Vegan Macarons - Aquafaba Recipe - Black Food Bloggers Club by The Blenderist (2024)

FAQs

Why are my vegan macarons lopsided? ›

Uneven heat in the oven.

Fix: First, it can be beneficial to have more than one oven thermometer, in order to find out if your oven has any hot spots. Secondly, it's important to rotate your trays about 5 minutes into baking if your macarons are turning out lopsided.

Low oven temperature can cause hollow macarons, because the inside of the shells isn't having a chance to bake enough, so it's not drying, which will cause the shells to be hollow. Experiment with higher temperatures if you are staying on the low side, specially if your temperatures are below 300 Fahrenheit.

Depending on the intended application of your aquafaba, you may want to reduce the liquid a little to make it more potent. I find that this is especially necessary for when you intent to use it as a binder, in vegan meatballs for example.

Blanched almond flour is made with almonds that have had their skins removed, while unblanched almond flour still has the skin on. Blanched almond flour is more finely ground and gives baked goods a lighter color and texture. It's best for delicate recipes like macarons, where you want a smooth result.

Once cooled, the shells are filled with a buttercream or ganache filling. Why do macarons seem to be so expensive? Macarons are typically more expensive than other baked goods due to their labor-intensive preparation, high-quality ingredients, and delicate nature.

When aquafaba was whisked with just sugar, the liquid emulsified to form a foam, but it wasn't very stable. Within an hour, the foam started weeping liquid and began to fall apart. However, re-whipping the mixture helped bring the foam back together, and, when baked, the meringue held its shape.

Once you've filled the macarons, the moisture from the filling seeps into the shells. This is what gives macarons that deliciously chewy texture. It also helps fill that little air gap!

Aquafaba is a portmanteau of the words “aqua” and “faba” which are the Latin words for “water” and “bean” respectively. So there's your answer, bean water! When you cook beans, the cooking water absorbs some of the proteins and allows the liquid to imitate qualities of egg whites.

Surprisingly Low in Calories

Macarons can help you stay within your recommended daily calorie intake if they're eaten in moderation. A single macaron may contain less than 90 calories, and snacking on only a couple of these treats at a time shouldn't add to your waistline.

What to do with aquafaba? ›

It adds fluffy texture and structure to foods, from pancakes to mayonnaise, and is popular in vegan baked goods like cookies and cakes and pizza dough. You can even use chickpea aquafaba to make a vegan version of classic co*cktails that normally use egg whites - these will be the star of the show at any vegan party!

Aquafaba Drawbacks

Needless to say, bean water is saturated with oligosaccharides. Saponins, the part of aquafaba that is responsible for the egg white-like texture and foaming, are a toxic steroid derivatives that disrupt red blood cells. They may even contribute to development of leaky gut by damaging the gut wall.

Aquafaba will freeze well for about 3 months. You will need to defrost the Aquafaba overnight in the refrigerator before using. Always smell your Aquafaba before using it. It will smell like spoiled beans (not pleasant) if it is no longer good.

Pour the aquafaba into a mixing bowl, add the lemon juice, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt and mix with an electric hand mixer for 10 minutes until it forms peaks. It's best to set a timer for this as you can't overmix the aquafaba, but you might very well undermix it.

Uneven heat is the biggest culprit for lopsided macarons. If you have this issue, make sure to rotate the trays as they bake, so they are baking evenly on all sides. It's important to find out if your oven has any hot spots, and if the heat distribution is good.

Here are four simple things that relate to your issue, and work for me: 1) turn your convection fan off, 2) after piping on pan, lift pan a few inches above counter and drop it on the counter... twice, 3) wait 30 minutes before placing in oven, and 4) halfway through baking process turn baking sheets around.

Macaron Troubleshooting Issue #7: Why Are My Macarons Uneven? This can be caused by an uneven baking tray or mat, an oven that bakes unevenly, or from uneven piping.

The greatest point of failure when making vegan meringues is whipping, or actually not whipping the aquafaba enough. You should get to really stiff peaks. So if you are in doubt, whip a couple of minutes longer.