How are you? I really mean it when I ask that question. Well, if I am being honest. I wonder if anyone ever reads these things that I pour out in this webspace. If you are, first of all, Thank you! And second of all, how are you today? Are you happy? I hope you are well. If at all you’re not, I hope things get better for you soon. Things always get worse before they get better. Don’t give up. As much as there is sadness and strife in this world, there’s still love and hope in this world. I have been having the toughest year so far, and I am 100% sure it’s not the last one. But somehow trying to find joy in little things has helped me look at the brighter side of things many times. It’s definitely not easy, but it’s totally worth trying because you are worthy of happiness.
If I tell you the number of times, I have made macarons, I wouldn’t be able to count them on my fingers. Recently I have been obsessed with trying new flavours of macarons and I have been having a blast. These ones here have a classic Vanilla macaron shell and they are sandwiched with the most luscious Raspberry buttercream. I have never really liked when my macaron shells and fillings are too sweet. Sadly, macarons rely on the proportions of sugar and almonds in the cookies so I always take it up as a challenge to make a filling that isn’t too sweet. This raspberry buttercream, is perfect. I could eat it as is. So, you know the drill, if this is your first-time making macarons, I will highly recommend that you check out my Beginner’s guide to French macarons because it will make your life A LOT easier.
Few things to note in this recipe:
- I have used raw/unblanched almonds to make my own almond flour. You may use the same or store bought blanched almond flour it doesn’t make a difference.
- You can substitute the raspberries with any other berry of choice.
- I will highly recommend using an oven thermometer while making macarons
- Please make sure your bowls and attachments are grease free
- DO NOT use oil to grease your baking tray. ONLY LINE IT with Parchment paper and not butter/wax paper.
Vanilla Macarons with Raspberry Buttercream
Ingredients
Macarons:
- 75 g Whole Unblanched Almonds Ground in a food processor grinder
- 110 g Icing sugar
- 65 ml Egg whites about 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 55 g Superfine castor sugar
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp White vinegar
Filling:
- 100 g Unsalted butter
- 100 g Raspberries (fresh or frozen)
- 50 g Castor Sugar
- 50 g Icing sugar (sifted)
Instructions
Make the macarons:
- In a food processor add the whole almonds and icing sugar. Pulse till everything is well ground and combined. Make sure that you don't blend and only pulse.
- Sift this mixture once into a bowl. there will be about 1 tablespoon worth of ground mixture remaining in the sieve, discard it. Set aside.
- In a large bowl that is very clean and without grease (ensure that the beating attachments of your stand mixer/hand mixer are also clean and grease-free). Add the egg whites and salt. Start whipping at a slow speed.
- Once the egg whites start foaming up, add the vinegar.
- When bubbles start forming, slowly add in the caster sugar in small additions.
- Once all the icing sugar is added, increase the speed and whip, add the vanilla and keep whipping till you reach stiff peaks. (this can take anywhere between 7-10 minutes)
- After you reach stiff peaks, add the sifted almond mixture in three stages, folding gently. Keep folding till the batter is flowing in ribbons from your spatula and you can make a figure 8.
- Transfer this mixture into a piping bag and cut a hole about 1/2-inch in diameter. Pipe little mounds into prepared and lined baking sheets. Leave some space between the macarons.
- Tap your baking sheet against the counter about 5-6 times to remove air bubbles.
- Let your macarons dry for about 15-45 minutes or till it forms a light skin on the surface and it’s top is matte. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 150 C
- Bake your macarons for about 15-16 minutes or until set.
- Once baked, let your macarons cool on the baking sheet before removing.
Make the frosting:
- In a saucepan, add the raspberries and caster sugar. Keep on low to medium heat and let it simmer stirring constantly. It will thicken and coat the back of your spatula. About 5-8 minutes. Strain this mixture while it is hot to remove seeds.
- In a separate bowl, add the butter and icing sugar. Blend with a hand blender for 2-3 minutes. Then add the Raspberry Jam and blend till combined. Another 3 minutes or so. Refrigerate if the mixture is loose.
Assemble the cookies:
- Pair up the cookies according to sizes. Pipe a generous amount of frosting on one cookie and use its pair to sandwich them together.
- Repeat for all cookies. Refrigerate them for 24 hours for best flavour and texture.
It seems in the filling recipe that you say mix butter with caster sugar, it should say Icing sugar. It the ingredients list is wrong.
Thank you for bringing it to my notice, I have rectified it 🙂