Description
This recipe guides you through making delicate and colorful Cotton Candy Macarons, featuring crisp almond flour shells with a light and fluffy cotton candy buttercream filling. Perfect for special occasions or a sweet treat, these macarons require careful technique and baking precision to achieve their signature texture and appearance.
Ingredients
Scale
Macaron Shells
- 100 g superfine almond flour
- 65 g powdered sugar/confectioners sugar
- 70 g egg whites (at room temperature)
- 75 g fine granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- Gel food coloring (if desired)
Buttercream Filling
- 3 egg whites
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened and cubed
- Cotton candy (amount as desired for flavoring)
Instructions
- Preheat the Oven: Set your oven to 300°F (150°C) and prepare two baking sheets lined with parchment paper, Teflon sheets, or silicone mats to prevent sticking.
- Sift Dry Ingredients: Sift together the almond flour and powdered sugar twice to ensure a smooth mixture, discarding any large bits left in the sifter.
- Make Meringue: In a clean mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, combine the room temperature egg whites, granulated sugar, cream of tartar, and salt. Beat on medium speed until soft peaks form, which can take 30-40 minutes.
- Add Coloring: If you want colored shells, add gel food coloring at the soft peak stage.
- Beat to Stiff Peaks: Continue beating the meringue until stiff peaks form, where the meringue holds a sharp peak and forms ribs when the whisk is lifted.
- Fold Dry Ingredients into Meringue: Sift the almond flour mixture into the meringue, then fold gently with a silicone spatula until fully incorporated and the batter flows in a figure-eight pattern, testing every few folds to avoid overmixing.
- Pipe Macaron Shells: Transfer the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a round tip, pipe 1.5-inch rounds onto the baking sheets about an inch apart, and tap the sheets to remove air bubbles, using a toothpick if needed.
- Rest Before Baking: Let the piped macarons rest at room temperature for 15 minutes to form a skin before baking.
- Bake Macarons: Bake one sheet at a time in the middle rack, placing an empty sheet on the top rack to prevent browning, for 15-18 minutes until firm and the bases do not move when touched.
- Cool Macarons: Cool the macarons on the baking sheets for 10-15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare Buttercream Filling – Step 1: Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan, then reduce to simmer for a double boiler setup.
- Prepare Buttercream Filling – Step 2: In a heat-proof bowl, whisk together egg whites and sugar and place over simmering water, stirring continuously until sugar dissolves and mixture reaches 160°F (70°C).
- Whip Meringue for Buttercream: Remove bowl from heat and beat mixture on medium speed, increasing to medium-high, until stiff peaks form and mixture is cool to touch, about 10 minutes.
- Add Salt and Butter: Scrape bowl sides, add salt, and beat on medium speed while adding the softened butter one tablespoon at a time, ensuring each is incorporated before adding more; continue beating until smooth and fluffy.
- Add Cotton Candy: Switch to a paddle attachment and beat in cotton candy until fully blended, about one minute.
- Assemble Macarons: Pair shells by size, pipe filling onto bottom shells, top with matching shells and press lightly to spread filling evenly.
- Mature Macarons: Store filled macarons in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours to allow the flavors to mature and shells to soften slightly.
- Serve: Bring macarons to room temperature about 30 minutes before serving for the best taste and texture.
Notes
- Using superfine almond flour helps achieve the smooth texture of macaron shells.
- Room temperature egg whites whip better for making meringue.
- Cream of tartar is optional but helps stabilize the meringue for better volume.
- To avoid cracking, let macarons rest before baking to form a skin.
- Use a thermometer to ensure sugar syrup or egg white mixture reaches the correct temperature during buttercream preparation.
- Don’t overfold the batter; a good test is that small peaks in the batter dissolve within 10 seconds when dropped.
- The buttercream might curdle while adding butter; continue mixing to bring it back together.
- Maturing macarons overnight improves flavor and shell texture.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes per baking sheet
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Keywords: cotton candy macarons, french macarons, almond flour macarons, buttercream filling, colorful macarons
