Macarons with Cream Cheese Filling
These macarons with cream cheese filling combine the sweetness of the macaron shells with the tanginess of the cream cheese for an amazing flavor. The royal icing drizzle adds that perfect sugary bite at the end.
Servings: 18 macarons
Calories: 130kcal
Equipment
- Kitchen scale
- Strainer
- Whisk
- Stand mixer
- Spatula
- One 16 inch pastry bag
- Two 8 inch pastry bags
- Round piping tip (Wilton 12 or Ateco 10)
- Two silicone baking mats
- Two half sheet pans
- Oven thermometer
Ingredients
Macaron shells
- 90 grams powdered sugar
- 80 grams almond flour
- 70 grams egg whites
- 70 grams granulated sugar
- 2 grams egg white powder (optional)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 3 drops turquoise gel food coloring
Cream cheese filling
- 4 oz cream cheese
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- ½ tsp clear vanilla extract
Royal icing drizzle and sprinkles
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp meringue powder
- 1 tbsp water (room temperature)
- colorful sprinkles
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.
- Insert the piping tip into the 16 inch pastry bag.
Make the meringue
- Whisk the egg whites on medium speed (speed 4) until you start to see small bubbles (this can take as little as 15 seconds sometimes).
- Slowly add 3 tbsp of granulated sugar, 1 tbsp at a time.
- 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 of the bowl and add the vanilla.
- Whisk for about 2 minutes, or until medium peaks, and add 3 drops of gel food coloring.
- Whisk for another 5 minutes or until stiff peaks.
Combine ingredients
- Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the meringue and fold the batter until you can't see any of the dry ingredients.
- When folding the batter, slide the spatula under the batter, lift it in a U motion, go over the top of the batter, and slide it under again. This way you make sure to get the batter at the bottom of the bowl.
- Once fully combined, add in another 1/3 of the dry ingredients and repeat the process of folding.
- Add in the last 1/3 of the dry ingredients and fold until fully combined.
- Once all of the powdered sugar/almond flour mixture has been added, continue folding a few more times to make sure all the ingredients are combined well.
- 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.
- Continue this process of smearing some of the batter on the side of the bowl and folding once or twice until the batter starts to run off the spatula in ribbons.
- You can test the consistency by lifting the spatula and letting the batter run down. If it falls in ribbons and sinks into itself within 30 seconds, it's ready.
Pipe the shells
- Transfer the batter to the 16 inch pastry bag.
- Holding the pastry bag at a 90° angle, pipe the macarons into ¾ inch circles about 1 inch apart.
- Tap the tray against the counter about 8 times to release 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 310°F.
- Bake the macarons for 14-16 minutes.
- Macarons are ready when they no longer shift if you touch the tops.
Cream cheese filling
- In a medium bowl, using the stand mixer, whisk the cream cheese and butter until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar and whisk until fully combined.
- Add the vanilla extract and whisk until creamy and smooth.
Assemble the macarons
- Fill an 8 inch pastry bag with the cream cheese filling and cut a ½ inch opening at the bottom of the bag.
- Pipe the filling in the center of half of the macarons and top the macarons with the remaining halves.
Royal icing drizzle
- In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, meringue powder, and ¼ tsp water and stir.
- Continue stirring until fully mixed, adding a few drops of water at a time if you need to thin the icing.
- The perfect consistency is when the icing sinks back into itself within 10 seconds when you lift the spoon.
- Transfer the royal icing to an 8 inch pastry bag and cut a small opening at the bottom.
- Drizzle the royal icing on the macarons and add sprinkles.
Notes
*Calories reflected are for macaron shells only
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
Whisk the meringue until you have stiff peaks
Let macarons dry before baking so they don't crack
Nutrition
Calories: 130kcal