French Macaroon

I think the word ' flour'  is the reason for the confusion here. The almond 'flour' mentioned in your recipe is ground almonds (almond meal or almond powder) so no you cannot subsitute it with self raising flour.  Let me know us know how they turned out or if you need more advice

By definition a macaron is an almond cookie. If you sub for wheat flour, it won't taste like almond, so it's no longer a macaron. Kinda like a risotto without rice, or a guacamole without avocado.

a patissier in Paris-Ladurée.  Almonds were/are a central ingredient in the recipe,  so French Fries is right there.

That being said, there are always  different versions of original recipes- so there is no harm in trying almond subsitutes.  We tried an all coconut macaron-replacing the ground almonds with very very fine coconut- it wasn't as light as the original.  When  we left the almonds in and subsituted some with a smaller amount of coconut it did work out better.   

Before you experiment with other nuts though, I would recommend you try out your original recipe first-then you can get a feel for macarons and can iron out any problems.

good luck with them anyway, they are a fantastic thing to learn

If you are experimenting, keep in mind....any subsitute you do use has to be very fine- even  ground almonds, which are already fine, should be sieved twice before use (this was why after two attempts, the coconut macaroon using dried coconut was not repeated-it was a pain in the arse trying to get it so fine- coconut parfum all the way for me now!)

Have you ever eaten a macaron? Sounds like you've never had one before? Try them to understand what they are before you try to twist the recipe, I think. Once you try a few different types, you'll understand what role the almond has, and what role the other flavors have (hint: they're mostly for the filling).

But you are right though French Fries

Thanks cakeface. I'll be honnest, I've never attempted to make macarons - maybe one day. But I can tell you, I've eaten a whole LOT of them, with just about any filling you can think of.

Well I guess you can also make meringues without egg whites.

mgchef, are we talking about the double-cookie with filling in the center macaron? If yes, then the cookies are made with almond flour. IMO that's one of the things that defines the taste of that particular cookie. As cakeface said, the almonds are a central ingredient to the cookie. The filling can be any flavor you want, honey or whatever.

If you have the opportunity, try to do one batch of the regular recipe with almond flour, and another batch where you substitute with cake flour or AP. Then ask for someone's help and proceed to do some blind taste tests. I imagine you'll find the all-wheat macarons to be blander. In my opinion the macaron doesn't have a strong distinctive almond flour, it's more subtle, but it's still an important part of a macaron. 
Edited by French Fries - 4/7/10 at 11:37pm

Other than flavor, I don't know what "almond" flour brings to the recipe, but having read many, many recipes for macarons, I have noticed that even if they use another nut such as pistachio, the recipe only replaces some of the almond flour with finely ground and sieved pistachios.  It seems that, in my experience, almond flour is always used to some degree.

 Why bother making them? They're never going to even approach the ones you can buy. 

This is an interesting article, which includes a food-writer trying to follow a macaron recipe by a maitre-patissier:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/feb/25/macarons-pierre-herme

Neonmeatedream. 

Macarons have a reputation for being difficult, but honestly, they are not.  The ingredients and technique mentioned in the article are correct.

Looking at the picture of the macarons that the journalist created-it seems that it was her piping skills that let her down-resulting in an uneven and thick macaroon.  It is not the recipe she has to conquer-it is her technique.

Some patisseries use a template instead of piping the macarons-that way, no matter who is making them, they are always the same shape and size.

Of course, Herme is famous for the fillings that he uses with his macarons.  But again, if you have the desire to master the basic techniques and rules for making ganaches and cremes-the possibilities are endless (but being defeatist will get you no where)
Edited by cakeface - 4/10/10 at 10:54am

 

he-eats.com/2009/08/24/pierre-hermes-salted-caramel-macarons/  Here are great instructions for macarons.  Only one translation glitch - you don't need to cool the syrup to 115C before pouring it into the egg whites.

hi ! i have been making macaroon  at least 50 times  but my problem is that they r sticky o un cooked from the bottom i have tried  by increasing baking time it is overcooked i will tell u how i make

45 gm almond powder
38 gm egg white
18 gm Castor sugar
75 gm icing sugar
pinch of cream of tater
 
sift almond powder and icing sugar keep a side
start beating after little foam add pinch of cream of tarter  when half way start adding caster sugar slowly
when it is stiff then start folding almond and icing sugar  when  it is shining and thick mixture not flowy  pipe on silicon mat
keep it for 30 min when i touch it is not sticky
now on double tray i bake it on 140 c for 16 min  my oven is convection oven   fan oven
now the problem is if i increase the temp it is volcano  if i bake for little  more time it is crispy and hard
believe me  i am so disappointed  i have studied all the web site for macaroons next month we have to start selling them
with piping i have become better
i hope u under stand my problem