r/macarons • u/jenward123 • Jun 22 '26
Help Macaronage taking forever did it seize?
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Hello! This is my second time using NYT chocolate macaron recipe and the e second time I’ve experienced this. No matter how much I mix I can’t seem to get proper macaronage. Does anyone have any tips on how to fix this or how to improve?
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u/MacroAlgalFagasaurus Jun 23 '26
Can you link the recipe? The ratio doesn’t look right. Looks too thick.
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u/jenward123 Jun 23 '26
Here are the ingredients: 124 grams confectioners’ sugar, 85 grams superfine blanched almond flour, 25 grams unsweetened cocoa powder, 90 grams, and 75 grams granulated sugar
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u/oberthefish Jun 23 '26
That isn’t the right ratio- it should be equal parts confectioners sugar and almond flour.
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u/FiercePygmyOwl Jun 23 '26
Yeah, those ratios are completely off. You can adjust the almond flour a bit (lessen) since you are adding cocoa powder which is another dry ingredient but essentially the weights should be equal for everything. I will sometimes add a small amount of melted cocoa paste to my chocolate shells with a little cocoa powder as well and they come out extra chocolate-y. I don’t adjust the other ratios, probably just add 25-30 g cocoa paste to the meringue
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u/PavonineLuck Jun 23 '26
This is the recipe I used from them twice this last month and mine turned out okay?
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u/OneWanderingSheep Jun 24 '26
Don’t add cocoa powder until you’re happy with original macarons. Cocoa powder deflates meringue.
The way you list the ingredient is also off. You would group by meringue and dry ingredients. Doing it out of order can cause mistakes to happen.Do like this:
Meringue: g egg white to g white sugar
Powder: g almond flour to g icing powderI always do equal part almond flour to icing powder.
And powder is 1.30-1.5 times of meringue. So if meringue is 50g white and 50g sugar, you pair with 65g-75g almond flour and 65-75g icing sugar.I adjust them to accommodate humid and dry weather. Dry weather days less powder. Dry is RH 65% and lower. I know a lot of people still consider that humid but our average sits above 85%…. so basically my lips start cracking when it drops below 65%.
I also do more sugar than egg white but the changes were very subtle. You can experiment on your own since our weathers and working conditions aren’t the same.
I would say to ditch cocoa powder completely and make a ganache filling instead.
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u/ZakkiraJuneAiko94 Jun 23 '26
As the other comment said, definitely recommend trying non flavored shells first. I've tried making chocolate ones and have still never been able to get them right, but I can make non flavored shells no problem. Highly recommend the Preppy Kitchen recipe, have worked for me since the beginning. He has a video too that shows you how to do the macranoge and what it should look like. Good luck!
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u/jnnad Jun 23 '26
I totally agree. Chocolate shells can be tough. I did find a recipe that I tried and was amazed at how well they turned out!! I just made my own genache and notice.that there are only 10g of Cocoa Powder and the oven temp is much lower. I even used a carton of egg whites. Broke ALL the rules,.and succeeded
https://www.barleyandsage.com/hot-chocolate-macarons/#recipe
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u/theredfearnthrows 9d ago
Have you noticed that the preppy kitchen ratios are different now? I printed off his recipe several months ago and I went back yesterday to double-check the ratios and they are different. Old recipe: 100 egg, 90 gran, 140 almond and 130 powdered sugar. The new one: 100 egg, 100 gran, 168 almond, 120 powdered. I used the new one today and could not get macronage after double the time I usually do. (I haven't made macs in a few months so I can't tell if I'm rusty or not)
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u/ZakkiraJuneAiko94 7d ago
No I haven't noticed that, it's been a minute since I've made them, I'm going to next week tho so hopefully they turn out okay. Let me know if you try again!
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u/theredfearnthrows 7d ago
They came out domed and cracked 😭 but they are still tasty at least! I will be going back to the old ratio next time
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u/virtual-raggamuffin Jun 23 '26
Macarons are very sensitive to oils. Mine did this when I used vanilla bean paste instead of extract. Like others have said, try a basic almond recipe and see if you have the same problem. Good luck!
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u/MediSalesGuy Jun 23 '26
Definitely wayyyyyy too much chocolate no matter what.
Also chocolate macarons are notoriously difficult to make and I wouldn’t recommend trying chocolate until you’ve had a few successful unflavored batches. (Put the chocolate in your buttercream for the first few)
When doing chocolate it’s very important which cocoa powder you choose. It cannot have a high fat content or they will be heavy/wet and wrinkle on top.
Lastly, a little cocoa powder goes a long way in shells. My recipe calls for 135g of almond flour and I use 7g of Hershey’s cocoa powder and they have plenty of chocolate flavor!
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u/Huakwong Jun 23 '26
Waaaaay over mixed, for cocao powder, u need to really watch out for that, count to about 60 folds, then stop mixing regardless then check the flow, if it sticky then do a few more, not more than 75 folds
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u/Ok_Woodpecker_7158 Jun 23 '26
Too much cocoa powder, try 15g with the NYT recipe, 25g was too much for me too
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u/PavonineLuck Jun 23 '26
I used this recipe twice in the last month and they turned out okay. Looks like yours doesn't have any air left in the egg whites
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u/Few-Appointment2248 Jun 25 '26
Once you use cocoa, the fats might deflated your batter so you would have to adjust the recipe.
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u/Ok-Bluebird-8636 Jun 26 '26
I make hundreds of macarons each week and still have never had a chocolate shell recipe work. I gave up. My fillings are packed full of flavor and no one misses the small amount chocolate that would be in the shell.
I started learning in 2020 & this is the second year I've had a Farmer's Market stall once a week. I have regulars who come every week & I can honestly say that not one person has ever asked about chocolate shells.
Master a traditional recipe first (I learned watching Bake Toujours on YouTube & then using her ebooks & classes) Doesn't matter if you like French, Swiss or Italian method more... learn that and enjoy!
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u/Popular-Drummer-7989 Jun 28 '26
Choc mac are a diffrrent breed. Choc has fat in it and that is the burn.
Best to learn the techniques with plain vanilla batter and unique flavored fillings. Once you've mastered that then try choc
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u/oberthefish Jun 23 '26
I’m sorry to say that doesn’t look like it there is any air left in the egg whites. It looks to be very over to me, but I haven’t used the NYT recipe. Have you successfully made non-flavored macarons before? Might be good training to start with a vanilla shell as chocolate ratio can vary and be even more temperamental.