Rant: My macaron batch at the county fair turned into a sticky mess

I was showing off at the Baker County Fair last July when my macarons came out all flat and sticky. Turns out I overmixed the batter by about 20 folds and the humidity was like 80% that day. Has anyone else had a baking fail at a public event that made you want to hide your face?

3 comments

3 Comments

sage_moore371mo ago

Overmixing and humidity is a brutal combo, you basically set yourself up for a sticky pancake situation before you even started. Sounds like the fair's summer air was working against you from the get go.

wyatt1351mo agoMost Upvoted

Yeah, that sticky summer air is a killer...

kim_ramirez31mo ago

@wyatt135 nailed it about the sticky air, but the real issue nobody talks about is the aging of the egg whites. At the fair, you're probably using eggs you grabbed from the cooler that morning, not ones that sat out for 3 days. Old egg whites hold up way better against humidity, so your batter had no chance from the start. Next time stash some older eggs in a cooler or get them from a neighbor's counter the day before. And maybe rent a portable dehumidifier for your booth, that's what my friend does at the state fair for her cookies.