Rose Macarons

In November there is a little race which stops the nation going by the name of the Melbourne Cup.  I am not really into the whole horse racing thing, but I would not knock back the opportunity for time out of the office for afternoon tea.

This year we put on a spread, and over catered as usual, with my contribution being some Rose Macarons.

I stuck with the Zumbo recipe I used for the Popcorn and Malteser Macarons and planned on using the rose ganache recipe from Zumbo’s new book Zumbarons but when I made it, even after several hours it still wouldn’t set enough for me to pipe.  I had some dodgy rose water which was predominately water and I had to use a little more of it to get the rose flavour.  Instead, I used a rose water buttercream by Sweetapolita from her recipe for a Chocolate Chiffon Cake with Fluffy Rose Water Icing.  For the record, that cake is amazing.

Photo Credit: D Hummerston

To make the coloured shell, the food colouring is added to the sugar syrup when it is coming to temperature after the sugar has dissolved.  For these macarons, I used Americolor Electric Pink and added 3-4 drops.  I added one or two when I was beating the egg white as I was worried the colour wouldn’t be pink enough once it was added to the almond paste, so feel free to tweak until you are happy.

Photo Credit: D Hummerston

The coloured syrup is then poured into the mixer after the egg whites have been whipped slightly and then continue to whip until cool.

Photo Credit: D Hummerston

You will end up with a beautiful fluffy pink mixture to be added to the almond and icing sugar paste.

Photo Credit: D Hummerston

With the coloured macaron mixture done, it is time to pipe.  I like to make my macarons with 5cm shells as I find 4cm just a little too little (if you would like the templates, I have created one for both which you can find in the template library).

Photo Credit: D Hummerston

I still had some rose petals from when I made the Sea Salt Chocolate Snaps and the hubby had fun grinding them up using the mortar and pestle.  Sprinkle the fine rose petals over the top of the macaron shell after you have finished piping.

Photo Credit: D Hummerston

Once all the macarons are covered in rose petals, set aside for about 30 minutes for the skin to form.

Photo Credit: D Hummerston

The filling used for the macarons is a simple buttercream and I actually add a little more rose water to mine because I love the flavour so much, but you can certainly adjust to your taste.  I also coloured the filling using the same electric pink colouring as for the shells.

The result of mixing all of this together is a delicious fluffy icing indeed.  I also used clear vanilla extract to not taint the icing, but it doesn’t really make that much of a difference in the end I don’t think.

Place the filling in a piping bag, and pair the baked macarons so you have two similar sized halves.

Pipe the filling on one half, not too close to the edge as when you place the other half on top and squish it down a little bit (taking care not to put too much pressure on the shell… speaking from experience) the filling will spread a little further.

Once you are done it is best to let them sit in the fridge at least overnight before eating.

When I took them to work there were a few thoughts on what the flavour was, some thought marshmallow, others thought musk (FYI – I love musk sticks).  Regardless, they were down right tasty… if I do say so myself!

Print Recipe

Rose Macarons

Macarons adapted from Adriano Zumbo's recipe and Rose Water Filling adapted from Sweetapolita.

Course

Macarons

Cuisine

Gluten Free

Servings

Ingredients

Macarons

• 450 g almond meal
• 450 g icing sugar
• 165 g egg white(s) fresh
• 450 g caster sugar
• 111 g water
• 3-4 drops pink food colouring
• 165 g egg white(s) old
• 3 g powdered egg white

Rose Water Filling

• 114 g unsalted butter softened
• 250 g icing sugar sifted
• 5 ml vanilla extract
• 59 ml pure cream 35% fat
• 1/2 tsp rose water
• Pinch salt
• pink food colouring

Course Macarons Cuisine Gluten Free Servings Ingredients Macarons 450 g almond meal 450 g icing sugar 165 g egg white(s) fresh 450 g caster sugar 111 g water 3-4 drops pink food colouring 165 g egg white(s) old 3 g powdered egg white Rose Water Filling 114 g unsalted butter softened 250 g icing sugar sifted 5 ml vanilla extract 59 ml pure cream 35% fat 1/2 tsp rose water Pinch salt pink food colouring

Instructions

For the Macarons

1. Sift the almond meal and icing sugar into a bowl and mix in the fresh egg whites to form a paste.
2. Place the caster sugar and water into a saucepan and place over a low heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves and then increase the heat to medium to bring the mixture to a boil. Add 3-4 drops of food colouring (or more) and then bring to 119C. Remove from the heat, and the temperature of the syrup will continue to rise slightly and will need to be added to the whisked egg whites at 121C.
3. Place the old egg whites and the powdered egg white into the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk until combined. Slowly pour the syrup (which should be at 121C) into the bowl whilst whisking on a medium speed until the mixture is fluffy and glossy. Continue to whisk until completely cool.
4. Fold one third of the whisked egg whites into the almond paste. Continue to gently fold in the remainder of the egg whites until thoroughly combined.
5. Transfer the mixture to a large piping bag and onto a lined baking tray pipe 4-5cm circles approximately 2 cm apart.
6. Set the trays aside for 30 minutes until a skin forms on the macaron.
7. Preheat the oven to 200C and place the trays into the oven and immediately turn it off. Leave for 10 minutes and then turn the oven back on at 155C for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the tray.

For the Filling

1. Beat together the softened butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add the vanilla and beat for 1 minute to distribute.
2. Add the pure cream and salt and mix for a further 2 minutes. Finally add the rose water (adding more or less according to your taste) and pink colouring and beat until well blended.
3. Place the filling into a piping bag.

To Assemble

1. Pair similar sized macarons together and place one face up.
2. Pipe filling onto the macaron facing up leaving about 5mm around the edge.
3. Place the other macaron on top and gently squeeze together, pushing the filling to the edge.
4. Put the completed macarons in an air tight container in the fridge at least overnight. To serve, bring to room temperature.

Recipe Notes

You can grab a template to help you pipe the shells from my template library.