Pink Sprinkle Macarons
These Pink Sprinkle Macarons have a pink Vanilla Macaron Shells decorated with the brightest sprinkles I could find and sandwiched together with vanilla buttercream.
Servings: 35 Macarons
Ingredients
For the Macaron Shells
- 200 g Icing Sugar
- 100 g Ground Almonds
- 3 Large Egg Whites
- 75 g Caster Sugar
For the Filling
- 100 g Icing Sugar
- 50 g Unsalted Butter
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions
To Make the Macaron Shells
- Add the icing sugar and almonds to a food processor and whizz for 2 minutes.
- Sieve the mixture into a large bowl.
- Put the almond mixture back into the food processor and whizz for a further minute.
- Re-sieve the mixture into the large bowl and leave to one side.
- Whisk the egg whites until they start to form soft peaks. I did this using the whisk attachment on my KitchenAid but you could use a hand mixer too.
- Gradually add in the caster sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Leaving a minute or so in-between each addition.
- Once all the caster sugar has been added continue to whisk the meringue until they form stiff peaks and are glossy and shiny.
- Add in the food colouring a little at a time until you get the desired colour.
- Gently fold the egg whites into your almond mixture until it is fully incorporated.
- Press the mixture into the sides of the bowl. This is called macaronage and you are trying to get the mixture to be as smooth as possible. You know it is ready when the it flows like molten lava from your spatula.
- Add the mixture to your piping bag with a small round nozzle and pop to one side.
- Line your baking trays with a macaron mat or baking parchment.
- Pipe the batter onto the mats or baking parchment. You need to hold the piping bag completely vertical or you will end up with wonky feet. Pipe the macarons around an inch or so apart so that they don't touch.
- Tap the trays on your work top to knock out any air bubbles. If you see any air bubbles on top gently pop these with a skewer.
- Sprinkle over the sprinkles and leave the macarons for 45 to 1 hour so that a skin is formed and they are completely dry to touch.
To Bake the Macarons
- Towards the end of the 45 minutes – 1 hour rest time preheat your oven to 150C (130C Fan). Bake the macarons for around 20-25 minutes until they have risen and have 'feet'. You can tell when they are ready if you touch them they are just starting to peel away from the mat or are a little wobbly if you move them from side to side.
- Leave the macarons too cool fully on the mat.
To Decorate
- Once they shells have cooled, carefully remove them from the tray and make your filling.
- Mix together the icing sugar, butter and vanilla extract until thick and creamy. If the mixture is too thick add 1tsp of milk and mix again. Repeat until the mixture is the desired consistency.
- Pipe the buttercream onto half of the shells.
- Sandwich the macarons together.