Macaronage
/mah-kah-roh-NAHZH/
Macaronage is the defining stage of macaron making: folding almond flour and icing sugar into meringue while deliberately deflating the foam — but only just enough. Stop too early and the shells bake lumpy with no feet; go too far and they spread into flat, hollow discs. The famous test is batter flowing like slow lava.
Builds on
What it is
Everywhere else in pastry, folding is about protecting air; macaronage inverts the rule. The baker folds and presses the batter against the bowl on purpose, knocking out part of the meringue's air to loosen it to a precise consistency. It's a controlled demolition: enough air must go for the batter to flow and settle smooth, but enough must remain to lift the shells and form their ruffled feet.
Why it matters
Nearly every macaron failure traces back to this stage. Under-mixed batter holds too much air — shells bake with peaks, rough tops and cracks. Over-mixed batter has lost its structure — shells spread thin, bake hollow, and the feet splay outward instead of rising. The margin between the two is a handful of strokes, which is exactly why macarons have their fearsome reputation.
Reading the batter
Experienced bakers stop by sight, not by count. Properly macaronaged batter falls from the spatula in a thick, continuous ribbon and melts back into the mass slowly — the classic 'lava' or 'ribbon' stage; a figure-eight drawn with the falling ribbon should just barely hold before sinking in. If the ribbon breaks into plops, keep going gently; if it vanishes instantly, it's already too far, and there's no way back.
Related terms
Frequently Asked Questions
What is macaronage?
It's the folding stage of macaron making, where almond flour and icing sugar are folded into meringue while deliberately deflating some of its air. The goal is a batter loose enough to settle smooth but strong enough to rise with feet — the balance that makes or breaks macarons.
How do I know when macaronage is done?
Watch the batter, not the clock. It should fall from the spatula in a slow, unbroken ribbon that melts back into the surface gradually — often described as flowing lava. If it drops in thick blobs it needs more folding; if it disappears into the mass instantly, it's over-mixed.
Why are my macarons hollow or cracked?
Both usually point at macaronage. Cracked, peaked shells suggest under-mixing — too much air left in the batter. Hollows and flat, spread shells suggest over-mixing — the structure that should hold the crumb has been folded away. Humidity compounds everything, which makes monsoon-season macarons especially unforgiving.
Tastethetechnique
Everything in our kitchen is baked fresh to order — eggless and vegan variants available.