Yield - 24 assembled 1.5 inch macarons
I was hoping to post this recipe before Christmas and technically I guess I did, if you live in California. It is still Christmas for a few days so maybe you will be inclined to try a new macaron recipe.
This is up there on my list of favorite macaron adaptations. The crust is delicious red velvet chocolate and the filling is matcha flavored. Has all the Christmas feels and packed with flavor. Happy Baking!
Ingredients:
For the red velvet shells:
3/4 cups confectioners' (powdered) sugar
1 cup almond flour
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoons cocoa powder
Red gel food coloring
For the matcha buttercream filling:
1/2 cup salted butter
1 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoon matcha powder
Green gel food coloring
Method:
1. Lay parchment paper on baking sheets. You will need 2 baking sheets. Have a macaron template under the parchment paper (you can slide it around as needed when you start piping later).
2. In a food processor, grind confectioners’ sugar, cocoa, and almond flour to mix it up and make it a fine texture. Next sieve through a fine sieve (make sure you use a fine sieve). You may have 2 tablespoons of coarse almond flour that doesn’t pass through the sieve. It is okay to toss this.
3. Prepare a water bath where you will begin making your meringue. Heat some water in a saucepan until it is just about to boil.
4. Place egg whites and granulated sugar in your mixing bowl and place this over your water bath from step #3. Immediately begin whisking this to dissolve the sugar. I use an electric hand mixer on low speed but you can also just use a whisk.
Note: To make your water bath, use a saucepan that your mixing bowl will fit in. The trick here is to use a setup in which the mixing bowl does not touch the hot water in the saucepan but the steam from the water heats the bowl. To achieve this, I use a rimmed saucepan that suspends my mixing bowl.
5. Continue to mix until all the sugar is dissolved. This is the trick for Swiss meringue. You have to let the sugar completely dissolve. You can test by rubbing the mixture between your fingers to ensure a smooth texture.
7. Using a spatula, fold in the sieved almond flour mixture from step #2. Do not whisk anything from this stage on. Handle the meringue with care. Fold it in 2 to 3 additions. Be careful not to over-handle this mixture. Carefully continue combining by folding, always sliding the spatula to the bottom of the bowl and back up to make sure no pockets of dry ingredients remain. Add the red food coloring. Use enough to get the color tint you desire. Fold till you have the correct consistency.
Note: The correct consistency is like molten larva. When you raise your spatula, the macaron mixture should trickle down like a ribbon and the ribbon lines slowly fade into the mixture in the bowl within 8-10 seconds.
8. Prepare a pastry bag with the 1/2 inch round piping tip. Carefully transfer the macaron mixture to the pastry bag.
9. Pipe the macaron mixture on the baking sheets. Hit tray on the counter for a few times to let out bubbles. Then let them rest for at least 20-40 mins, could be longer if humidity is high.
10. Preheat the oven to 295 degrees Fahrenheit.
11. Test if the macarons are ready to bake: lightly touching the macaron mixture, a light coating should have developed and it should not stick to your finger.
12. Bake for about 14 minutes at 295 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake only one tray of macaron at a time. The macarons are ready when they lift off the parchment paper easily.
13. Let them cool on the sheet for 5-10 minutes then transfer the parchment paper and macarons to a cooling rack.
14. Make the buttercream filling by whipping the butter for a few minutes. Then add the powdered sugar, matcha powder, milk, food coloring, and vanilla extract.
15. Add your filling and assemble macarons after they have cooled to room temperature. It is best to pipe your filling with 1/2 inch round tip, making a dollop on the under-surface of a macaron and sandwiching with another one of comparable size.