RASPBERRY MACARONS

April 7, 2019

Macarons have been on my baking list for quite some time. I often wondered if they really are THAT HARD to make. I finally have an answer. These are no joke. When they say macarons are the most finicky cookie, they are not lying. It took me three batches and two weekends before I had a blog-worthy macaron to share.

French or Italian

I watched enough YouTube videos to figure out that the Italian method of making macarons seemed much easier than the French. I’m comfortable dumping hot sugar into a mixer with some egg whites, so it made the most sense for me. Plus, I like to use my laser thermometer.

I found a tutorial with Let the Baking Begin, which is actually the recipe that Bouchon Bakery uses. She provides a fantastic tutorial, so head over there for all the details.

I did it!

I followed the tutorial exactly as it was written. I had no idea what to expect, but somehow it worked. I finally got some nice smooth tops and feet!

The sign of a good macaron is a smooth top and even, raised feet. My piping could use some work, but I’ll take it.

A little close-up of the feet. You can see it’s even all the way around and not too tall.

Picking a flavor

Now that I had some pretty nice macaron shells, I didn’t want to mess up the flavor. I also didn’t anticipate these turning out, so I was a little unprepared to make a filling. Fortunately, I had the ingredients to make a raspberry buttercream.

I don’t like a lot of unnecessary filler in my buttercream. To keep it fresh, I like to use pureed fruit, powdered sugar and butter. I use this recipe:

1 cup salted butter
3 cups powdered sugar (you can add more to taste)
6 ounces raspberry puree (I microwaved some frozen raspberries, blended them in a food processor and strained them through a fine mesh strainer)

The buttercream should be soft with no lumps, but ‘tight’ enough that it will hold shape. If you add too much liquid (raspberries), your buttercream will be incredibly loose and make piping on the macaron shells challenging.

A macaron to be proud of

Once I had the macaron shells made and buttercream prepped, I piped buttercream into each shell. The flavors do take a day to bloom, but I knew after Josh and I taste-tested one they were going to be amazing.

Make sure to store in an airtight container in the fridge and give them bloom time. It’s worth the wait. They were even better the next day.