Episode Details

Can you put edible glitter on macarons before baking? Yes, and before is the better moment. Decorating guidance is consistent on this: the dense piped batter holds glitter applied before baking, and the shimmer bakes in. A freshly piped shell is wet, which is the only condition this powder ever needs, so you pipe, you dust, you rest, and the shells go into the oven already finished. The oven is not a risk — the mineral the powder is built on melts at around 3000 degrees Celsius. Doing it afterwards is where people lose a batch. To get dust onto a baked shell you have to bring tack back to a surface that has none, and the carrier for that has to be a high-proof clear alcohol that flashes off, not water: water soaks into a macaron shell and softens it. That is the same family of mistake as using water on dried royal icing, which pits, while water is exactly right on dried fondant. Three surfaces, three answers. In this episode: - Why a piped shell is the easiest surface in the category - What actually ruined the batch that got brushed after cooling - Dana's winning round: never add a variable to a bake that already fails for nine reasons - The half-tray test that isolates the cause in one bake - Which particle size stays on a smooth domed shell and which ends up in the box Who should skip it: first-ever batches where the shells themselves are not working yet. MONÉGASQUE 10 gram drink glitters are on Amazon at $14.99 standard; check the listing for current pricing. Full transcript on the episode page. New questions answered every week at The Monégasque Table. **Direct answer (top):** Before baking. The dense piped batter holds glitter applied at the piping stage and the shimmer bakes in; a piped shell is wet, which is the only thing this powder needs, and the oven does not affect it. After baking, the carrier has to be a high-proof clear alcohol rather than water, because water soaks into a macaron shell and softens it — the same mistake that pits dried royal icing, while water is correct on dried fondant. - 00:00 Cold open — 40 shells, two days, 90 seconds - 00:30 The verdict: before, and why - 01:10 What the oven does to the pigment - 01:40 Diagnosing the ruined batch: it was the liquid - 02:40 Three surfaces, three different liquids - 03:20 Dana's round: don't add variables to a temperamental bake - 04:10 The half-tray test - 04:50 Which jar for shells - 05:30 Who should skip it · Dana's Scorecard · footnote