Macaron Cake
This Macaron Cake is filled with my classic vanilla buttercream and decorated with the cutest sugar daisies. It's the perfect cake for any celebration!
Servings: 1 6 inch macaron cake
Calories: 130kcal
Equipment
- Kitchen scale
- Strainer
- Whisk
- Stand mixer
- Two spatulas
- One 16 inch pastry bag
- Two 8 inch pastry bags
- Round piping tip (I used the Wilton 1A)
- Two silicone mats
- Two half sheet pans
- Oven thermometer
- Small glass bowl (to mix royal icing)
Ingredients
- 90 grams powdered sugar
- 80 grams almond flour
- 70 grams egg whites (room temperature)
- 70 grams granulated sugar
- 2 grams egg white powder (optional)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 3 drops brown gel food coloring
Vanilla buttercream
- ¼ cup salted butter (½ stick)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp heavy whipping cream
- ⅛ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 drops pink gel food coloring
Royal icing
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ tsp meringue powder
- ½ tsp water (room temperature)
- 1 drop pink gel food coloring
- sugar daisies or other flower decorations
Instructions
Prepare dry ingredients
- Sift powdered sugar and almond flour using a whisk to break down any clumps. Set aside.
- Line sheet pans with silicone mats and place the templates under the mats.
- Insert the piping tip into the 16 inch pastry bag.
Make the meringue
- Whisk the egg whites on medium speed (speed 4) until you see small bubbles (this can take as little as 15 seconds sometimes).
- Slowly add 3 tbsp of granulated sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, waiting about 10 seconds between each tbsp.
- Whisk until you start to see tracks in the meringue.
- Increase speed to 6 and continue slowly adding the remainder of the granulated sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, until you’ve added all the sugar.
- Once you have soft peaks, stop the mixer, scrape the sides and add the vanilla extract and the brown gel food coloring.
- Whisk for about 5 more minutes, or until you have stiff peaks.
Combine ingredients
- Add in the powdered sugar and almond flour mixture in three parts, 1/3 at a time, folding each part until fully combined.
- Once the meringue and dry ingredients are fully combined, stop folding.
- Now you need to deflate some of the air in the batter by taking the spatula and smearing the batter on the sides of the bowl two or three times, and then folding once or twice.
- Repeat the process of smearing some of the batter on the side of the bowl and folding until the batter looks smooth and glossy and runs down the spatula slowly in ribbons.
- You can test the consistency by lifting the spatula and letting the batter run down. If it falls in ribbons and sinks back into itself within 30 seconds, the batter is ready.
- Transfer the batter to the 16 inch pastry bag.
Pipe the macarons
- Take the pastry bag and, holding the bag at a 90° angle, start piping the batter until it reaches the sides of the templates.
- Tap the tray against the counter 3 or 4 times to get rid of any air bubbles.
- Let the macarons rest until they form a skin and are no longer sticky.
- While the macarons are resting, preheat the oven to 315°F.
- Remove the templates and bake the macarons for 25 minutes.
- Macarons are ready when they no longer shift if you touch the tops.
- Let the macaron shells cool for at least 30 minutes before decorating.
Make the royal icing
- In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, meringue powder, and a few drops of water and stir with a spoon.
- Add 1 drop of pink food coloring and continue stirring adding a few more drops of water if necessary.
- Check the consistency by lifting the spoon and counting how many seconds it takes for the icing to sink back into itself. If it takes around 15 seconds, it's ready.
- Transfer the royal icing to an 8 inch piping bag, and set aside.
Vanilla buttercream
- In a medium bowl, using the stand mixer, whisk the butter until smooth.
- Add half of the powdered sugar and whisk until fully combined.
- Add the remaining powdered sugar and whisk until combined.
- Add the heavy cream and the vanilla extract and mix until creamy and smooth.
- Add 2 drops of pink food coloring and continue mixing until combined.
- Transfer the buttercream to an 8 inch piping bag, cut a ½ inch opening at the tip, and set aside.
Assemble the cake
- Take the largest shell and pipe the buttercream as shown in the pictures above. Place the second largest shell on top and press down very gently. Pipe buttercream on the second layer. Place the top layer on top of the buttercream and press down gently being very careful not to crack the shells.
Decorate the cake
- Add a bit of buttercream on the top shell and place three sugar flowers on top just like in the picture.
- Now take the royal icing bag and cut a ¼ inch opening at the tip and start piping polka dots all over the cake.
- Pipe a few drops of royal icing on the sides of the shells and attach the sugar flowers. Hold them in place for a few seconds so they stick to the icing.
- Let the royal icing dry for about 30 minutes before placing in an air tight container.
- Refrigerate the cake for at least 24 hours to mature. When ready to eat, remove the macaron cake from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature (at least 20-30 minutes) before eating.
Notes
All ovens are different so temperature and baking times should only be used as a guide
Mixing bowl should be clean and grease free
Weigh all ingredients in grams for accuracy
Use room temperature egg whites (to bring eggs to room temperature quickly, put them in a bowl filled with hot water for about 5 minutes)
Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar together because almond flour is moist and doesn't sift well alone
Mix the egg white powder and the granulated sugar before adding to the egg whites to fully dissolve the egg white powder
Whisk the meringue until you have stiff peaks
Let macarons dry before baking so they don't crack
*Calories reflected are for macaron shells only
Nutrition
Serving: 1 macaron | Calories: 130kcal