Kiwi Macarons
Serves 40
30 mins prep
45 mins cook
75 mins total
These kiwi macarons have a kiwi design on the macaron shells and are filled with a kiwi white chocolate ganache filling.
White chocolate kiwi ganache filling
Kiwi macaron shells
Sugar syrup
Prepare the white chocolate kiwi ganache filling
Combine diced kiwis, sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan and bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Simmer for about 5 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat. Puree.
Place the kiwi jam, heavy cream and chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Melt, stirring constantly, over a bain-marie (a saucepan with an inch of water, not touching the water to the bowl). Add a few drops of green food coloring and kiwi flavoring. Puree again until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, let cool completely and then refrigerate to cool further before using.
Prepare the macaron shells
Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Fit two piping bags with small, plain round piping tips. Fit another piping bag with an even smaller plain round piping tip.
Combine powdered sugar and almond flour in a food processor. Pulse until combined. Sift into a large bowl, discarding any large bits.
Pour 55g (half) of the egg whites over the dry ingredients and mix just until it is like a thick paste.
Place the other 55g (half) egg whites and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Set aside until you prepare the sugar syrup.
In a small saucepan, combine the 150g granulated sugar with the 2 ½ tbsp water and place on medium heat. When it reaches 230°F start whipping the egg whites. When the syrup reaches 244°F, remove from heat and pour in a SMALL, SLOW stream into the side of the bowl of the egg whites as they are being beaten. Continue beating until the bowl has cooled slightly, and glossy stiff peaks have formed. This is the meringue.
Add the meringue over the almond powdered sugar mixture and using a silicone spatula gently fold in JUST until mostly combined. You'll finish the folding (macaronage) after coloring the batter.
Color the batter
Remove 1/2 cup of the batter to a small bowl to be the white middles of the kiwis.
Remove half of the remaining batter to another bowl. Add the cocoa powder and a few drops of brown gel food coloring (I used ChefMaster Buckeye Brown).
To the remaining batter add a few drops of green food gel coloring. I used a combination of ChefMaster Leaf Green, Neon Brite Green and a small drop of Buckeye Brown to achieve the green olive/kiwi color.
Work each of the batters separately, folding with a rubber spatula, until it flows like lava in very thick ribbons when the spatula is lifted. It is done when it passes the figure 8 check, meaning you can make a figure 8 with the batter when the spatula is lifted without the flow breaking.
Pipe the macarons
Transfer the brown and green batters to the prepared piping bags with the small, plain round tips. Transfer the white/natural batter to the prepared piping bag with the smaller, plain round tip.
Pipe the brown batter first on the prepared baking sheets in circles, evenly spaced one-inch apart. Pipe the green batter on top of each brown circle. Pipe a small white bit in the center of each one.
Bang the baking sheet a few times firmly on your counter top to flatten the macarons and remove air bubbles. Remaining air bubbles can be popped with a wet toothpick or metal cake tester.
With the toothpick or metal cake tester, drag lines from the white middle outside to the green part in a radial pattern to look like the middle of a kiwi.
Working quickly, place black sesame seeds around the outside of the white part to mimic the seeds of a kiwi.
Pipe the rest of the shells plain (without decoration), if desired, to make the bottoms of the macarons.
Let the macarons dry at room temperature about 30 minutes, or until skins have formed and they are dry to the touch. Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Bake for 20-24 minutes. Macarons are done when their tops no longer wiggle on their feet. Remove from the oven and let cool before removing from the baking sheet.
Transfer the ganache filling to a piping bag and pipe between two shells and repeat until each macaron has been sandwiched together with an accompanying shell.
Refrigerate for at at least one day before serving. Serve macarons at room temperature.
