Do you ever see something on Pinterest and think “Er. Ma. Gherd. I need to make that!”? Of course you do. Heck, I hope that may even be why you’re here today!
Well, that was me a few months ago when I saw these sweet macarons from Style Sweet CA. I didn’t know when, or even why, but holy sweet chocolate filled cannoli, I would be finding a reason to make my own sweetly swirled macarons. SWIRLED. MACARONS. Seriously, enough said.
So it dawned on me as I was doing my Easter brainstorming… Swirled Easter eggs… Swirled macarons… SWIRLED EASTER EGG MACARONS. THIS was going to be my excuse to make some amazing swirled macarons. Not that one needs a reason for baking awesome…
Easter Egg Macarons
Your Easter will be extra sweet with these easy swirled macarons in the shape of an Easter egg.
- Prep Time: 4 hours
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours 14 minutes
- Yield: 15 macarons 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the macarons:
- 65 g almond flour
- 65 g powdered sugar
- 45 g granulated sugar
- 50 g egg whites (about 2 eggs)
For the royal icing design:
- 1 tbsp. meringue powder
- 2 tbsp. lukewarm water
- 1/4 lb powdered sugar
- Food gel coloring
Instructions
- If you have the time, age your egg whites for 24 hours in your refrigerator, and if not, allow them to come to almost room temp. on your counter. In a large bowl, sift together the almond flour and powdered sugar. In a stand mixer or using a handheld mixer, beat the egg whites until the beaters start leaving visible trails. Add the granulated sugar 1/3 at a time and continue beating until they hold stiff peaks. Pour the sifted powdered sugar and almond flour into the egg whites, and gently fold until the two are completely incorporated and the batter falls from your spatula in one long, thick string.
- Prepare one to two baking sheets with parchment paper and print out this egg template at 50%-60% size to use as a guid. Fill a piping bag with your macaron batter and pipe your macarons onto the prepared baking sheets. Your macarons should smooth out within a few seconds of piping, otherwise they’re too thick and need to be folded longer. Once all the shells are piped, gently rap your baking sheet against your counter to release the air bubbles.
- Allow the shells to dry for approximately 30 minutes or until a “skin” has developed. If you live in a humid climate like I do, you can help along this drying process by allowing your oven to heat for a few minutes (it should be warm but not hot) and using that to dry out your shells. Bake the shells for 12-14 minutes at 320F.
- To make the royal icing, beat the water and meringue powder in a stand mixer until frothy. Add the powdered sugar and continue beating until you reach a 20 second consistency (meaning a spoonful of icing dropped back into the bowl takes approximately 20 seconds to fully reabsorb). Add a few drops of your favorite food gel colors, and swirl them together using a toothpick. Dip the cooled shells into the royal icing, allowing the excess to drip off before turning them right side up. Add additional drops of food coloring as needed.
- Allow the royal icing to dry completely before filling with your choice of fillings (I used vanilla buttercream and lemon curd).
Notes
Macaron recipe adapted from Indulge with Mimi
sugarlovespices says
March 30, 2017 at 2:40 pmThey are so so pretty! Great job on these macarons. I’ve never had the pleasure to make them, let alone swirled and in egg form 😉 . Beautiful colors as well!
The Simple, Sweet Life says
April 9, 2017 at 9:44 pmThank you! Macarons can be a little tricky, but so worth it in the long run! 🙂
# sweetreats says
April 2, 2017 at 4:02 amYum-my! Looks scrumptious! Can I just say, I am a massive fan of your bog and like how you make maintaining a baking blog seem easy even though it can be the hardest thing. Keep doing what you’re doing,gurl!
#sweetreats xx http://www.bakingboutiquebirds.blogspot.co.uk/
The Simple, Sweet Life says
April 9, 2017 at 9:46 pmWell you sure know how to make a girl’s day! 🙂 Thanks for the sweet encouragement! 😀
Monica says
April 2, 2017 at 12:34 pmWow – these are insanely gorgeous! *Almost* too pretty to eat. I could just stare at these pictures all day. 🙂
The Simple, Sweet Life says
April 9, 2017 at 9:47 pmBut juuuuust almost 😉
Liz | Bubble Tea For Dinner says
April 2, 2017 at 6:35 pmHey, wow, those are impeccable. Marbling isn’t super easy but you’ve made them all into perfect little flamed nebulas… I wanna sink my teeth through the crispiness so much! Ha, very cute.
The Simple, Sweet Life says
April 9, 2017 at 9:48 pmThank you Liz! Once you get the hang of it, the marbling isn’t too bad. 🙂
Sue Gregory says
April 2, 2017 at 9:09 pmAbsolutely beautiful!
The Simple, Sweet Life says
April 9, 2017 at 9:48 pmThank you! 😀
Juliet Miller says
April 9, 2017 at 9:25 amCan I use regular flour instead of almond if someone is allergic to nuts? Or does it not give it the same taste..?
The Simple, Sweet Life says
April 9, 2017 at 9:53 pmHi Juliet! It’s actually less about the difference in taste and more about the difference in texture and structure. Although I haven’t tried any almond flour substitutes myself, I have heard of folks using ground pumpkin seeds instead. Here’s a link to an article about how to do that if you’re interested: http://www.thekitchn.com/keep-the-cute-n-161224