French Macarons with Mascarpone Cream
Light and airy French Macarons are so delicate and delicious.
Servings: 20 cookies
Calories: 106kcal
Ingredients
For the Macarons:
- 1¾ cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup almond flour, finely ground
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
- ¼ cup granulated white sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 drops gel food coloring of your choice (optional)
For the Mascarpone cream:
- ½ cup Mascarpone cheese, chilled
- ½ cup heavy cream 36%, chilled
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the Macarons:
- In a large bowl, or in a bowl of a food processor, combine the powdered sugar, almond flour and ½ teaspoon salt. Either sift it together or process on low speed until well combined.
- In a separate large bowl, beat the egg whites and ½ teaspoon of salt with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.Gradually add the granulated white sugar, until fully incorporated. Continue to beat the egg whites until very stiff peaks form. Careful not to over mix! For me it helped to switch to medium high speed, it took a bit longer, but I managed to beat the egg whites until very stiff without over beating them. You should be able to flip the bowl, without anything falling out of it.
- Add the vanilla extract and food coloring, if using, and mix until just combined.
- Add about ⅓ of the dry ingredients mix into the egg whites, and gently fold through using a rubber spatula. Continue until all of the dry ingredients have been incorporated and keep folding until you can make a figure 8 while holding up the spatula.
- Transfer the macaron batter into a piping bag fitted with a round tip.Place 4 dots of the batter in each corner of a rimmed baking sheet, and place a piece of parchment paper over it, using the batter to help adhere the parchment to the baking sheet.Pipe the macarons onto the parchment paper in 1½-inch (3-cm) circles, spacing at least 1-inch (2-cm) apart.
- Tap the baking sheet on a flat surface 5 times to release any air bubbles.Let the macarons sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour, until dry to the touch.
- Preheat the oven to 160˚C (320°F).Bake the macarons for 17 minutes, until the feet are well-risen and the macarons don’t stick to the parchment paper.
- Transfer the macarons to a wire rack to cool completely before filling.
Make the Mascarpone Cream frosting:
- In a large bowl whisk the chilled mascarpone cheese until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and whisk to combine.While whisking, slowly add the heavy cream until light and fluffy, and hold stiff peaks. Careful not to over mix, or it will curdle. You can also add food coloring if desired.
- Transfer the cream to a piping bag and start assembling the cookies.Take one macaron shell, pipe out a dollop of cream, place another macaron shell on top to create a sandwich. Repeat with the remaining shells and cream.Place in an air tight container for 24 hours.
- Enjoy!