These little buggers are tricky.

I used the recipe for italian meringue in I ♥ Macarons by Hisako Ogita. I would say that overall it was a successful first attempt, even though I burned one batch and neither batches have the coveted “pied” or foot on them. Oh…and most of them were cracked.  The little cracking around the bottom looks like the beginning of a foot though, eh?

What I learned:

• Hisako Ogita reccomends organic powdered sugar without cornstarch as the addition of cornstarch may cause cracking. I tried to find organic cornstarch but got lazy and used what I had.
• She also had a cook time for 15-19 minutes which was waaaaay too long. And, I have since discovered that a lot of recipes recommend propping the door open with a wooden spoon. I should have known to do this…
• I think that my sugar syrup for the merengue was too hot, even though it was definitely at soft ball. Actually, I think it was past soft ball and into hard crack as the sugar had started to color. This was my first time cooking sugar in the microwave, so I think a minor adjustment in cooking time will remedy that issue.
• My batter seemed too thick as well. I am not sure how/why to fix this. If I need to fold it more? Where my eggs not large enough? So for next time I am going to measure my eggs by weight and not “three large eggs”. I did use old eggs set out at room temperature for three days, however. I might make take it a step further and leave the egg whites out overnight to let moisture evaporate.

So. Even though they are not perfect, I can see the potential glory. Fiddly and addictive. If I get these right I am going to be so happy. I wanted to make some hearts like the one’s at Williams-Sonoma, they are so glossy and beautiful. I am also thinking of filling them with a blood orange curd (gotta use up those yolks!) or a white chocolate ganache, I can’t decide. I am already looking forward to trying this again!