Red Velvet Macarons with Easy Cream Cheese Filling
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I’m back with another macaron recipe! Although I’ve already shared my chocolate coffee macaron and cinnamon bun macaron recipes, I know I will have many, many more to post in the future.
These red velvet macarons are soooo gorgeous. And, they’re seriously this red in real life! I absolutely love using The Sugar Art’s Red Rose food coloring because you don’t need a lot of it or have to mix other colors to get the right shade. For example, with a few other brands, I would have to mix a little brown or black to get to a vibrant red. But with The Sugar Art, I only have to add a few dashes of their powdered food coloring and I’m ready to go.
This recipe is pretty similar to my cinnamon bun one, except the shells have added cocoa powder and there isn’t any cinnamon in the shells or cream cheese frosting. If I’m truly feeling fancy, sometimes I’ll add white chocolate stripes onto the macaron shells with red sprinkles, or even crumbles of red velvet cake in the middle.
If you’re a beginner, I wrote more detailed post on how to make macarons. There, you can find pictures/GIFs on how I made those chocolate coffee macarons with lavender + white swirls.
If you make red velvet French macarons, I’d love to see your creations—tag me at #bitesbybianca / @bitesbybianca on Instagram! Enjoy! 🙂
Red Velvet French Macarons
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Ingredients
For the French macaron shells:
- 50 g egg whites, room temperature ($0.24)
- 40 g granulated sugar ($0.08)
- ⅛ tsp cream of tartar ($0.04)
- 60 g almond flour, sifted ($1.13)
- 45 g powdered sugar, sifted ($0.20)
- 5 g cocoa powder sifted ($0.09)
- red gel/powdered food coloring ($0.10)
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 3 oz cream cheese, room temperature ($0.71)
- 23 g powdered sugar ($0.23)
- 1 tbsp heavy cream ($0.04)
- pinch of salt ($0.01)
Instructions
Preparation:
- Put printed macaron template on baking trays. Place silicone baking mats or parchment paper on top of templates.
- Set up one large piping bag with a large round tip. If you do not have a round tip, you can just snip the end of the bag before piping.
For the French macaron shells:
- In a medium bowl, mix the sifted almond flour, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder.
- In a small bowl, combine granulated sugar and cream of tartar.
- Pour the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer. Set up a stopwatch to time how long to whip the meringue. 0:00 – 4:00 minutes: Mix on medium-low for 4 minutes (Kitchenaid speed 4).4:00 – 9:30 minutes: Turn the mixer to medium speed (Kitchenaid speed 6). Add a third of the granulated sugar and cream of tartar mixture. After 30 seconds, add another third. After another 30 seconds, add the last of the granulated sugar and cream of tartar mixture. Keep mixing at medium speed until you have reached a total of 9:30 minutes. The meringue should be balled up onto the whisk, glossy, and have stiff peaks. If not, keep mixing at 20-second intervals at Kitchenaid speed 8 until it is.
- Add all of the powdered sugar, almond flour, cocoa, and red food coloring to the meringue. Gently fold the macaron batter, often scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl. Continue folding, adding more red food coloring as needed.
- Fold the batter until it reaches a thick, glossy consistency and flows off the rubber spatula into ribbons. To test if it is ready, allow the batter to flow off the spatula and into the batter. If the ribbons do not melt into the rest of the batter after 30 seconds, continue folding. Be careful not to over mix. When it passes this test, transfer the batter to your medium piping bag.
- Pipe the macarons onto your silicone mats/parchment paper, using your template as a guide. Remove the template once you are finished.
- After piping the macarons, tap the trays against the counter a few times. If there are bubbles on the surface, you can use a toothpick or cookie scribe to pop them. Popping the air bubbles helps stop them from cracking when being baked. Remove templates.
- Allow the macarons to sit out at room temperature to dry for at least one hour. They will be ready to bake once the surface of the macaron is matte and dry to the touch. If it is a really humid day, it can sometimes take 2 hours for them to dry.
- Preheat the oven to 325F. Place an empty baking sheet upside-down on the middle rack.
- Place the baking sheet with the macarons on top of the upside-down baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, rotating halfway through. To test if they are done baking, gently push the side of one shell. If it wiggles on the sheet, they need to be baked longer.
- Remove the macarons and place them on a wire rack. Bake any remaining macaron shells.
- Allow macarons to fully cool before peeling them off the parchment paper or silicone mats.
For the cream cheese frosting:
- Whip the cream cheese and powdered sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the heavy cream and salt. Whip for another 2-3 minutes.
- Transfer frosting to a piping bag.
Assembly:
- Match the macaron shells. Pipe a dollop of the cream cheese frosting on the bottom shell, then add the other shell on top.
- Leave macarons in an airtight container in the fridge for at least 24 hours before eating. This allows them to mature, making them softer, chewier, and more flavorful. Eat at room temperature.