It’s been a while since I last posted a recipe on Beyond Our Sky, but this blog post is inspired by our trip to Europe last year where we learnt how to make macarons in Paris.
This recipe uses an Italian meringue which involves a sugar syrup to cook the egg whites, rather than a French meringue which simply consists of whipping egg whites with sugar. Macarons are one of those pastries that is difficult to get right on the first go, because the meringue has to be whipped to a certain point and batter has to be folded to the correct consistency.
The filling is a delicious salted caramel buttercream. You can substitute this with a infused ganache if you prefer a different flavoured macaron; the possibilities are endless.
These macarons are chewy and have the perfect balance of sweet and salty. I apologise for the lack of content this year but I hope to be posting more recipes soon.
Salted Caramel Macarons
Macaron Shells
- 250g almond meal
- 250g icing sugar
- 180g egg whites, divided
- 250g caster sugar
- 60g water
- Orange/brown food colouring
- In a large bowl, sift together the almond meal and icing sugar. Add 90g egg whites, and stir until it forms a thick paste. Set aside.
- Place remaining 90g of egg whites into the bowl of a standmixer fitted with a whisk attachment.
- Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, stir together the sugar and water. Insert a thermometer and cook the mixture over medium-high heat. When the thermometer reaches 110 C, start whisking the egg whites on low speed. Increase the speed gradually until the egg whites are thick, and continue to cook the sugar syrup until it reaches 118 C. Slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the mixing bowl, whisking the egg whites on low speed. Increase the speed gradually until the meringue reaches stiff peaks and is no longer hot. Add food colouring.
- Carefully fold the meringue into the almond paste, a third at a time. Fold the mixture gently until the batter falls off the spatula leaving a ribbon effect. Once it the meringue is fully incorporated, transfer batter into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm round tip.
- Place baking paper on trays and pipe smalls circles (about 3-4cm in diamater), leaving approximately a 1cm space in between. Once piped, allow to rest at room temperate for 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 150 C.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. The macaron shells are ready when stable and not jiggly to touch. Allow to cool before assembling, and the shells should easily peal off the baking paper.
Salted Caramel Buttercream
Inspired by Adriano Zumbo.
- 100g cream
- 1 vanilla bean pod, split lengthwise and seeds scraped
- 150g caster sugar
- 30g glucose syrup
- 60g water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 70g unsalted butter, room temperature
- In a small saucepan, add the cream and vanilla bean seeds. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, add the sugar, glucose syrup and water. Stir occasionally over medium-low heat and cook until the sugar has dissolved. Brush the sides of the pot with a clean pastry brush dipped in water to avoid crystallization. Increase the heat to medium and cook until it becomes an amber colour.
- Carefully stir the hot cream mixture into the caramel, and whisk until smooth. Add the salt, then transfer to a bowl to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge.
- In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the butter and cream on medium speed until light and fluffly.
- Warm the caramel in the microwave for 20-30 seconds until it reaches a pouring consistency (ensure that the caramel is not hot, but still at room temperature otherwise it will melt the butter).
- Slowly pour the caramel into the butter. Mix on medium speed until it is light and fluffy.
- Transfer buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip.
Assembly
- Pair similar sized macarons together.
- Pipe the buttercream onto flat side of half the meringue shells, then sandwich together with matching shell.
- Place in the refrigerator to set and bring to room temperature to serve.