Raspberry Macarons (Vegan)

Vegan, gluten free, and deliciously sweet? What is there not to love about these amazing raspberry macarons! 

Made with high quality ingredients including almonds and fresh organic raspberries. 

The magic secret ingredient that gives these fruity creamy treats their stability is aquafaba. Discovered by French chef Joël Rossel, the ingredient is made by whipping up the water that comes in can of chickpeas. Sounds weird and a little un-tasteful but honestly, it is godsend to us vegans, because we now can enjoy meringue, French macarons, and even pâte à chou for eclairs and cream puffs!

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did! 

Ingredients:

 Macaron Shells

8 oz Aquafaba

1/8 t Cream of Tartar

Pinch of Salt

5 oz Almond Meal (grounds)

4.5 oz Pure Icing Sugar (not with cornstarch)

4 oz  Superfine/Caster Sugar

Few Drops of Vegan Food Coloring 

Few Drops of Organic Rose Extract

Raspberry Buttercream

4.5oz Vegan Butter Substitute

2 oz Icing Sugar

Few Drops of Vegan Red Food Coloring

25 Fresh Raspberries

Materials

Piping Bags with a Round Tip Attached

Silpat Mats or Silicone Baking Paper 

Baking Trays

Spray Bottle Filled with Water

How-To:

 The Night Before

Prepare your aquafaba by bringing 8oz of it to a simmer. Let this simmer away until it has reduced to about 3.88oz (or 110g, use scale if needed). Pour it into a bowl to cool and refrigerate overnight.

Macaron Shells:

1. Process almond meal and icing sugar then sieve into a bowl, making sure there are no lumps. Set aside.

2. With a stand mixer and clean beaters, whisk aquafaba on high until it turns foamy and resembles frothed up egg whites. Make sure there is no liquid left at the bottom of the bowl before continuing to next step. 

3. Slowly add caster sugar in while your mixer is turned on. Then add your food coloring and continue whisking on high for another minute. You should end up with a thick, glossy meringue.

4. Tip in half of your almond/icing sugar mixture into the meringue and fold gently with a spatula until it is well incorporated. Add the second half of the icing mixture, and continue to fold in the batter. 

5. Once mixture is fully incorporated, continue folding until you end up with an result that resembles thick lava. Don't over-mix or your batter will be too runny and you can say goodbye to fluffy macarons. To check if your consistency is good, dollop a tablespoon of batter onto a flat surface. It should gradually smoothen out into a nice round shape. 

6. Fill a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle with macaron mixture and pipe into 2 inch rounds on a Silpat or Silicone Baking Paper lined mat. You should be able to make 50 individual macaron shells (3 to 4 trays worth).

7. Once piped, slam the down on your kitchen counter to eliminate any air bubbles. Leave your trays to rest in a cool area for 2 to 3 hours. They are ready to bake when they have turned matt and you are able to gently touch the surface of the shells without anything sticking to your finger.

8. Preheat oven to 120 degrees C. Bake each tray of macarons individually for 28 to 30 minutes. DO NOT open the oven door at all. 

9. Once 30 minutes is up, leave your macarons in the oven for another 15 minutes without opening the door. After 15 minutes, open the oven door slightly and leave them in the oven for another 15 minutes. Remove tray from oven and leave to cool thoroughly before peeling macaron shells off from Silpat/Silicone paper. 

10. Repeat baking process with remaining trays of macarons.

11. Filling: In a stand mixer, whisk vegan butter with icing sugar and food coloring. Whisk until fluffy and then transfer to a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle. Wash and dry your raspberries and put them aside. 

12. Assembly: Once you have carefully peeled off all your macarons from your Silpat/Silicone Paper, place them on a kitchen counter with the bottom side up (rounded side down). Using your spray bottle, lightly mist the bottoms of the macarons with water and leave for 5 minutes before filling. 

13. To fill: pipe a ring of buttercream around the base of a macaron and place a whole raspberry in the empty circle inside your buttercream. Sandwich with another macaron shell and repeat the process till all your shells have been sandwiched. 

14. Place macarons into a box and leave in the fridge overnight, or ideally for 2 nights so that they have time to mature and form the right texture. 

Macarons are best served at room temperature or 10 minutes out of the cooler.