YOU GUYS. We’re in the middle of a heat dome here in Portland and this dumb-dumb decided it was a good time to remake these strawberries & cream macarons. To be fair, the only time the oven was used was Friday night, while it was pretty warm, but not 113°F. This heat is unreal. I’ve never been so thankful to have air conditioning.
Strawberries are one of my favourite summer fruits and Oregon has some of the best strawberries I’ve ever tasted. And by now, you all know that I’m 100% obsessed with macarons so it only makes sense that I made the perfect summer macaron.
Strawberries and cream is an iconic combination this time of year. If you’ve ever been to, or you ever go to Wimbledon, you’ll find everyone enjoying a bowl of strawberries and cream and usually a Pimm’s cup. It’s tradition and we love it.
I’ve been lucky enough to go to Wimbledon twice. The first time was in 2007. It rained most of the day, we say 57 minutes of play, and we got the price of our tickets refunded because they didn’t play for an hour or more. The second time I went was in 2008. We saw the men’s quarterfinals and it didn’t rain, so we got a full day of tennis! Both time I entered the public ballot and “won” tickets. I haven’t tried again, but I think getting tickets two years in a row was really lucky and my luck has probably run out.
Strawberries & Cream Macarons
The first time I made these, I used the Italian method for the macaron shells and I mixed chopped strawberries in with the buttercream. This time, I used my beloved French method because I feel like I’ve finally mastered it, and I piped a ring of buttercream and filled it with strawberry jam. I’m much happier with how these turned out!
I mean, come on. How beautiful are these little guys?!
I considered using whipped cream instead of buttercream because it would be more “Wimbledon”. But that didn’t feel like a great filling choice, so I went with the buttercream. It tastes light and creamy though so the strawberries & cream taste is still there!
Obviously I used my favourite Bonne Maman strawberry preserves for the filling. Any strawberry jam/preserves will work, but this is my preferred choice.
Give these a try! I’m pretty sure you’ll love them as much as I do. They’ll be the perfect treat to snack on as you watch Wimbledon over the next couple of weeks.
Strawberries & Cream Macarons
Ingredients
- Macaron Shells:
- 275g almond flour
- 250g powdered sugar
- 210g egg whites
- 210g sugar
- Gel food colouring, optional
- Filling:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp. heavy whipping cream
- Strawberry jam
Directions
- Step 1 Shells:
- Step 2 To start, put the almond flour and powdered sugar in a food processor and blend thoroughly. Sift into a bowl to ensure there are no lumps.
- Step 3 In the bowl of a stand mixer (make sure it’s clean and dry), beat the egg whites until foamy. Slowly add the sugar, about 2 tbsp at a time, beating on a medium speed. Once the sugar has dissolved, increase speed to medium high and beat until a thick glossy meringue forms (if adding food colouring, add it now). The mixture should form stiff peaks and you should be able to tip the bowl over your head with none of the mixture coming out.
- Step 4 With a large, flat rubber spatula, gently fold 1/3 of almond flour/powdered sugar mixture into egg whites until combined. Repeat until all of the almond mixture has been added. Fold to combine until you see no streaks of almond flour in the batter. The batter should be pretty fluid, a lot of people describe as a lava-like consistency. It should run smoothly off the spatula when you pull it out. This part comes with practice. Once you know the consistency, you’ll just be able to feel when it’s ready.
- Step 5 Pipe the batter into circles onto parchment or silicone lined baking sheets. Bang the tray a few times on a table to remove air bubbles and allow to sit for about 30 minutes before baking. To see if they’re ready for baking, touch your finger to them. If you get batter on your finger, they need to rest longer.
- Step 6 While resting, preheat your oven to 300°F with a rack placed in the lower third of the oven. Bake, one sheet at a time, for 15-18 minutes (this depends on your oven, my old one was fine at 15 minutes, this one needs 17-18). The shells should cool completely before you remove them from the parchment/silicone.
- Step 7 Filling:
- Step 8 To make the buttercream, cream together the butter and vanilla extract. Add the powdered sugar and heavy cream and beat until combined.
- Step 9 Pipe a ring of buttercream onto one half of each macaron pair and fill with a little strawberry jam. Place other half on top and sandwich together slightly.
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