Learn how to make macaron shells using the Italian meringue method! This method consistently leads to beautiful, full macaron shells perfect for filling with your favorite flavors.

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I’ve made hundreds of macarons using all 3 methods – Italian, Swiss, and French. The Italian method is my favorite and I’m excited to share it with you!

What’s the difference between Italian vs Swiss vs French macarons?

There are 3 different methods for making macarons – Italian, Swiss, and French. The differences between the methods primarily lies in how you make the meringue.

They all lead to delicious macaron shells and most bakers will land on a method that personally works best for them. For me, this is the Italian method because it produces a stable meringue and is very precise. I find that my shells turn out fuller and fluffier than if I use other methods.

Italian macaron method

Pros: Produces a more stable meringue and is very precise

Cons: Requires a food thermometer to heat up the sugar syrup

For the Italian method, you heat up sugar syrup to ~240F and trickle it into egg whites to create the meringue.

For some bakers, heating up the sugar syrup can feel like overkill but I like the precision of it. It takes out any guesswork and helps me consistently make great macarons.

Swiss macaron method

Pros: Produces a more stable meringue, does not require a food thermometer

Cons: Requires heating up egg whites and sugar in a double boiler, which can be hard to do for larger quantities

For the Swiss method, you heat up the egg whites and sugar together in a double boiler. Once the sugar dissolves, you beat the mixture to create the meringue.

This method is fairly similar to the Italian method, and you can use food thermometer as well to monitor the temperature of the sugar and egg white mixture. But for some reason my Italian macarons turn out better so that’s the method I choose to use.

French macaron method

Pros: Simplest method

Cons: Produces a less stable meringue

For the French method, you whip up the egg whites and slowly add sugar to create a meringue. This is the simplest because it does not require heating anything. However, the meringue is less thick and less stable.

The French method is very hit or miss for me. It works very well when I’m at my parent’s home and I get to use their nice oven. But in my rented apartments, the results are all over the place

These mocha macarons are made using the French method!

How to make Italian meringue macarons

There are 6 overall steps when making macarons using the Italian method:

1. Prep work to maximize chance of success
2. Create an almond paste by mixing together egg white, powdered sugar, and almond flour
3. Make an Italian meringue, which involves whisking a hot sugar syrup into egg whites
4. Fold the meringue into the almond paste in the “macaronage” step
5. Pipe & rest
6. Bake!

Let’s go through each of these steps with tips and tricks so you can make perfect Italian macarons!

Prep work to do before making macarons

There are a couple of things that I like to do at the very start of a macaron baking session. These things help maximize chance of success and keeps me organized.

1. Wipe down all of your baking utensils, bowls, and silicone mats with vinegar or lemon juice. The acid helps remove any traces of fat or water that would interfere with the meringue
2. Mise en place aka weigh out all of your ingredients ahead of time

Make the almond paste

The almond paste is the simplest part of making Italian macarons! You just mix together the almond flour, powdered sugar, and half of the egg whites until a paste forms.

It will look very thick and chunky at first, but smooth out into a thick, peanut butter-like consitency.

Make the Italian meringue

Your Italian meringue is the foundation for your macarons, so it’s important to get this step right! A soupy meringue will lead to flat, spread out macarons, and an overbeaten meringue will lead to cracked shells.

1. Mix together water and sugar and heat to 244F
2. While the water and sugar are heating, beat the remaining eggs white until they hold a soft peak. There should be many small, clustered bubbles. It’s very important for the egg whites to have reached soft peak state. Otherwise, the meringue will be very soft and soupy.
3. While the stand mixer is running, pour the heated sugar syrup down the sides of the bowl into the egg white
4. Continue beating on high speed until the meringue forms a stiff peak.

How can I tell when my meringue is at stiff peaks?

Here are some signs that your Italian meringue has reached stiff peaks:

1. When you take the whisk out of the meringue, the peaks that form do not droop, but hold their shape
2. You can turn the bowl upside down without the meringue fall out
3. The meringue will “clump” more around the whisk rather than the outside of the bowl

Once you’ve reached stiff peaks it’s time to stop. Overbeating the meringue can lead to excess air in the batter and cracked shells

Macaronage

This step is probably the trickiest for beginners, as it can take a few repeated attempts to understand when your batter has been folded enough.

The purpose of the macaronage stage is to remove the right amount of air from the batter so that it reaches the correct consistency to produce a perfect macaron. By perfect macaron, we’re talking about fairly full shells, feet, and a smooth top.

1. Start by folding the meringue into the almond paste in thirds, making sure that the paste and meringue are incorporated well each time
2. Continue folding the batter and squashing out the air. You do not need to be gentle at this point because you are actively trying to remove air
3. Periodically check the consistency of the batter and be careful not to overmix

Tips for knowing when you’re done with macaronage

The number 1 question I had when first making macarons was “How do I know when to stop folding the batter?” You’ll develop the sense over time, but here are tips to help you check the consistency:

1. The batter should flow with the consistency of lava e.g. flowing smoothly but slowly
2. When you spoon out batter with your spatula, it should fall off in steady, slow stream. I like to do the “figure 8” test where you should be able to draw a figure 8 with the stream of batter. If it’s falling off in clumps, then you need to keep going. If it’s going too quickly for you to draw a figure 8, then you might have overmixed the batter

Piping and resting macarons

For piping, I like to use a large pastry bag with the tip cut off to create an 1/2 inch-wide opening. You can pipe on to either parchment paper or silicone mats. I actually find that parchment paper gives me fuller shells, but silicone mats are more convenient so I tend to use those.

When making macarons, I flip the tray upside down so that the bottom is facing up. This helps air flow more evenly over the macarons, since it’s not blocked by the edges of the tray.

After piping, I bang the macarons against the counter to remove excess air. I also use toothpick to gently pop any air bubbles under the surface. You can identify air bubbles by a slight bump and translucence in the surface of the macaron shell.

Finally, it’s important to let the macarons rest for 20 min to 1 hour until a skin forms. This helps prevent cracking in the oven.

How can you tell when a skin has formed on macarons?

Here are some signs that skins have formed on your macaron shells and they are ready for baking:

1. They look matte rather than glossy. Rather than the glossy sheen of fresh batter, they should look more dull and matte
2. You can gently touch them with your finger without batter sticking. Once the macarons have formed skins, you should be able to lightly touch them without any batter sticking to your fingers

The timing varies depending on how dry your baking environment is. Sometimes, I find it helps to set up a fan if it’s a particularly humid day.

Baking macarons

Macarons are very temperature sensitive, so I like to use an oven thermometer to make sure I’m in the correct temperature range. I also let my oven run through a few cycles of heating and cooling, as I find this stabilizes the temperature range.

Once the macarons are done baking, let them cool completely before removing from the tray.

How can you tell when macarons are done baking?

I like to do the wiggle test to see if my macarons are done baking. I gently hold the macarons shell between two fingers and wiggle back and forth. If it wiggles, then the shells need more bake time.

How can oven temperature and bake time impact macarons?

• A too high oven temperature can lead to cracked shells
• A too low oven temperature can lead to no feet forming
• A too long bake time can lead to dry, crispy, brown shells
• A too short bake time can lead to thin, translucent shells that sink in slightly in the middle

What are helpful tools for making Italian macarons?

The right tools can help you be more precise and set you up for macaron success!

• Baking scale – Macarons are very finicky so you want to be precise and bake in grams rather than cups / tablespoons. I strongly recommend using a food scale to measure out your ingredients. I have this food scale which has worked well for many years.
• Food/oven thermometer – You’ll need a food thermometer for making the sugar syrup and an oven thermometer to check the temperature of your oven before baking. I like to use the ThermaPro probe thermometer because it can cover both of my bases
• Silicone baking mats – Silicone mats are not required, but they are helpful and convenient. I like to get ones with macaron stencils to help with piping
• Stand or hand mixer – Having an electronic mixer will help a lot with whisking the meringue. Personally I’ve never made a meringue manually!