So that header picture is not actually of my macarons because mine did not turn out as I had hoped. Macarons were one of my favorite treats prior to switching to a vegan diet and I’ve been really noticing their absence from my life. So I decided I 100% wouldn’t have an issue making some really heavenly-tasting macarons and had truly envisioned myself whipping up some Ladurée level desserts. You could say I had high expectations for myself. But I know admitting failure is admirable so I’m ok with saying I royally screwed up and disgraced the art of macaron making (see: Snapchat story below).
The use of chickpea water as an egg replacement was first discovered 2 years ago by Goose Wohlt, a software engineer, who was looking for a way to make a meringue comparable to the non-vegan options. After posting a video online discussing his revelation, the vegan world exploded. Since then, it’s been used in various foods, from mayonnaise to pancakes and even macarons. Aquafaba, the term coined by Wohlt for the chickpea juice, is able to mimic the qualities of eggs because of its viscous blend of protein and starches. This allows it to remain as a foam for longer than other attempts at egg replacements. And, if you’re looking for inspiration on what to make with your leftover chickpeas, I made Niomi Smart’s Friday Night Curry from her Eat Smart cookbook. It was super flavorful and easy to make!
For my attempt at tasting vegan French heaven, I give myself an A+ for taste because guys, seriously, these are yummy. You do not even get the slightest chickpea flavor, which I admit I was a bit worried about. They’re so good, my roommates and I have just been eating the failed attempt as is.
That being said, I do get a solid F for appearance. I think the big issue for me was figuring out the temperature I should bake them at and for how long. The recipe from The Blenderist that I had followed recommended setting your oven to 210F for baking but my oven only goes as low as 310F. For the first batch, I tried baking my macarons for a less amount of time than suggested in the recipe but they didn’t cook all the way through and turned out gooey. I then tried to learn from my mistake and ended up way overcooking the next batch. I’ve heard that it takes time to master the right way to bake macarons, so obviously I just need more practice before I become a pro. But honestly, this was tiring and I need some time to regain my confidence before I take this on again.
However, if you are feeling brave, I would definitely recommend this recipe! I’ve changed a few things from The Blenderist’s recipe and have discussed my experience through each step below.
Aquafaba Vegan Macarons
Ingredients
Instructions
Drain the water from a large can of chickpeas into a small sauce pan. Simmer the water until it reduces a little and somewhat resembles egg whites. Let it cool to room temperature.
Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar into a large bowl. Then whisk it to make sure it’s evenly blended.
Separate half of your aquafaba and pour it into your flour mixture. Mix well with a rubber spatula. You can add food coloring to your aquafaba before mixing it if you would like. I instead decided to heat up some raspberries in a small pot with water to get both the flavor and a bit of color to add. The color, however, was not as strong as food coloring would be.
In a small sauce pan, combine the sugar and water and bring to a boil. The temperature of the mixture is supposed to be 245F, but I didn’t have a thermometer so I was just hoping for the best. Maybe that’s why I failed…
While the sugar is heating up, start whipping the remaining aquafaba with an electric mixer on medium-high speed. I don’t own an electric mixer so originally planned to just whip it with my own manpower and a whisk. But then my friend offered to let me borrow his handheld electric mixer and let me tell you, I’m not sure I would have made it to the end without it. There’s a lot of whipping required in this recipe and I know people have been whipping things for years prior to the invention of electric mixers, but I don’t think they were making macarons. So if you can find an electric one, I highly recommend.
Once the sugar is heated, pour it into the aquafaba and mix for 8 – 10 minutes. It was after this step that I did a little taste test and knew that even if they looked ugly, they would taste awesome.
Pour your meringue into your flour mixture and stir until evenly mixed. The mixture should fall off your spatula in thick ribbons (not sure why mine looked quite like this so that also may be why I failed).
Pour your mixture into a pastry or plastic bag with a 1/2u0022 tip. Squeeze the batter into 1.5u0022 circles. You’ll want to remove any air bubbles by lightly hitting the tray against the table.
Let the macarons sit for an hour or so. They will be ready to bake when you can touch them gently without them sticking to your finger (I literally just realized I missed this step completely, so again, maybe that’s why I failed).
Preheat the oven to 210F. Let the macarons bake for 30 minutes. Then turn off the heat and let them sit in the oven with the door closed for 15 minutes. Then crack open the door and let them sit for another 15 minutes. After taking them out, leave them on the parchment paper to cool. Below, you will find a stunning picture of my gooey first batch.
Repeat the process for as many batches as you need. I had 2 batches of 21 each, but I think my circles were a bit large. And below, you will notice the oversized circles in my borderline-burnt second batch. I promise they taste better than they look.
Once they’ve cooled, you can match them up based on size. You can make a chocolate ganache or vegan buttercream to put in the middle. My plan was to melt chocolate chips with some raspberries and a bit of vegan butter for thickness and spread the mixture in the middle for some chocolate raspberry goodness. But since mine didn’t turn out successfully, I never got to this stage.
If you made it this far and ended up with real macarons, enjoy!