up a petit four platter and they are very much appreciated by nearly everyone. Some may think that they are brand new on the scene, however, they have been around for a long time, just slightly out of vogue for a while.
In the On Baking book we have a real good recipe for these lovely macaroons using a standard oven. If you are using a convection oven, the recipe below, using an Italian Meringue works exceptionally well. I would not be truthful if I said that these are easy to make. They are not. That’s also why if you walk on the streets of Paris or Brussels, that you will not find these macaroons everywhere. To obtain a smooth and shine surface, without cracks, it can be tricky.
One of the fantastic things about these is that an endless amount of fillings can be used to sandwich the macaroons together. Flavored mascarpone creams, jams, curds, butter creams, ganache or combinations of the foregoing. Edible food color can be added to the macaroon batter to match the filling. In the macaroons featured here, for the filling I used a Violette liquor flavored blackberry cream.
Getting it all together!
Having a food processor with a sharp blade is essential when making these macaroons. Purchased almond meal/flour is simply to coarse to give you a good result. Once baked, you can freeze non sandwiched Gerbet macaroons for a week or two. Just ensure that they cannot be damaged by freezer burn. You will need 2 full size professional baking pans or 4-5 home style baking sheets. Cutting down the recipe in half can be tricky when making the meringue and I do not recommend doing so.
Gerbet Macaroons recipe
Yield: About 75
| 2 ½ Cups | (10 oz) | Almond flour-meal | 300 g |
| 2 Cups + 2 Tbsp | (8.5 oz) | Powdered sugar | 255 g |
| 3.5 oz | (3.5 oz) | Egg whites (a) | 105 g |
| 1 teaspoon | (1 tsp) | Vanilla extract | 5 g |
| ¼ teaspoon | (1/4 tsp) | Salt | 1 g |
| As desired or needed | (a/n) | Food color | a/n |
| 1 Cup + 2 Tbsp | (9 oz) | Extra fine granulated sugar | 270 g |
| 5 Tbsp | (2.5 oz) | Water | 75 ml |
| 2 oz | (2 oz) | Egg whites (b) | 60 g |
- In a food processor mix the almond flour and powdered sugar until very fine. Transfer to a bowl and mix in first listed egg whites (a), vanilla, salt and food color. Cover tightly with plastic and set aside.
- Place the second listed egg whites (b) in a machine bowl fitted with a whip. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan combine the granulated sugar and water and bring to a boil. Once boiling wash away any sugar crystals stuck to the side of the pan using a brush dipped in water. Any added amount of water will have no effect on the outcome.
- Boil without stirring to 244°F (118°C). A few degrees before the syrup reaches it required temperature start whipping the egg whites in medium speed. When the syrup is at its required temperature, pour it immediately along the edge of the bowl avoiding pouring syrup on the whip.
- Whip until the meringue measures 105°F (40°C), remove from machine.
- Immediately add a small amount of the meringue to the almond mixture and combine well using a spatula. Gradually add the remaining amount.
- Fold the mixture long enough to obtain a sheen and the folds of the batter disappears within 30 seconds. (Perfect Gerbet macaroons are all about the folding!!!!)
- Pipe on parchment or silicone lined baking sheets and bake for approximately 11-12 minutes in a 320°F (160°C) convection oven. If using a deck oven double pan the macaroons. Do not bake the macaroons until golden, just until set.
- Once cooled, fill with filling of choice.
Hi chef eddy,
hope you can really help me out here. I’ve been following pierre herme’s recipes. the first few times i made them, they were absolutely beautiful. The recent attempts have had horrific results. 1 thing I noticed was that the batter was considerably thicker, even though i have been following the steps in the exact same manner. and the batter does not become more runny or thin from beating. when i pipe them they leave pointy ends, and they do not look rounded (nice dome). Please help me!
Hello Yi YI,
Since you have already made these macaroons with great results we already know that the recipe from Pierre Herme works perfectly. Lets look at a few things…Have you changed the brand of almond flour? Is it perhaps a finer ground? If the recipe is based upon an Italian Meringue could your thermometer be slightly wrong? (Boiling the sugar too high will result in less water in the syrup which will make the batter more dry). Have you tried to adjust the batter (at the end of folding) with a tiny little bit of fresh egg whites? This will make it more fluid. An oven temperature which is too high will also make the macarons less than perfect.
If you have more questions let me know.
My best,
Eddy.
Hi..
I have a old fashion deck oven that require me to adjust the heat from top , middle and bottom by number 0 to F , if i’m using 160 degree , what is the number of heat and timing should i use to bake the macaroons?
Ryan,
Hmmm, not sure about this one! You may just have to test and practice to get it to perfection.
My best,
Eddy
Good Evening,
I am hoping that you may be able to help me out. I used your recipe with no changes. I was very accurate with measures and technique. As I piped, I thought to myself, these look beautiful. I put my tray in the oven at said temp and they rose and grew enormous feet and a few were lopsided as well. Once they came out and cooled, I bit into one and they were pretty much empty inside. When using other recipes I tend to have success at 280 degrees in my gas convection oven. Is it possible that the temp was too high? I just had my oven serviced and have a gauge in there and it registers perfect temperature. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I need to master these as I want to carry them in my tiny town bakery as most people here have never had them! Thanks in advance!
Hi Suzi,
If they did not crack you are almost there. Make certain that the almond flour mixture is very fine. If you are in North Amerca chances are that the almond meal/flour is not fine enough. Grind it finer as in the recipe. Bake them in a lower temerature will also fix the problem. What can also solve the problem is bake them on silpat or double pan the trays.
LMK if that works.
My best, Eddy
Hi Eddy,
I use use the Italian method for making macs and wonder if you can tell me why they rise with magnificent feet within the first 8 min then deflate by the to e they are cooked. They still have feet but not as high as they originally rose to.
Thanks!
hi chef eddy,
i have been making macaroon for quite some time and i am in totally love with them. i have few question to which i have been failed to find the answer. please help me out.
During baking sometimes from the centre of the tray the macarons crack from top.????
sometimes the macaroon leave the mat from the side and edges lifts up.??
what is the correct way and temprature of making macroons.???
please reply.
Hi Ankit,
If macarons crack on the surface it could be simply that you have the oven on too high or that you have underfolded the batter. Please try out my recipe since it provides excellent results: https://chefeddy.com/2010/01/gerbet-macaroons-gerbet-macarons/
Kay,
It could be that your almond meal is not finely enough grind. Are you using my recipe? https://chefeddy.com/2010/01/gerbet-macaroons-gerbet-macarons/
Hi Chef Eddy !
I have a question regarding my macaroon feet well the problem is the feet spreads out instead of staying vertical feet
is this related to the oven set up ?
Mine is convection oven at place is at the bottom with double tray to cook at 140 C
because by 150 C it cracks
what could be the other factors ??
————————————————————–
Also I have a question regards your previous book On baking 2nd Ed
the one in macaroons can the egg white powder be omitted ??
Im planning for the 3rd Ed. does it feature both macaroon methods ( french and italian) ??
THX VERY MUCH
continuation…
also I have a question in terms of the convection oven is it okay to have those yellow light emitted to the macaroons?
my oven has both left and right yellow bulb at the wall top that is why even if my macaroons are placed at the bottom at 140 C at 11-12 min my mac started to brown I don’t add any color to see changes in oven
THX VERY MUCH CHEF EDDY !!
Why are they called “Gerbet” macarons?
Hello Chef,
Do you age your egg whites? How long?
Normally I use the French method but I tried your Italian method. The Italian method is a bit more involved and challenging but I really liked the result.
Thanks!
chay
Chay, I do not age egg whites. Use them fresh from its shell. Thank you for trying the recipe and I am happy you liked the result.
Eddy.
If i remake the Gerbet Macaroons i use halzelnut instead almond flour.
Hi chef! I´m afraid to try this one, it´s my first time making them :S
How ever; approximately, how many egg whites did you needed to have the complete 3.5oz?
Thank you!
Chef,
I have been making macaroons for a while now using the french method. I am having problems with my chocolate recipe. They stay slightly moist and gooey and are very hard to remove from the silpat. any ideas for a fix on this? I’m not using any dried eggwhites. Could this make a difference?
Hi again Chef! How much cocoa powder for chocolate macs? Thanks, Chay!
Chef Eddy, thank you for letting my group attempt to make these after we finished making the brandy snaps and pecan bars. These were a lot of fun to make. For some reason or another ours were a bit flat, but not bad for a first attempt. I will definitely be trying my hand at these again.
Chef Eddy, thank you for letting my group attempt to make these after we finished making the brandy snaps and pecan bars. These were a lot of fun to make. For some reason or another ours were a bit flat, but not bad for a first attempt. I will definitely be trying my hand at these again