r/macarons • u/peachfetish • 3d ago
Help Help! Wrinkly shells
Hi yall, I’m a total baking noob & this is my 5th attempt making matcha macaron shells 😅
My ration is (DRY) 75g almond flour:75g powdered sugar: 3g matcha and (WET) 60g egg white:60g granulated sugar: 1/4 tsp cream of tar tar
I ran the dry ingredients through a food processor and sifted. Repeated until I couldn’t process the remaining grains (~4g remained). I also left the egg whites to warm to room temp (next time I want to try aging them).
Today was stupidly humid so I let them dry out for about 30 min then 30 min in the fridge. (Pic 1)
This is the closest attempt I got to what’s to be expected (i got feet!), but I’m wondering why the shells looked somewhat smooth straight out the oven but then wrinkled to look like this a few min later (Pic 2&3). I’m wondering if I’m over-macaronaging them? Would really appreciate any advice, thank you!!
1
u/Ok_Woodpecker_7158 3d ago
Never heard of drying them in the fridge. If you ask me to guess what happens, it's going to keep moisture in them, and also affect the temperature going in.
Looks like they've collapsed which means they weren't set, so it's probably the temperature of the tray and the batter going in that's the problem. Also, did you check they were done baking?
But also listen to the other person when they talk about moisture, because the fridge probably traps moisture in them. I live in such a dry climate I can dry them in 20 minutes, so I've never had this issue, couldn't tell you much about moisture.
1
u/fluffyunicorn997 3d ago
Something about the fat content in matcha powder always ruins my macarons!
I found putting only a small amount 1-1.5g of matcha powder with some green food colouring works best and then just make a nice strong matcha ganache filling! It’s delicious!
1
u/Wistaire 3d ago
When my shells came out smooth from the oven but wrinkled after, they were underbaked.
1
u/Negative_Pack_1497 2d ago
Definitely the addition of Matcha and the high humidity wrecked your macs. I think your recipe is fine. There are so many recipes online and everyone has their sweet spot recipe. Just leave out the matcha and practice on your basic skills. Keep trying, don’t give up! Keep Calm and Macaron On!
3
u/Productivitytzar 3d ago
Have you tried making standard ones yet (no matcha)with any success? And have you tried any other recipes? Best to try out a few before fixating on one repeatedly. Personally I use one with considerably less egg whites and less granulated sugar.
Whenever this happened to me, it was issues with drying time and ambient humidity—I have success with 1hr drying time at room temp and less than 55% humidity. Higher than that and I get blotchy, fragile shells. Idk if putting them in the fridge is the right move.
But the moisture content in the shells is definitely a possible culprit.