Paintbrush Macarons
Macaron Batter
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1 ¼ cups icing sugar
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4 oz (1 cup) almond meal
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¼ cup plus 2 tbsps egg whites at room temperature
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pinch of salt
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¼ cup granulated/caster sugar
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A few drops of colouring
All ingredients should be at room temperature
Step 1 - Allow egg whites to thicken by leaving them uncovered at room temperature overnight.
Step 2 - On three pieces of parchment, use a pencil to draw 1-inch (2.5 cm) circles about 2 inches apart. Flip each sheet over and place each sheet on a baking sheet.
Step 3 - Push almond flour through a sieve, and sift icing sugar. Mix the almonds and icing sugar in a bowl and set aside. If the mixture is not dry, spread on a baking sheet, and heat in oven at the lowest setting until dry.
Step 4 - In a large clean, dry bowl whip egg whites with salt on medium speed until foamy. Increase the speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar. Add colouring and continue to whip to stiff peaks the whites should be firm and shiny.
Step 5 - With a flexible spatula, gently fold in icing sugar mixture into egg whites until completely incorporated. The mixture should be shiny and flow like magma. When small peaks dissolve to a flat surface, stop mixing.
Step 6 - Fit a piping bag with a 3/8-inch (1 cm) round tip. Pipe the batter onto the baking sheets, in the previously drawn circles. Tap the underside of the baking sheet to remove air bubbles. Let dry at room temperature for 1 or 2 hours to allow skins to form (I let mine dry for 1.5 hours).
Step 7 - Bake, in a 160C/325F oven for 10 to 11 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to keep the oven door slightly ajar, and rotate the baking sheet after 5 minutes for even baking.
Step 8 - Remove macarons from oven and transfer parchment to a cooling rack. When cool, slide a metal offset spatula or pairing knife underneath the macaron to remove from parchment.
Recipe adapted from A La Cuisine.
To fill and decorate
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1 tablespoon liquid food colouring mixed in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon of water
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a pastry brush or paint brush (not a silicon one)
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A few sheets of paper to practice the paintbrush marks on
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1 lot of buttercream (see recipe below)
Step 1 - Practise doing the brushstrokes on the pieces of paper before doing it on your precious macarons. Believe me, I regretted doing so otherwise. I found it easiest to dip the tip of the pastry brush in and then blot it against the edge of the bowl, hold it down for a couple of seconds on the left hand side edge and then sweep it across lightly towards the right. As you can see on the piece of paper above, the strokes on the left hand side are the first ones and the right hand side ones improve as time goes on.
Step 2 - Brush all of the tops of the macarons, choose the best swirls of the lot and match them with similarly sized bottoms. Allow them to fully dry (about 15 minutes) before sandwiching (to avoid getting colouring everywhere).
Step 3 - Pipe buttercream onto the bottom macaron and then sandwich with top macaron et viola!
Magnolia Bakery's Buttercream frosting
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1/2 cup (125grams) unsalted butter, softened
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3 to 4 cups icing sugar
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1/4 cup milk
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2 teaspoons vanilla extract
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Food colouring if desired
Step 1 - Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes.
Step 2 - Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar.
Step 3 - If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.