Crisp, delicate and slightly chewy macaron shells filled with a sweet, fragrant earl grey buttercream. These macarons are the perfect with a cup of coffee or tea!

Earl grey is one of those flavours that pairs amazingly with desserts because of its fruity and floral nature. So why not use this elegant flavour in an elegant dessert! These macarons are crisp and slightly chewy with a smooth French buttercream flavoured with earl grey.

For those of you that aren't following me on Instagram I hold a weekly baking QnA. You can ask me any problems you have been having with your baking and I try my best to answer as many as I can. From the questions I noticed that the majority of questions seem to be directed towards macarons. Macarons are definitely a finicky dessert and can be hard to perfect, so here is another macaron recipe with a compilation of frequently asked macaron questions!

Earl Grey Buttercream filled French Macarons

The Guide to Perfect Macarons

If you are looking for a definitive guide to help you master your macarons I have an ebook which outlines the steps to make French and Italian macarons in detail. It includes photographic steps as well as a guide to the best ingredients and equipment needed to get that perfect macaron!

Click here to check it out!

Frequently Asked Macaron Questions

How do I get macarons to be even and the same size?

The best way to make sure all your macarons are even and the same size is to use a template. All you have to do is place the template under you sheet of baking paper and pipe up to the lines. I have a template in this blog post here!

Also piping on a level flat surface is important. If your surface isn't level the macaron batter can spread unevenly.

Why are my macarons chewy?

Macarons can be chewy for a couple of reasons:

The batter has been over-mixed
- Over-mixing the batter knocks out the air created when whipping the meringue. Watching a couple of macaron making videos should help you understand the consistency needed.
The shells have been over-baked
- The moisture has been baked out of the shells causing them to be crisp and chewy

Why are my macarons cracked?

Macarons will crack if there is too much air in them. The air rises to the surface of the macaron during baking and causes the top to rupture. A couple of tips to reduce air bubbles are:

Make sure to fold your batter enough. Under-mixing the batter means there are more air-bubbles that can rise to the surface of the shell.
Once you have piped your macarons give the tray a tap on your work surface. This should pop any air bubbles near the surface.
Use a toothpick to pop any visible air bubbles on the surface of your piped batter.

Why are my macarons hollow?

Meringue was over-whipped
- Over-whipping the meringue causes the shells to rise more than usual during baking, creating the hollow.
Batter was under-mixed
- Not enough air deflated when mixing.
The macaron shells were under baked
- The shell structure hadn't set properly before removing the shells from the oven.

Why are my macarons crunchy?

The macarons were over-baked!
- Macarons are done when they barely wiggle on the baking paper, at that point you can take them out of the oven

How do I make my macarons have a smooth surface?

There are a couple of factors to keep in mind.

If your almond meal and icing sugar hasn't been sieved enough it can cause bumpy shells
- This is as the particles are not fine enough, causing them to show up on the shell. To fix this simply sieve your almond meal and icing sugar 2-3 times. Or process them together in a food processor to break down the particle size.
If the batter is under-mixed
- Under-mixed macaron batter will not smooth out evenly when piped, causing the shell to be more bumpy
If you added different powders e.g. cocoa powder, matcha powder
- As these powders interact differently to almond meal it can cause changes in the consistency of the batter.

I find that Italian macarons have a much smoother finish than French ones. If you are looking to get a super smooth surface I recommend trying an Italian macaron recipe!

Why don't my macarons have feet?

The feet on macarons are the characteristic trait, but also very hard to perfect. Any problem in the process of making macarons can cause the feet not to form. The two biggest factors are:

Over-mixing the batter
- Over-mixing deflates the air in the batter. Without air the batter isn't able to rise and form the feet
The shells hadn't been dried enough
- Drying the shells is an important step. The skin that forms during the drying process will bake up while the feet form underneath. If a skin hasn't formed properly it will have difficulty rising with a distinct foot.
- Make sure that the macarons are dry to the touch before baking.

Let's Get Baking

I hope that I was able to answer some of your questions about making macarons. I know there is probably a never-ending list of answers that you guys would like. If I'm missing anything drop me a comment down below and I'll try my best to answer them!

These earl grey macarons are one of my favourite flavours because of how balanced they are. The sweet, floral and fruity! You'll love them 🥰

If you liked this recipe make sure to leave me a comment and rating down below, I would love to know how you went.

Also, don't forget to tag me on Instagram @catherine.desserts and hashtag #cattycakes so I can see and share your desserts. Follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube, and TikTok for more of my baking creations and updates! Until next time... happy baking!

📖 Recipe

Earl Grey Macarons

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Crisp, delicate and slightly chewy macaron shells filled with a sweet, fragrant earl grey buttercream. These macarons are the perfect with a cup of coffee or tea!

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 12 1x

Ingredients

Scale

Macaron Shells

50 g Almond meal
45 g Icing sugar
37 g Egg whites
37 g White sugar

Earl Grey Buttercream

1 Egg yolk
20 g White sugar
25 g Milk
1 Earl grey tea bag
85 g Unsalted butter

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Instructions

Macaron Shells

In a medium sized bowl sieve the almond meal and powdered sugar together
If there are large chunks of almond meal remaining in the sieve dispose of them
In a large clean bowl add the egg whites, and using an electric mixer beat until foamy
Slowly add the sugar and beat until stiff peaks
Add your food colouring of choice and beat until well distributed
Fold the sieved almond meal and powdered sugar into the meringue in 2-3 additions, scraping around the bowl and down the centre
Once all folded in, press the batter around the bowl and before folding it into the centre
Continue until you notice that the lines that form when the batter falls back into the bowl slowly start to disappear
Transfer to a piping bag with a round tip and pipe out 1.5inch circles
Allow to dry for 1-2 hours
Bake in a preheated oven at 140°C for 10-15 minutes (I find that it's usually done at 13, but it depends on your oven so make sure to check! If you give your macarons a wiggle they shouldn't be moving, that's when they're ready)
Remove from oven and let cool

Earl Grey Buttercream

Combine the earl grey tea leaves and milk in a small saucepan, heat until steaming
In a medium sized bowl beat the egg yolk with sugar, then slowly add the heated milk/tea
Transfer the yolk/milk mixture back to the saucepan
Heat stirring often until the mixture has thickened
Remove from heat and allow to cool
Once cooled add the room temperature butter and beat until light and silky
Transfer to a piping bag
Match similar sized macaron shells with each other
On the flat side of one shell pipe a blob of buttercream
Top with a matching shell
Place in airtight container in the fridge for a day to mature (gives deeper flavour and chewy texture!)