Strawberry Macarons

It's been a while since I made any macarons! These are from earlier this year, when I invited some friends over for a macaron "workshop". We decided to make one batch with strawberries, since they were in season, and for decorations, I tried my food markers that Stephanie sent me! Turned out to be a brilliant idea that I'll use many more times - the finished cookies were so cute. And tasty, of course!

Strawberry Macarons
About 20 finished cookies

3 egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp caster sugar
200 g powdered sugar
110 g almonds, blanched
red food coloring, preferrably powdered.

Combine powdered sugar and almonds in your food processor, and grind until very fine. Sieve. Re-grind any lumps or big pieces of almonds. Mix carefully (they tend to separate a little bit when sieving, since the sugar falls through first.)

Beat egg whites and sugar until you have a thick, glossy meringue. Don't overbeat. Stir in the almond-sugar powder and your food coloring, if using, and fold together. Don't overmix this. You can try it by dolloping a little batter on a baking sheet - if the peak falls down, it's ready. If it doesn't, try a few more strokes.

Pipe small rounds on a baking sheet with baking paper. Leave at room temperature for 30-60 minutes, to form a skin.

Bake at 150°C for 10-15 minutes. (I have a convection oven, and have recently found that 10-12 is perfect for me.) Let them cool completely before filling. Unused shells can be frozen, or kept in an air-tight container for a day or so.



Strawberry filling:
1/2 batch buttercream
200 g fresh strawberries
50 g sugar

Mix the strawberries until smooth. Add the sugar, and place the mixture in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and lower the heat to medium. Let the berries reduce for about 10 minutes. Pass through a sieve and leave to cool completely.

Add to the buttercream.

Buttercream:
3 egg yolks
75 g sugar
82 g corn syrup (or if you're in Sweden, white baking syrup works perfectly)
225 g unsalted butter, softened

Beat the egg yolks until fluffy. Bring sugar and corn syrup to a boil, and immediately remove from heat. Pour over the egg yolks and beat at high speed until fully cooled. (Try not to get any on your beaters, or it will spin to the sides of your bowl.

Add the butter, a pat at a time, until fully incorporated. Divide into half, and mix one half with the strawberries. (The other half keeps well in the fridge or freezer, but might need to be re-beaten before using.)

Spread - or pipe - the cream onto half of the macaron shells, top with the remaining shells. Decorate if you'd like. Eat right away or freeze.

Recipe in Swedish:
Jordgubbsmacarons