Silpat Fail

Here I thought using Silpats would be awesome. Giant fail:

At first, I thought it was that I over stirred the macronage. While that may have been a bit of the problem, it was truly that I needed to use parchment paper...and a scale... *sigh* Oh, and the humidity - it seems like it's been raining non stop for two months. Why, fates, why!

First version two months ago.

I will say, meringue is pure happiness. I could eat vats of it every day. As I licked the bowl and ate my flat almond discs, I emailed Joe Pastry for some Silpat help:

My guess is that the silpat is serving as an insulator, causing the macarons to heat more slowly. Trying increasing your heat by 25 degrees or so and see what happens. 

But if it's any comfort, I feel your pain. My last batch of macarons was a flop. I got too darn cocky and blew it. That'll learn me!

Soldier on, baker!

So, while the tres leches cake sets in the fridge instead, I will plan to bake this weekend as I will not be running thanks to my internal issues. 

parchment. check!

almonds. check!

sanity. bah!