This is my second time trying to bake macarons, the first time they didn’t have any cracks on the top but now they do, is it to do with the oven temperature or if there is a hot spot in my oven?

Hello! My name is Tracey. I’m from the midwest and found my love of macaron at a patisserie downtown Chicago about 20 years ago. I tried making them from a recipe once and of course, knowing nothing about nothing, they were a giant flop. But I kept thinking about them so my husband and I did a cooking class at Sur La Table and I finally learned to make them. I did french meringue for the longest time but this past summer started doing Swiss meringue. I made macaron for my daughter’s wedding and they were lovely. I tried doing Italian meringue this weekend and what a disaster! I joined this group to perfect my recipe, get ideas, and talk shop with fellow macaron bakers. Also, one of my daughters opened a bakery and I would love to bake some for her shop. Thank you for welcoming me here!

Hello! I just leveled up and got the recipe. It says to bring sugar to 118C and then start whisking the egg whites. So this means the hot sugar syrup is being mixed into the eggs without whipping them first? I’ve wasted so many eggs trying to get Italian meringue to turn out that I just want to be sure I’m doing it right. Thanks!