- 100 grams aged egg whites
- 50 grams granulated sugar
- 100 grams almond flour|
- 200 grams confections sugar
- Food coloring paste
- Sea Salt
- 1 egg
- 100 grams unsalted butter room temperature
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
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Preheat oven to 300°F.
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Line 2 jelly roll sheets with parchment paper or silpat.
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Prepare a piping bag with a 1/2 inch round tip.
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Separate egg whites from egg yolks, being careful not to contaminate the whites with the yolks. Measure out 100 grams of egg whites (about 3 eggs), cover with plastic and let stand at room temperature overnight. OR – microwave for 20 seconds, in 5-second intervals, mixing after each stop.
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In a bowl of a food processor, combine 200 grams powdered sugar and 100 grams almond flour or 100 grams peeled & slivered almonds (store-bought). Pulse to combine, about 20 seconds. Then pulverize for about 2-3 minutes if started with almond flour or about 4-5 minutes if started with slivered almonds.
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Start whipping the egg whites with a pinch of salt.
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Once foamy, start adding the granulated sugar and whip until stiff peaks form.
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Add the food coloring. Mix to somewhat incorporate.
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Add 1/2 the powdered sugar mixture and with a very quick mixing motions, make about 5-6 swirls with a spoon, to somewhat combine the meringue with the powdered sugar mixture. Add the other 1/2 of the dry ingredients and carefully fold it in until fully combined. Take care not to overmix. Stop when the batter falls in a thick ribbon and disappears in about 30 seconds.
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Fill the piping bag with batter and pipe out 1 inch circles onto parchment paper. Sprinkle half of the piped circles with sea salt. Slide the first sheet in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. Do the same with the second sheet once the first one is done.
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Let them cool. Carefully peel off the half cookies by just lifting them up, or using a thin knife slide right under each cookie to release it.
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Combine 6 Tbsps sugar and 2 Tbsps water in a small saucepan. Turn your stove to medium heat. Cook the syrup to soft ball stage (that’s when a drop of syrup, dropped into a glass of water can be formed into a soft ball). Whip 1 egg to soft peaks. Carefully pour in the syrup between the whip attachment and the bowl while continuing to whip. Whip until the bowl feels cool to the touch. Meanwhile, whip 100 grams of room temperature butter to whiter in color and fluffy, about 2 minutes. When the egg has cooled, continuing to whip, drop 1 tablespoon of butter at a time. The mixture might become runny and might look curdled, continue to whip and it will come together into a smooth buttercream. Set aside.
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Heat 1/4 cup cream and keep ready to be combined with the syrup. Combine 3 Tbsp water with 1/2 cup sugar and cook at medium heat, until amber in color. Be very careful to not overcook the syrup, as when it starts turning slightly amber it will take about 30 seconds to go from good amber, to burnt amber (unusable). Take off the heat. Slowly add the heavy cream into the syrup, keeping your hands as far as possible from the steam cloud that will form as soon as you start adding warm milk to extremely hot syrup. Once the bubbles have subsided, start mixing with a wooden spoon, to form a homogenous caramel. Let cool to room temperature.
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Start whipping the butter cream again. Add the caramel into the buttercream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until smooth, but still some chunks of caramel present. The buttercream will become a little bit more runny then in the beginning, but that’s ok.
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Sandwich the cookies with a dollop of caramel buttercream.
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Let the macarons sit in a covered container, in the fridge overnight. Then, remove from the fridge and let come to room temperature before devouring :D
*You might want to try making macarons on a dry day. This will drastically increase your chances of getting a good result :D
**I used Hawaiian Black Salt and Hawaiian Red salt.