Macaron shells (folding and piping)

Fold the meringue into the batter in three additions with a stiff spatula: start from the centre while rotating the bowl, then smear the batter against the sides to remove large air bubbles.

Add the second part, then fold in the last part with extreme care so the batter is neither liquid nor too stiff.

Keep the batter slightly stiff at first, then mix a little more until it reaches the ribbon stage: it flows slowly off the spatula like lava. Overmixed, liquid batter makes flat, cracked or burst shells.

Fit a 9 mm round tip into a large piping bag (about 55 to 60 cm), push the bag into the tip and cut the end.

Fill the bag only half full using a scraper, push the batter toward the tip and twist the empty end; an overfilled bag is hard to pipe and hand warmth liquefies the batter.

Place a silicone sheet (or high-quality parchment) over a stencil of circles drawn on parchment with a pencil and a round cutter.

Hold the bag straight, the tip 0.5 to 1 cm above the tray; pipe until the size is right, stop pushing and twist away.

If the shells do not smooth out on their own, tap the tray a little.

Remove the stencil and leave the shells to dry and form a skin 20 to 30 minutes, with the room above 20 degrees Celsius and humidity not very high.