Cherry Vanilla Bean Macarons

Ok - one more batch of macarons. I actually made them in August but didn't manage to post about it until now... Oh well - they would be great for Christmas, too!

As you can see, these are a bit lumpy. That's for not sieving the almonds after grinding. I was lazy, and this was the price of that. Not a huge deal, but remember to sieve for prettier cookies!

The filling uses cherry syrup, a lovely little thing that you can find in many grocery stores, but probably not everywhere. Mine is Polish, and very tangy. You could do your own cherry reduction, too.



Cherry Vanilla Bean Macarons
(printable recipe)
makes about 20 filled cookies

3 egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp caster sugar
200 g powdered sugar
110 g almonds, blanched
red or pink food coloring (powdered or gel)

Combine powdered sugar and almonds in your food processor, and grind until very fine. Sieve. Re-grind any lumps or big pieces of almonds. Mix carefully (they tend to separate a little bit when sieving, since the sugar falls through first.)

Beat egg whites and sugar until you have a thick, glossy meringue. Don't overbeat. Stir in the almond-sugar powder, and fold together along with the food color. Don't overmix this - most seem to say that you should use less than 50 strokes. (You can try it by dolloping a little batter on a baking sheet - if the peak falls down, it's ready. If it doesn't, try a few more strokes.)

Pipe small rounds on a baking sheet with baking paper. Leave at room temperature for 30-60 minutes, to form a skin.

Bake at 150°C for 15-20 minutes. (I have a convection oven, and 15 minutes is perfect for me.) Let them cool completely before filling. Unused shells can be frozen, or kept in an air-tight container for a day or so.

Cherry Vanilla Buttercream
50-100 ml cherry syrup
3 egg yolks
75 g sugar
82 g corn syrup (or if you're in Sweden, white baking syrup works perfectly)
225 g unsalted butter, softened
1 vanilla bean, the seeds
pink food coloring

Beat the egg yolks until fluffy. Bring sugar and corn syrup to a boil, and immediately remove from heat. Pour over the egg yolks and beat at high speed until fully cooled. (Try not to get any on your beaters, or it will spin to the sides of your bowl.)

Add the butter, a pat at a time, until fully incorporated. Mix in the vanilla seeds and the cherry syrup, a little at a time. Finally add food coloring.

Spread - or pipe - the cream onto half of the macaron shells, top with the remaining shells. Eat right away or freeze.

Recipe in Swedish:
Körsbärs- och vaniljmacarons