I was after some advise on how to avoid getting the lopsided "feet". I have followed your recipe and instructions to the T and most of the time the macarons come out shiny and domed but always lopsided. What am I doing wrong? I am baking a batch every night hoping to get it right so any advise would be much appreciated.

Kind regards,
Sophia

Thanks!!
FNP

PS Also, just wondering, have you tried the macarons at La Belle Miette in Hardware Lane? Impressions?

@salz: the formula example gives you an idea of the number of shells for a given quantity of egg white. I think you should go through the whole process more precisely and you'll probably find your macarons behave better.

Just wanted to say thank you for the entire macaronicite series. I have really enjoyed reading the articles and have relied heavily on your experience with regard to trouble-shooting. In particular, the article about ovens was very helpful.

My one problem is that my batter always seems to be a little to thick. I am using the French meringue technique with ratios as you suggest. Whilst it hasn't so far affected the finished product in texture in term of eating, the shells are not as beautifully smooth as I would like. I fear it may be my scales.

If you could spare the time, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

Thanks again!

great site!!!!

i did try to make macaroons from another site and they came out really big, kinda crispy an tasted like nougat in the centre.
i also had tiny holes on the surface of the macaroon after baking.
my mixture did not have any feet, therefore it was a flop.

can you please tell me what went wrong and can you tell me how much of ingredients to use (according to your recipe) for about 20-30 macaroon shells

thank you

@jb: it takes *a lot* of colour, preferably low-moisture icing/gel colours or expensive powder colours, to obtain brightly coloured macarons. However, not everyone thinks the bright colours are desirable, so it's up to you…

For hot and humid kitchen like mine, it's impossible to follow the rules from all the books and instructions u find. I've dine it all and finally found a way. Before pipping, chillthe batter for 20 min to harden it. It's easier to pipe when slightly cold. After piping, quickly put the whole tray in the dry chiller. Put the macaroons in the chiller for 30min to 2 hours. up to u. Too wet, u get flat n weak crusts. Too dry, u get dome shaped crusts. So it's very tricky. And a cold chilled tray at 5 deg C , once it's goes in your home oven, the temp dives down to 110 deg c. It best if u work in an 22deg room. Everything will be much easier.

The browning is due to overbaking or strong top heat. I had the same problem. What u can do is to keep the oven temp constant at 140deg c. Open the oven door slightly , stuck a wooden chopstick for eg. if it gets too hot. Bake no more than 12 mins. If your oven has a top heated grills, place an empty tray on the upper deck to shield the direct heat from the crusts at about 10 mins mark. This is where the shells reaches the optimal state. Convection fan tends to be hotter so best is not use it. Just use bake setting .macaroons contains high sugar and whites, so browning happen as the temp rises beyond 120 degree c. Just like caramel. So as the baking reaches the 12 min mark,u need to watch the heat.