mac Archives • Cooking on Caffeine

Why are my macarons burning on the bottom? Learn why the bottoms burn, and easy ways to fix it.

Burning Bottoms

Your oven is spot on, you’ve confirmed it with eight different thermometers. The meringue was perfect. Your macaronage is on point. but your macs are spreading and coming out crispy and brown and burnt!

What the heck?!

Ask yourself these questions:

Macaron Pans

What color is your pan?

Dark, heavy pans (like many used in Germany!) hold on to heat. Imagine talking a walk on a sunny day in a black t-shirt. Like you, your macs are going to feel a lot more toasty than what the thermometer says!

Most (dare I say all?) macaron recipes are written for shiny silver colored aluminum pans.

Aluminum pans (like these) conduct heat efficiently. The only way they’ll burn your macs is if you have them too close to the bottom heating element.

So is all lost if you only have dark colored pans?

NO!

Just turn your oven temperature down about 10-15°F to account for it and you should be fine! AND! This goes for all the recipes you make with it, not just macarons. You’ll experience a lot more success this way in all your baking ventures!

Macaron Mats

What kind of mat are you using?

Silpat style mats (like these) are what I prefer to use because the macarons hold their shape (on parchment, they go kind of oblong).

These mats also protect your macarons a bit from the heat on the bottom. My macaron recipe is written for these mats, but you can totally adjust for parchment if that’s what you’ve got!

Parchment paper: if you’re using parchment paper and your macarons are burning on the bottom, adjust your oven temperature about 5°F lower.

Using a dark pan with parchment paper? Just add the degrees together! Lower the temp 15-20°F and you should be good!

Thick silicone mats (like these) can either hold on to heat or shield heat depending on their color. Darker = hotter. Play with the temp accordingly and find your sweet spot.

Personally, I hate these mats so much. Lol. But my friend Eggless French Mac Master Deepa Jha uses them like a pro, so I suppose all hope is not lost. 🤪

Teflon and copper mats (like these) transfer heat more like parchment paper, so try turning the thermostat down a few degrees if you use them.

BONUS: Two More Things to Try

Are the bottoms of your macarons still burning even though you’re using silpat style silicone mats and a silver aluminum tray? Here are some things you can try:

Double up your pans! You can stack a second pan and it will help shield the macs’ bottoms from the heat while the rest can still bake nicely.

Raise the rack! If the heat in your oven comes from bottom coils, you can try baking the macs in the middle or even upper rack. Just don’t put them too close to the top of the oven or they might not get enough air circulation to dry out properly.

That’s it for today! Hopefully these tips will help you in your baking adventures!!

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Do you have any other tips? Share them in the comments below!