Sugar Plum Macarons
Serves 40
30 mins prep
45 mins cook
75 mins total
Plum flavored macaron shells with fresh plum white chocolate ganache filling.
Plum macaron shells
Sugar syrup
White chocolate plum ganache filling
Garnish
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Prepare the white chocolate plum ganache filling
Combine diced plums, 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. Add finely ground freeze-dried plums and puree again until smooth. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the plum jam for later.
Place the cooled plum jam, cream and chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Melt, stirring constantly, over a bain-marie. Add a few drops of red and purple food coloring. Puree again until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, let cool completely and refrigerate before using.
Prepare the macaron shells
Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Fit a piping bag with a plain round tip.
Combine powdered sugar, almond flour and freeze-dried plums in a food processor. Pulse until combined. Sift into a large bowl, discarding any large bits.
In a small bowl, place 55g egg whites and a few drops of red and purple food coloring. Beat together until well combined. Pour the whites over the dry ingredients and mix until it is like a thick paste.
Place the other 55g egg whites and salt 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 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 into the whipped egg whites while mixing continuously, in a small, slow stream. Continue beating until the bowl has cooled slightly, and glossy stiff peaks have formed.
Add the whipped whites over the almond mixture and using a silicone spatula gently fold in until combined and smooth. Work the batter until it flows in very thick ribbons when the spatula is lifted. It is done when it passes the figure 8 check.
Transfer the mixture to the piping bag.
Pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1-inch circles, evenly spaced one-inch apart.
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.
Let the macarons dry at room temperature 30-40 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.
Pipe filling between two shells and repeat until each macarons has been sandwiched together with an accompanying shell.
Brush plum jam on the top of a macaron. Dip in granulated sugar.
Refrigerate for at at least one day before serving. Serve macarons at room temperature.
