Comments on: Mad about Black on Black Macarons

By: Angie

Angie — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 09:52:52 +0000

Hi Karen,

Your macarons are really delish! And they all look so pretty

By: Karen

Karen — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 10:54:11 +0000

Thanks, Angie! I’m really happy you enjoyed them! There’s really nothing like a satisfied customer to make my day.

By: Ellena

Ellena — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 13:06:10 +0000

Wow… all these are so lovely.. i love those smooth and shiny top of your macaron….. I had tried thrice on making these but then non of it successful. They are always flat and hallow inside….so envy you….. Keep it up!

By: Mary

Mary — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 14:13:01 +0000

the little black macs looks absolutely yummy. Do u mind sharing a little info on what’s in the black sesame paste. Do u used the italian meringue method for all your macs.

take care

By: landa

landa — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 17:22:30 +0000

Yours look really lovely as always. I am still having issues with hollowness. I don’t know why I keep trying. I only make them for my benefit. Never planned on trying to sell them to anyone and now I am obsessed with making them perfect but I cant LOL.

By: Karen

Karen — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 07:19:42 +0000

Ellena: Thanks! Don’t give up - you’re almost there.

Mary: Thanks! It’s just ground black sesame, some icing sugar, some water to make it into a paste and a tiny amount of buttercream. Yes, I use italian meringue.

Landa: Thank you! I have that sometimes too. I suspect it may be related to the stability of the meringue, which is in turn affected by the amount of sugar and the temp at which the sugar syrup is added in. But I am not a professional baker, so I’m not entirely certain if these are the causes.

By: Ellena

Ellena — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 22:53:47 +0000

Thanks Karen… I will keep it up de…. Thanks for all the advice given.

By: Amrita

Amrita — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 12:15:49 +0000

Hey karen.

Have you any idea why macarons would be lop sided…with feet only forming on one side, and then on the other side, the battersort of gushes out, greating a weird looking feet which sticks out the sides of the macarons?

Inthe italian meringue method, does your meringue feel/resemble Marshmallow cream?Thanks…Cos normally I halve my recipe and it works. But today I did a full recipe & I faced these probs

By: Kelly-Jane

Kelly-Jane — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 19:07:09 +0000

Hi, I came to your blog via Tartlette, and what a fabulous baking blog! All your macaroons look superb, I’ve never seen anything like the black ones, and I love your raspberry and rose ones plus the ones with the apricot filling, mmm!

By: Karen

Karen — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 05:53:00 +0000

Amrita: I’m sorry that you faced this problem, but I’ve not encountered it before. I don’t know what marshmallow cream looks like, but the italian meringue is sticky like candy-floss.

Kelly-Jane: Thank you so much for your kind comments! I read Helen’s blog too and she has such pretty photos. :o)

By: small cookie

small cookie — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 02:59:52 +0000

Congrats Karen on these lovely black beauty.

By: danielle bumblebee

danielle bumblebee — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 07:16:00 +0000

madbaker

i stumbled upon ur blog today and realized that i made the EXACT same macaron this week! not as pretty maybe, but black sesame.. with that said, i felt the need to leave u a comment to share our delight for these mini delights.. u have beeeeautiful macarons.. makes me wanna fly to singapore for an order..

By: Karen

Karen — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 07:56:34 +0000

Thanks, Edith!

Thanks, Danielle! Yours look really pretty too, just different in colour. I think black sesame macarons taste just wonderful!

By: danielle bumblebee

danielle bumblebee — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 06:01:30 +0000

hey karen,

i attempted my first “real” chocolate macaron today (by real, i mean not just tossing however much cocoa powder i feel like into a regular batter) using david lebovitz’s recipe.. thing is, it turned out a lot less chocolate brown than i expected despite 3 tbs-ful of cocoa powder.. what is it that makes ur chocolate macarons look so delicously chocolatey?

also, david l’s recipe seems a lil stiffer creating crispier and harder macarons.. do u ever have that problem when making macarons?

By: Karen

Karen — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 03:35:50 +0000

Hi Danielle, I think it may be the cocoa powder you are using. I use Valrhona’s dutch processed cocoa. I’ve also tried Hershey’s natural cocoa powder - it gave lighter coloured macarons.

Crisper and harder macarons could be due to the amount of sugar in the recipe as well as the temperature at which you are baking the macarons. 375 degrees F / 180 degrees C is a little high. You might want to try lowering the temp.

By: danielle bumblebee

danielle bumblebee — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 17:04:35 +0000

thanks karen! i should try valrhona next time since i’ve heard SO much about it..

also, i really appreciate u sharing these tips with the public.. i’ve encountered many bloggers who are stingy with tips for whatever reason n it’s refreshing to know that there r those like u who r not afraid to share..

By: Marianna

Marianna — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 18:52:56 +0000

Those black macarons are so classy! I think I’d buy some and just keep them for decoration!! And eventually I’d not be able to resist and eat them…all this to say that they are GORGEOUS!

By: mad about macaron

mad about macaron — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 09:44:11 +0000

do u hold classes on making macaron?

By: janice

janice — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:43:40 +0000

your macarons look fantastic! i was wondering where can i buy Valrhona’s dutch processed cocoa from?