This is my 4th batch of macarons in maybe the past 2-3 weeks. First batch was over-macronaged, second batch was perfect as far as I could tell, and batches 3-4 now all have these craters. Batch 4 craters were worse than 3. I keep practicing because I want to be more confident in knowing how to produce a consistent result.
[Imgur album with more pictures and a video of my batter when I stopped macronage.](https://imgur.com/a/cJIPKuR)
My questions are as follows:
– How do you find air bubbles? I look for rounded bumps or darker spots. Darker spots are 50/50 because sometimes it’s just a dark fleck from the almond flour.
– How do you fill the popped bubbles in?
– Are the craters a sign of under-macronage? I think it might be. I mixed Batch 1 until I got a figure 8, but that was too much. Batch 2, I stopped when the edges of a folded ribbon were visible but not sharply defined after 10-15 seconds. I got this advice from a YouTube video I can no longer find. “Lava” means nothing to me because unfortunately I’ve never seen lava in real life (or tried manipulating it with a spatula).
– My piping bag “farts” when piping sometimes. (Sorry I don’t know how else to describe it! Haha) Occasionally mid-shell it’ll puff out air. I KNOW this can’t be good, but I don’t know how to fix since I’m already neatly scraping/pressing down the batter in the bag like I’ve seen Claire Saffitz do when she pipes. Could I be filling the bag incorrectly from the start?
Other helpful info:
– I use indulge with Mimi’s recipe
– I wipe down my bowl with white vinegar every time I start
– I weigh all ingredients except for cream of tartar by grams
– I don’t press anything through the sifter. If it doesn’t fit, I dump and add more to reach weight
– Batch 4 egg whites were room temp. Other times I’ve aged them or started with cold egg whites and I still always get a stiff merengue
– I’ve had success baking at 310F for 14 ish minutes. Take them out when I can try wiggling the top without it really moving
– Humidity has been all over the place for each batch, but hasn’t really affected by ability to form a stiff merengue or the shells’ ability to form a skin.
Thank you and happy baking everyone!
by polishedbadass