Mac Attack 6 is underway at MacTweets, hosted by Deeba and Jamie, this month’s theme is April holidays – covering April Fool’s Day, Passover, St George’s Day etc. I have opted for Easter and this month’s macarons are in homage to hot cross buns. Piping crosses on top went awry but I managed one in the photo.
I am, as I sit in my back bedroom typing, freezing. It has been chucking down a monsoon outside and despite our having been away last weekend, my husband has the day before Good Friday booked off work as we intended to go somewhere for Easter then the rain put us off.
It really is raining everywhere in Europe this Easter weekend. Apart from Berlin which is apparently sunny. Only I don’t believe them, as every other city in Germany is raining like everywhere else. It’s not just rain either, it’s heavy rain and thundery showers. Seriously the only places where it is not raining for five days on the trot are Malaga and Marrakech.
So, dear readers, how are you entertaining yourself this Easter? And are you keeping dry?
Hot Cross Bun Macarons with Fruited and Spiced Buttercream
Ingredients
For The Macaron Shells
- 110 g icing sugar
- 50 g ground almonds
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp mixed spice
- 3 pod cardamom keep the seeds only - you don't need the empty pods
- 2 free range egg whites 60g worth - see notes on aging egg whites below.
- 40 g caster sugar
For The Fruited and Spiced Buttercream
- 80 g butter softened
- 250 g icing sugar sifted
- 50 ml milk
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp mixed spice
- 1 tbsp sultanas
- 1/2 tbsp candied peel
Instructions
For The Macaron Shells
- Sift the icing sugar, almonds and spices into the food processor and blitz to give yourself an even finer powder.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites to a foam using an electric mixer then add the caster sugar gradually and continue beating until you have a meringue that stands in soft peaks.
- Tip the dry ingredients on top. Using a silicon spatula, sweep around the bowl in a circle and then cut sideways strokes with the thin blade of the spatula through the centre backwards and forwards ten times. Repeat sweeping around the edge of the bowl and doing your ten strokes five times so that you've done fifty strokes. Your batter should be roughly ready by this point, you are looking for a flowing lava effect. If it is too stiff continue sweeping around the edge of the bowl and doing another ten strokes until you are happy with the flow.
- Fix parchment paper to your baking sheet with a blob of meringue batter in each corner. Fill piping bags with the batter, I use disposable ones with around 1.5cm width snipped of the end.
- Pipe discs in a circular movement around the size of a two pound coin. Allow a similar distance between the piped circles incase they spread. Pick the tray up with both hands and rap on the table firmly to make the circles settle.
- Preheat the oven to 150c. Leave the piped circles near a radiator for twenty minutes to dry out (winter only). In summer, leave for 30 minutes. The surface of the circles should dry out so that they are no longer sticky to the touch. The feet develop as the surface has toughened before the centre has cooked, the pressure that builds up under heating forces the top of the macaron to rise, then you should get feet.
- Bake for 12-18 minutes depending on size. The length of time really is trial and error. I put mine on the lowest oven shelf but again you will need to experiment.
- Hopefully, if you've cooked them enough but not too much, you'll have that happy medium of a surface that peels beautifully off the baking parchment but a meringue which remains soft and gooey like a truffle inside. If you are having trouble removing them from the paper, some drops of water sprinkled under the parchment whilst still warm will help steam the macarons off. But I find that they come off best when completely cool and don't need this. So don't be impatient!
For The Buttercream
- Blend the butter, icing sugar, milk and spices in the food processor. When combined, sweep around the edge with a silicon spatula to make sure all ingredients incorporated, throw in the sultanas and candied peel and pulse again a few times until the fruit has been chopped into the buttercream in small pieces.
- When the shells are cool, spread or pipe your filling on the flat side of a shell and sandwich with another, squeezing gently. Allow to set for a couple of hours.
You are SO good at macarons now, Sarah! Remember your first attempts? 🙂 You're inspiring! I clean forgot about Easter too. Sigh. Thankfully I have rellies nearby who planned all sorts of fun things involving visiting and lavish feasting. 🙂 Up to Canada I go! 🙂
Girl! You did it! Those are fantastic looking macs! Hooray! It was spring like weather last week and is a snowy mess this week so Easter shall be a surprise…
Oh just look at those feet 😉 Lovely variation of macarons!