Red Velvet macarons

Red Velvet macarons were inspired by the famous American Red Velvet Cake. Of course, they must be a deep red colour and filled with a lightly salted Philadelphia cream cheese frosting. Delicious!

Makes approximately 30 macarons (or about 40 mini macarons).

Ingredients for the red velvet macarons:

• 150 g ground almonds
• 150 g icing sugar
• 120 g egg whites (divided into 60 g + 60 g), at room temperature
• 185 g sugar (divided into 150 g + 35 g)
• 50 ml water
• red gel or paste food colouring (I used Wilton Red Red and Burgundy)

Place the ground almonds and icing sugar into a food processor. Blend together for approximately 2 minutes. Sift through a very fine sieve into a large bowl, discarding any larger pieces of almond (replace them with an equal amount of finely ground almonds, usually about 1 teaspoon). Add 60 g of the egg whites and mix thoroughly. Add as much food colouring as needed and mix well (note: the colour should be intense, as the remaining egg whites added later will dilute it).

Place the remaining 60 g of egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer (the bowl should be completely clean, dry and free from any traces of fat, and the whites must be perfectly separated from the yolks). Place 35 g of sugar in a small bowl nearby.

In a small saucepan, combine 150 g sugar and 50 ml water. Stir once, bring to the boil, then place a sugar thermometer into the saucepan. Cook over medium heat (important: do not stir at all) until the syrup reaches 118ºC (245ºF).

Meanwhile, when the syrup reaches approximately 100ºC (210ºF), begin whisking the egg whites. Whisk until stiff peaks form, then gradually add the reserved 35 g sugar, one teaspoon at a time, while continuing to whisk. Once the syrup reaches the correct temperature, immediately remove it from the heat and slowly pour it in a thin stream into the whisking egg whites. Keep the mixer on low speed while pouring so the syrup goes into the whites rather than onto the sides of the bowl. Once all the syrup has been added, increase the speed to maximum and continue whisking for 5–8 minutes, until the Italian meringue has cooled. Add the finished Italian meringue to the almond mixture in three additions, mixing thoroughly after each one. The batter will become looser with each fold and should eventually flow from the spatula in a thick, glossy ribbon.

Note: Overmixing may cause the macarons to spread too much on the baking tray; undermixing will leave the batter too thick. This is the most challenging stage when making macarons using the Italian meringue method.

Line baking trays with silicone mats or non-waxed baking parchment (you will need at least 3 trays). Transfer the macaron batter into a piping bag fitted with a plain round nozzle. Holding the nozzle perpendicular to the tray, pipe macarons approximately 3 cm in diameter (or 2 cm for mini macarons), leaving plenty of space between them.

After piping, leave the macarons to dry. They should no longer feel sticky when touched and a thin skin should form on the surface. Depending on humidity, this can take anywhere from 20–60 minutes (for me, usually 60 minutes). Do not extend the drying time “just in case”, as the shells may develop an overly thick crust.

Bake the red velvet macarons at 150–160ºC for approximately 12–15 minutes (smaller macarons require less time, larger ones slightly more). The macarons should not brown. If they do, lower the temperature and extend the baking time. Remove from the oven and leave on the baking mat or parchment until completely cool.

Carefully remove the cooled shells and sandwich them together with the Philadelphia frosting.

Ingredients for the Philadelphia frosting:

• 150 g Philadelphia cream cheese, at room temperature
• 45 g butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup icing sugar, sifted (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

Place the butter, icing sugar and vanilla into the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat until pale, light and fluffy. Gradually add the cream cheese in three additions, beating continuously until smooth.

Storage:

Unfilled Red Velvet macaron shells can be stored for up to 7 days in an airtight container or up to 2 days in the refrigerator. They can also be frozen for up to 1 month. Once filled, store the macarons in the refrigerator. They are at their best approximately 2 hours after being filled.

Enjoy!