How long and how can I hold meringue before macaronage?
I have high hopes (I always do) for my next batch of macarons. I've decided to do lemon and lime. I want to do half lemon, half lime.
My stand mixer isn't perfect, I fear that it won't perfectly whip a small batch of egg whites (so I don't want to halve the recipe), yet I want two distinct colors of cookie. I'm doing the same with the filling, but that's easy.
So, my thought is to whip up all of the meringue with yellow and then do the macaronage with half of the meringue. As those are baking, I'll add green to the meringue left in the mixer, briefly whip that, and then do the macaronage on that half. Between the two sessions of macaronage and piping, I suspect I'll want a break.
Can I do that? Is two hours too long? Should I cover it in the meantime? Any other hints or caveats?
BTW, I don't intend to flavor the cookie part at all (or very subtly with lemon oil); the lemon and lime flavor will be pronounced in the filling.
Best Answer
I suspect you'll be fine. I often do simple unfilled baked meringue cookies and at least some of the recipes suggest letting them stand for several hours before baking. I've tried it both ways and notice little difference - but assuming your macaron cookie part includes a substantial amount of sugar, my evidence says it should be very stable for the course of a couple of hours.
Pictures about "How long and how can I hold meringue before macaronage?"
How long should I whip my meringue for macarons?
Whipping the perfect meringue for macarons Once you identify this stage, you can start raising speed to medium-high which would be a speed 6 or 8 on the KitchenAid. Then whip the meringue until stiff peaks are formed. This can take anywhere from 5 to 7 minutes.When should you stop Macaronage?
Q: When should I stop folding? A: You want to see a batter that is starting to look flowy and shiny. There should also be an absence of big air pockets when you press down on the batter. Ensure that the batter passes the "Figure-8" test which you can see here.How long does it take to get stiff peaks for macarons?
I continued to see how long it would take to stiffen. It took about 15 mins and my macarons came out extremely full!How do you stabilize French meringues?
It is optional, but a pinch of cream of tartar or a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar are often added here. These acidic ingredients, though not absolutely necessary, will lower the ph and in turn strengthen the proteins and create a more stable meringue.MACARONAGE technique in REAL TIME - Master Your Macarons Series, Part 1
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Images: Nurlan Tortbayev, Dids, Mikhail Nilov, Mikhail Nilov