Desserts

Red velvet macarons

Ingredients

For 16 macarons:

Recipe

In an electric blender, blend together:

Keep blending until the sugar and almonds are finely ground, and all the ingredients are well integrated. Sift the sugar, almonds, and cocoa powder in a bowl to make sure the powder is very fine. This will help create smooth looking macarons once baked. Set aside the mixture for later.

Whisk together two egg whites to make a meringue.

Start whisking the egg whites until they start rising. Slowly incorporate 100 grams of sugar into the egg whites, while whisking energetically to keep the eggs rising. Whisk the egg whites until they are white in colour, but still soft. Add red colouring gel, the quantity depending on the colour you would like to achieve. Keep in mind the red colour tends to fade slightly during baking. Finish whisking the egg whites to hard and stiff peaks.

Once your meringue is ready, slowly incorporate the sugar and almonds mixture using a spatula. Add around half of the mixture into the meringue bowl, then, using your spatula, fold the whisked egg whites over the mixture. Keep folding the egg whites until the meringue and mixture are fully integrated. Add the other half of the almonds, sugar, and cocoa powder to the meringue, and repeat the folding process until all the ingredients are fully integrated.

Unbaked red macarons

Once your batter is ready, transfer it to a piping bag with a round piping tip, about 1 centimetre in diameter. Line a flat baking tray with baking parchment, then pipe macarons onto the baking sheet by forming disks of batter around 2.5 centimetres in diameter. Leave the macarons formed for about half an hour to dry slightly before baking. The macarons should develop a thin dry skin. This will create the distinctive smooth shell of macarons.

Preheat the oven to 160℃. Bake the macarons for 12 minutes. Once baked, transfer the baking sheet onto a wire rack, and leave them to cool down before peeling away the baking sheet.

For the cream cheese filling, in a bowl, beat together:

Once the butter and cream cheese are beaten together, whisk in 100 grams of icing sugar. Keep whisking energetically until all the ingredients are completely integrated. The filling should be smooth, with no bits of cream cheese or butter left over.

Refrigerate the cream cheese filling for at least half an hour to give it a firm consistency.

Once your filling is ready, peel off the macarons from the baking sheet.

Transfer the cream cheese filling in a piping bag with a 1 centimetre round piping tip, and assemble the macarons by piping filling on the back of one macaron, then placing another macaron on the other side, to form a sandwich.

Red velvet macarons can be served immediately at room temperature, or can keep up to a few days in the fridge.