Crème brûlée macarons
This macaron recipe delivers on all the key Crème brûlée attributes without compromise: lovely bite-sized macaron shells are sandwiched together with creamy custard filling while a crunchy caramelized sugar is added on top as decoration.
Servings: 22 macarons
Calories: 163kcal
Equipment
- Small enough saucepan to measure sugar syrup correctly
Ingredients
Macaron shells
Almond paste
- 150 g Almond flour finely grounded
- 150 g Icing sugar
- 55 g Egg whites room temp
Sugar syrup
- 120 g Granulated sugar
- 50 g Water
Meringue
- 55 g Egg white room temp
- 30 g Superfine sugar
Custard filling
- 500 g Whole milk
- 100 g Granulated sugar
- 80 g Egg yolk approx. yolk of 4 eggs
- 25 g Corn starch
- 25 g AP flour
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla bean paste
- 50 g Unsalted butter room temperature
Instructions
Make custard cream filling
- In a large enough bowl with the help of a Hand whisk, mix together sugar and egg yolk until slightly fluffy for about 1-2 minutes
- Mix in corn starch, flour, and vanilla until throughly incorporated and have a smooth paste
- Bring milk to boil in a saucepan on medium heat then remove it as soon as it starts simmering. Make sure it is simmering but not crazy boiling, see my tips above
- Pour warm milk over the egg yolk mixture slowly while whisking vigorously
- Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook on medium heat for a few minutes until it thickens. Concretely it is approximately 1 min after the first boil. It might get lumpy first, don't worry just keep whisking and the cream will get smooth and glossy
- If in doubt, strain the pastry cream for a lump free, creamy end result.
- Add in room temperature soft butter and mix with a Rubber spatula until completely incorporated. It is worth to add the butter in 3 stages and mix well after each addition.
- Place the cream into a shallow bowl and cover the entire surface with plastic wrap to avoid skin forming on top. Let it cool
Macaron shells
- Measure all your ingredients with a Digital scale and prepare all the tools you need at hand. Properly clean your mixing bowl and whisk attachment by wiping them down with vinegar. Pulse blend icing sugar with almond flour for 5-10 seconds then shift them together. The mixture should be very fine powder lik
- Move one of the 55g egg white into your Stand mixer
- Star whisking the egg white on low / medium speed then gradually add the superfine sugar into it
- Boil the sugar syrup until it reaches 118C-120C / 244-248F. Use a Infrared thermometer gun or any other thermometer to measure the correct temp
- By the time syrup reaches 118C-120C / 244-248F, the egg white & fine sugar mixture should be already reaching a consistency of somewhere between foamy and soft peak
- Once syrup at the right temp remove from heat. Keep the Stand mixer speed on medium and begin slowly pouring the syrup down on the side of the mixing bowl making sure that the syrup flows on the side only and does not get onto the whisk
- Increase Stand mixer speed to medium / high and continue whisking the meringue until it forms early stiff peaks meaning it is strong enough to hold its shape but not over whipped
- In the meantime mix the remaining 55g egg white into the almond flour mixture (almond meal & icing sugar) until it forms a paste, use a flexible Rubber spatula.
- When meringue is almost done mix in food coloring (powder or gel) and continue beating for a few more seconds
- Once meringue as well as almond paste is ready, gently fold in meringue into the marzipan paste with the help of a Rubber spatula. Fold meringue in thirds, making sure that each third is fully incorporated before adding the next
- The first third is about loosening up the marzipan, the second third already working on the macaronage process and somewhat pressing the air out and the last third is fine tuning the consistency to the stage you need that is ribbon stage
- After adding the last third of the meringue make sure you check the consistency of the macaron batter every few seconds. When you lift the Rubber spatula over the mixture the batter should fall slowly forming
- Move macaron batter into a Piping bag fitted with round nozzle tip and while holding the piping bag fully vertical pipe equal sized round shapes, leaving enough space in between them to slightly spread. You can pipe on Silicone baking mat or parchment paper
- Tap the baking tray onto the kitchen counter a few times to release any air bubbles. You can also pop air bubbles out using a toothpick
- Rest the macarons on room temp for about 25-40 minutes depending on temperature and humidy. Test by gently touching the macarons, it should feel dry on the touch and proper skin should form on the surface of them
- Pre-heat oven while macarons are drying. I recommend to bake the macarons 155C / 311F but I pre-heat my oven +20C / 68F more as when I open the oven door, the temp drops. Make sure you use a Digital oven thermometer to check your real oven temp
- Bake the macarons for 14-15 minutes, adjust if necessary to your oven (use my Troubleshooting guide)
- Once macarons are done, remove them from the oven and leave them on the parchment or Silicone baking mat for 30 minutes. They are not supposed to come off the baking mat until they are properly cooled
- Once macaron shells cooled, remove them from the baking sheet. In case they ended up slightly different in their sizes, pair the similar sizes next to each other
Filling & Decorating
- Very very gently brush one side of the macaron shells with water. Sprinkle the wet side of the macarons with a small amount of sugar then caramelize the top in a few seconds with a Blow torch
- Pipe custard filling onto one side of the macaron shells then press two shells together evenly so the filling will come out to the side
- Store the macarons in fridge and serve the them within a few hours. These macarons do not require a long resting time like some others made with ganache, in fact they will get too soft after a few hours due to the custard filling
Nutrition
Calories: 163kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 28mg | Potassium: 45mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 146IU | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 1mg
