Red velvet Macarons

Two of my friends are celebrating their birthdays tomorrow and I'm wondering what to get for the 2 guys, plus I missed the birthday of another friend who is also going to be there. What better gifts than baking something for them right! I decided on the red velvet flavours, flavours should be good, albeit a little feminine looking. My first try at baking Macarons was the French method and failed miserably numerous times. The Italian method worked better for me, however, today I decided to risk the French method. Guess what? Success!! Wheeee!!!! I forgot to take photographs in the beginning, still not too used to documenting my bakes, but here's the recipe, adapted from jothetartqueen. Tip: make sure all ingredients are at room temperature for better results. 

(Makes about 40 Macarons)

For the macaron shells

260g ground almond

260g icing sugar

240g caster sugar

200g egg whites

0.5 tsp cream of tartar 

1 tsp red colouring

For the cheese buttercream

300g cream cheese (I used 128g laughing cow cheese and 172g Philadelphia cheese)

250g icing sugar

150g butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Sift ground almond and icing sugar together.

2. Beat egg whites are low speed till foamy.

3. Add the cream of tartar and beat at medium speed till soft peak.

4. Add sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Once all the sugar is added, beat at high speed till stiff peak. The meringue is ready when it appears stiff and glossy. 

5. Add colour and about a quarter of the meringue to the almond mixture and fold in. You don't have to be too careful with the folding. The purpose is to make the mixture easier to work with.

6. Add in the rest of the meringue and fold into the almond mixture. Once incorporated, 'rub' the mixture against the side of the mixing bowl with the spatula about 10-12 times until the consistency of the mixture forms a thick ribbon when it flows from the spatula. This called macaronage. 

7. Pipe the mixture onto prepared baking trays. To achieve consistent size, you can use macaron templates placed under baking paper which can be found on the Internet.

8. Dry the piped shells in air conditioned room of 18 degrees. This will take about 20-30 minutes. 

9. Once the shells are dry and you can run your finger across the top of the shell without sticking, they are ready to be baked. 

10. Bake the dried shells in a preheated oven at 150 degrees for about 13 minutes. 

 

11. Leave the baked shells to cool down completely before assembling. 

For the cheese buttercream

12. Cream the cheese til you get a smooth consistency.

13. Add the butter and cream till smooth.

14. Add the sugar and the vanilla extract and cream till smooth. You should get a spreadable consistency. 

15. Using a star nozzle, pipe the cheese buttercream to fill the Macarons. 

Viola! Enjoy! Love the pretty pink colours with a few accidental streaks of red because I did not mix the colours well. 

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)