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Baked Brie
Melissa Clark
770 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
770
1 hour
Updated Oct. 10, 2023
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Trace your guides and prepare the baking sheets: Using a permanent marker and a bottle cap or a 1 ¼-inch-wide ring cutter, trace 23 evenly spaced circles onto a 13-by-18-inch silicone baking mat or a piece of parchment paper. (Making 3 rows of 5, separated by 2 rows of 4, allows you to stagger the 23 circles.) Repeat with a second piece of parchment or silicone baking mat, then turn both upside down and place each on a flat, rimless baking sheet (or on an upside-down rimmed baking sheet).
Grind and sift the dry ingredients: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the confectioners’ sugar, almond flour and cocoa powder, and pulse just until the mixture is a uniform color, about 8 pulses. Transfer to a medium-mesh sieve set over a large bowl; shake to sift it through, then discard any lumps.
Make the meringue: Make sure the bowl of the stand mixer is grease-free. (To clean it, you can rub the inside with the cut side of a lemon wedge.) Then combine the egg whites and salt in the bowl. Using the whisk attachment, beat the whites on medium-low speed until broken up and frothy, about 20 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high, and add the granulated sugar in a slow, steady stream. Continue to beat until the meringue has a slightly matte sheen, starts to gather inside the whisk and forms very stiff peaks, 1 to 2 minutes.
Macaronage: To the bowl with the meringue, add half of the sifted ingredients and use a large flexible spatula to fold them in, working the mixture vigorously and scraping the bottom and sides thoroughly. Add the remaining sifted ingredients and fold, using the spatula to press the mixture against the side of the bowl and making sure there are no unincorporated pockets of meringue or dry ingredients along the sides or in the bottom. You want to deflate the egg whites to create a fluid — but not liquidy — batter, a process called macaronage.
Continue to fold until the batter has lost about half its volume, is very smooth and glossy, and falls off the spatula in a steady stream, forming a ribbon that slowly oozes back onto the surface of the batter. Getting the texture right is critical, so try this test: Spoon about a teaspoon of the batter onto a plate — it should ooze slightly but hold a flat dome, and any peak should settle into the surface and disappear within 15 seconds. If it holds a peak, scrape the mixture back into the bowl and fold it a few more times, then repeat the test.
Pipe the circles: Scrape the batter into a large piping bag fitted with a medium circle pastry tip. Twist the bag to close, then, hovering the bag upright, positioning the tip about ½ inch over the surface of the parchment or baking mat in the center of a circle, apply steady pressure to the bag until the circle is filled. (The batter will continue to spread a bit.) As you lift the piping bag to move on to the next circle, make a rapid, tight circular motion to release the batter. When you have filled the first sheet of circles, firmly tap the baking sheet several times straight down on the towel-lined work surface to pop any large air bubbles, then set the first sheet aside. Pipe the remaining circles on the second sheet, then repeat the tapping motion. Use a toothpick to pop any remaining bubbles beneath the surfaces and fill in any pockmarks left by popped bubbles.
Let the batter dry slightly: Let the baking sheets sit, uncovered, at room temperature until the surfaces are matte and a thin skin has formed, 45 minutes to 1 hour, though possibly much longer if you’re working in a humid environment. To test if the shells are ready, gently touch the test batter on the plate with your fingertip. If it feels nonsticky and slightly leathery to the touch, and it doesn't indent with light pressure applied, it’s ready.
Bake and cool the shells: Arrange an oven rack in the center position and heat the oven to 300 degrees. (It's highly recommended that you use an oven thermometer to verify the true internal temperature.) Transfer one of the sheets to the oven and bake on the center rack until the shells are dry on the surfaces, a ruffled foot has formed around the bases and they stay put on the parchment or baking mat when you try to wiggle them, 16 to 22 minutes. (If you’re baking on silicone mats, the shells might take a minute or two longer, since silicone doesn’t conduct heat as well as parchment.) If you’re unsure if they’re done, bake the shells a minute or two longer, as underbaked shells might hollow out and dry shells will rehydrate during the aging process. Let the shells cool completely on the baking sheet, then carefully peel them away. In the meantime, bake and cool the second sheet. Set the shells aside, sorting them into pairs, matching up shells of similar size. If you want to bake the shells in advance, store them at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Make the ganache filling: Meanwhile, in a medium heatproof bowl, combine the chocolate, vanilla, espresso powder (if using) and salt. In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream to a gentle simmer, then set it aside to cool for about 1 minute. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate mixture and let it sit for several minutes, then whisk gently, starting in the center and working your way outward, until smooth. (If not all of the chocolate has melted, add about 1 inch of water to the saucepan, set it over medium heat, and place the bowl over top. Stir just until all of the chocolate is melted.) Let the ganache sit (off heat), whisking occasionally, until it’s thick and spreadable and holds its shape, 45 minutes to 1 hour. (To speed up this process, you can stir the ganache over an ice bath, but don’t let it get too cold or it will harden.)
Fill the macarons: Scrape the ganache into a piping bag fitted with a medium round pastry tip and twist the bag to close. Pipe a generous teaspoon of ganache onto the flat sides of half of the cooled shells, then place the remaining shells on top to create little sandwiches, pressing on the shells gently to squeeze the filling to the edges.
Age the macarons: Chill the macarons briefly to set the ganache (15 to 20 minutes), then pack them into a lidded container, cover, and refrigerate until the shells are softened and yield to the filling, at least 24 hours. Serve chilled. The macarons will keep, covered and refrigerated, up to 1 week.
Malika, I too have taken on Macaron making over the last 5 yrs. Chocolate shells are finicky. often leading to wrinkly top or sticky bottoms. I've learned to check the fat content of the cocoa powder I use: the less fat, the better in this case. I find Hershey's works the best. Also, I err on the side of less cocoa and add brown food coloring. I get pretty standard results, and if I use a strong, chocolate-flavored filling, I get consistent, tasty results with the look I want.
Watching Claire Saffitz make these leads one to think that precisely following her instructions will yield approximately similar results. But Claire is a super-experienced chef and a great presenter. Mine have never come close to the her excellence standard.Though I can watch her making these all day long.
I have had great success with Will Cotton's Parisian style lemon macaroons(NYT - 12/2005). Technique is slightly different but works amazingly well - yummy! I look forward to trying the chocolate macarons as it looks delicious!
I made these chocolate macarons as a test drive before taking on pistachio. I watched Claire's video and followed her procedures exactly. I ended up with 45 wafers instead of the 46 I needed because my test wafer was too big. I didn't have bittersweet chocolate for the ganache so used semisweet. I used Trader Joe's cocoa powder for the wafers. It was magic! My macarons came out exactly like the picture with the little ruffled feet. They tasted dreamy after aging. Thanks Claire!
What are the dimensions of a "Medium circle pastry tip"? Also, can one assume that freeze- dried raspberry powder is an acceptable alternative to whole, freeze-dried berries? Thank you, Claire, for the excellent tutorial video demonstrating each step in making macarons. You are a brilliant teacher!
these macarons are delicious, and they’re coming out almost perfectly, but the tops are a bit wrinkled. Any advice?
Help! Any advice for someone who has added ALL the dry in and sifted it only to realize the granulated sugar and salt was supposed to be reserved for whipping the egg whites to stiff peaks?? Asking for a friend… Considering adding half the granulated sugar that the recipe asks for but will the peaks get stiff enough? And what’s going to happen to the final product with the extra sugar in it? Hoping the solution isn’t to throw it away and start again because that almond flour was pricey. Blaaaahh
I did the same thing - despite reading the recipe through, I still accidentally added the granulated sugar in the dry ingredients! I ended up starting over with a new bowl of dry ingredients because I was worried the end result would not work and be too sweet, and will just try to turn my original bowl of dry ingredients into a marble cake or brownies.
I always thought that macarons were these elusive impossible dessert that could only be made by pros with stand mixers. Gave these a try after watching the video and they came out so perfectly- I was shocked!! Thank you as always Claire for making the impossible possible :)
AMAZING I’m litterally a kid and made them! My first time and soooo easy
My first batch had cracked tops - i think it’s because of air bubbles. Got them right on my second try - i whacked the tray firmly on the counter (with no kitchen towel, as she does in the video) and that did the trick.
It too me two tries but on the second try Glorious Success! (The first try was delicious but the tops wrinkled like a good brownie. They tasted like the perfect chewy brownie edges though- I'm not mad about it). For me the big difference was quitting the macaronage a smidge earlier than I had the first time- judging the batter falling off the spatula was a little tricky. Both times were in very dry conditions. One of the best things I've ever made. Thanks!
Would be nice to have some consistency with the measurements listed. The chocolate for the ganache is the only thing in oz. I made the ganache and it was way too liquidy, never set enough to be used as a filling.
I can't believe I successfully made macroons! Followed this recipe to a T and they came out great. Not as perfect as Claire's obviously but good enough that I was able to share a plate of these with family. Everyone loved them and were impressed at my first time result. This is my bible recipe for macroons from now on! Trust Claire, her recipes have never lead me astray.
I made this recipe working in grams and the ganache ended up much too thin to pipe. I used ml=g as a default for liquid ingredients, but double checked and it turns out 1/2 cup heavy cream is 112g not 120g. Apparently a big difference! I also made my own almond flour in a food processor, sieving a few times and using only the finest fraction. Worked great and is much cheaper/more available where I am.
Claire makes it look so easy, but it isn't. This was my first attempt at baking macarons and I followed all the instructions, processed the dry ingredients, beat the egg whites to a still peak, turned the bowl over , then macronage, which took some time to get right. I tested a teaspoon to see if they had enough drying time, everything checked out. Except, they turned out rather flat and crackly on top with a tiny foot and seemed done but was undercooked after 18 mins. Very disappointed.
Macarons have been on my “to conquer” list for years. I finally gathered the courage to have a go at them today. I was a little hung up on wanting to do an Italian meringue for added stability, but in the end decided to do Claire’s recipe verbatim as she has never steered me wrong and every recipe I’ve ever made of hers has ended in success. I am thrilled to say that they turned out (nearly) perfect! My two issues, easily correctable, are that I made them too big, and two have a tiny bubble.
I’ve been making macarons for about 10 years now, but I moved to high altitude about 5 years ago and have not been able to get them right since then. These turned out SO perfect! I wish I could add pictures because they are just beautiful! I think the key changes were WAY stiffer egg whites than I have ever used and food processing the dry ingredients. Welcome back to the rotation beauties!
I made these chocolate macarons as a test drive before taking on pistachio. I watched Claire's video and followed her procedures exactly. I ended up with 45 wafers instead of the 46 I needed because my test wafer was too big. I didn't have bittersweet chocolate for the ganache so used semisweet. I used Trader Joe's cocoa powder for the wafers. It was magic! My macarons came out exactly like the picture with the little ruffled feet. They tasted dreamy after aging. Thanks Claire!
What are the dimensions of a "Medium circle pastry tip"? Also, can one assume that freeze- dried raspberry powder is an acceptable alternative to whole, freeze-dried berries? Thank you, Claire, for the excellent tutorial video demonstrating each step in making macarons. You are a brilliant teacher!
These turned out beautifully! I’d never made macarons before, as they always seemed a bit intimidating. I’ve seen plenty of people have trouble with macarons turning out correctly, but I decided to give it a go after watching Claire make them. And I’m glad I did, because they’re delicious. I was able to get them to bake up with a foot and the ganache is the perfect filling. I got about 30 sandwiches out of the recipe, so I obviously couldn’t eat them all but they freeze incredibly well.
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