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Raspberry Macarons

Raspberry Macarons

These raspberry macarons are made with soft, chewy French macaron shells that are filled with a raspberry jam and raspberry buttercream.
5 from 5 votes
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Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 42 minutes
Servings: 30 cookies (about 60 shells)

Equipment

  • Food processor
  • sieve/sifter
  • Electric mixer
  • piping bag
  • macaron template

Ingredients
  

Macarons:

  • 100 grams almond flour, sifted
  • 120 grams powdered sugar, sifted
  • 100 grams egg whites, room temperature
  • ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 120 grams granulated or caster sugar, sifted
  • 3-4 drops red or pink gel food coloring (not liquid), optional

Raspberry Jam:

  • 2 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice, or water
  • 2 teaspoons water, or more lemon juice
  • ½ tablespoon cornstarch

Raspberry Buttercream:

  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • ¾ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons raspberry jam

Instructions

  • Before you start, wash and dry any equipment (bowls, whisks, mixers, spatula, food processor, etc.) you’ll be using. Especially anything that's going to come into contact with the meringue.
  • Prepare two large baking sheets with a macaron template (about 30 circles on each template). Cover the template with a sheet of parchment paper. The parchment paper should be the same size or slightly smaller than the baking sheet otherwise the shells can get lopsided.
  • Separate the eggs while they’re cold, then set the whites aside to come to room temperature. Make sure you don’t get any of the yolk in the bowl with the whites or you won’t be able to whip them to stiff peaks.
  • Sift and weigh the granulated sugar and then pulse it in a food processor to get a finer texture, sift again into a clean bowl and set aside.
  • Sift the almond flour back and forth between two bowls, at least twice, but the more you sift it the better. Start with more than you need and discard any larger chunks.
  • Place a clean glass bowl on your food scale, set the scale to ‘0’ (in grams), and add 100g of the sifted almond flour to the bowl. Zero out the scale and sift 120g of powdered sugar into the same bowl. Add them both to your food processor and pulse for 10-15 seconds until they’re a very fine texture. Sift them both again together into one bowl and set aside.

Make the Meringue:

  • Add the room temperature egg whites to a large, clean bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip the egg whites until foamy, about 30 seconds, then add the cream of tartar and whip for another 30 seconds until starting to thicken.
  • In 3-4 additions, add the granulated sugar and mix for 20 seconds after each addition. Once all of the sugar is added, whip the meringue until it reaches soft peaks (peaks that flop to the side). Add the gel food coloring (if using) and continue to whip to stiff peaks (peaks that stick straight up).
  • Macaronage: In 3 additions, add the sifted dry ingredients to the meringue and use a rubber spatula to gently fold in each until the batter is smooth with no pockets of flour remaining.
  • After the last addition, continue to fold by wiping the sides and the bottom of the bowl until the batter is at the right consistency. When you lift the spatula up, the batter should flow continuously in thick ribbons without breaking. Lift the batter up to check often and stop folding as soon as it gets to the right consistency.
  • Pipe the shells: Add the macaron batter to a large piping bag with a ¼-½" round piping tip. Hold the piping bag straight up and down with the tip right in the center of the circle on your template. Gently squeeze the bag until the batter spreads and almost fills the circle. Stop squeezing and lift up with a quick twisting motion.
  • Once you have all the shells piped, lift the pan up about 5" and drop or bang it firmly on your counter several times, you should see little air bubbles come up to the surface and pop. If you see any large bubbles that don't pop, use a toothpick to pop them yourself.
  • Let the shells dry out on the pan for at least 30 minutes, or until they form a skin on the surface. You should be able to gently touch the tops without wet batter sticking to your finger. 
  • Arrange your oven rack to the middle position and preheat your oven to 300°F/150°C.
  • Bake the macarons, one baking sheet at a time, for 12 minutes each. Take them out of the oven and let cool completely before touching them or trying to remove them from the pan.

Make the Raspberry Jam:

  • Add the raspberries and sugar to a medium saucepan. Place over medium heat, cook and stir until the raspberries have released most of their juices.
  • In a small bowl, whisk the water, lemon juice, and cornstarch, and add it to the pan. Continue to cook and stir until the mixture is bubbling and thick. While still warm, strain the jam through a sieve to get rid of the raspberry seeds, then cover and place in the fridge to cool. 

Make the Raspberry Buttercream:

  • In a medium bowl, beat the softened butter until smooth and creamy. Add about half of the powdered sugar and beat until combined. Add the cream, raspberry jam, and the rest of the powdered sugar, and beat for about 1 minute until fluffy and smooth. If the buttercream is too thick, add an additional tablespoon of cream or raspberry jam.

Fill the Shells:

  • Pipe a ring of buttercream around the outside on the bottom of one shell, then add a dollop of raspberry jam in the center. Gently top with the second shell.
  • Once filled, store the raspberry macarons in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for 1 week.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie (2 shells with filling) | Calories: 95kcal | Carbohydrates: 19.2g | Protein: 0.6g | Fat: 2.1g | Saturated Fat: 1.1g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 15mg | Potassium: 18mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 18.2g | Calcium: 4mg