1

My absolute favorite things to bake are French macarons. I make them for family gatherings, potlucks, or just to give to my public library. A huge issue, however, is that often times I just make them at home for my family, but my mom is allergic to eggs, so she can never eat them. For a while I've wanted to find an alternative to egg whites for the meringue. I found out about chickpea water (Aquafaba) and other legumes, and started to plan getting those and making meringue using Aquafaba. But then I ran into another issue. My mom told me how she's allergic to not only chickpeas, but ALL legumes. Now I am completely lost on how to make macarons for her.

I thought about whipping up heavy whipping cream into hard peaks (assuming it could function the same as meringue). You're whipping air into something and I thought that's the most important part of macarons. Does anyone know if this works or does anyone think I should try using heavy whipping cream?

Finally, is there anything other than legumes that I could use in place of egg whites in meringue? A reply would be greatly appreciated.

Improve this question
5
  • Maybe change the title to "lacto-vegetarian"...
    – rackandboneman
    Jun 22, 2017 at 23:52
  • I thought I found a recipe, but the foaming agent is soy-derived, so no-go. Still, here's a list of edible cooking foams that might provide some leads? molecularrecipes.com/culinary-foams-class/ingredients-foams
    – kitukwfyer
    Jun 23, 2017 at 0:08
  • There's this, which certainly helps introduce air. Its made from whey protein apparently.. msk-ingredients.com/hyfoamer-200g
    – Doug
    Jun 23, 2017 at 6:05
  • 1
    I think that whipped cream will simply deflate upon heating. I do see some references to successful use of the "ground flaxseed and water" or "mucilage boiled off whole flaxseeds and strained" vegan egg replacement in a whipped role, but those indicate that it won't hold up when heated.
    – Ecnerwal
    Jun 27, 2017 at 2:55
  • I was going to suggest a youtube recipe that looked promising, but it uses Versawhip, which includes soy. Maybe you can use that as a starting point in combination with zetaprime's answer.
    – Erica
    Oct 10, 2018 at 13:45

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

I believe you can use sun-flower lecithin (make sure you don't get soy-lecithin) as the foaming agent, optionally together with xanthan gum some or some other thickener to get the desired thickness you want.

You'll need to beat the lecithin+water+sugar until it gets foamy. And then fold in the almond flour.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.