If you could wrap Christmas up in a macaron, this is what it would be! Full of warm Christmas spices and filled with a luscious brandy white chocolate ganache, these Christmas Pudding Macarons make the ultimate holiday treat!
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THE CHRISTMAS PUDDING MACARON SHELLS
When I first learnt how to make macarons, I wanted to make them for everybody! Which I did....everyone received boxes of various macarons for Christmas. But I wanted to create a special flavour for the holiday season, one that just felt like Christmas. So I added some warm, festive spices to my shells as well as some cocoa to give them a natural colour. It also gave them another layer of flavour, which goes perfectly with the spices.
FILLED WITH BRANDY WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE
A lot of the flavour of a macaron comes from the filling, which is why the filling is so important! In the case of my Christmas Pudding Macarons, there's a double hit of flavour. These shells are flavoured (most macaron shells aren't) with Christmas spices, plus the white chocolate ganache with brandy gives them an extra whammy! The ganache is whipped, making the filling lighter in colour and absolutely fluffy and delicious. If you want to leave the brandy out, you can, as the shells have enough flavour on their own, but the brandy makes these Christmas cookies extra special!
THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS TREAT
Whether you're baking for gifts, or serving up a dessert platter on Christmas day, these adorable Christmas Pudding Macarons need to be at the top of your list! They're super decadent, chewy and delicious....and they're full of Christmas spirit (literally!) . Plus they just look so damn cute!
I love to serve lots of Christmas desserts at lunch (well there's a surprise!) and so I mostly make individual serves. That way, everyone gets to have a bit of everything. And one of the most popular desserts is my macarons, with my Christmas Pudding Macarons being the favourite! Spiced with the festive flavours of cinnamon, nutmeg and mixed spices, as well as a hint of cocoa, they just have to be one of the best Christmas cookies ever! And as for the brandy...it adds such a delicious flavour to the white chocolate ganache. In my book, it's an absolute must!
Ingrdients YOU'LL NEED:
Ingredients:
- almond meal
- icing sugar
- Dutch cocoa
- aged egg whites: to age egg whites, place them in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and pierce a few holes in the wrap. Refrigerate for 1-3 days. Use at room temperature.
- cream of tartar
- caster sugar
- mixed spice
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- white chocolate
- heavy cream
- brandy
- red, green and white sprinkles (optional, but very cute!)
Equipment:
- stand mixer and/or electric hand mixer/stick blender
- baking sheets
- Silpat macaron mats
- disposable piping bags
- 1A nozzle for piping macarons
- 1B for piping ganache (or use 1A if you prefer)
- large mixing bowl
- silicone spatula
- tall jug (optional, but makes it easier to fill the piping bag)
- digital thermometer
PERFECTING MACARONS
Macarons can be a little frustrating to make, if you don't know how. Believe me, I tried so many different recipes! It wasn't until I did a macaron class at Savour in Melbourne that I really nailed them. If you're serious about making macarons, these guys are the best to learn from! But for now, you can follow the steps in my recipe below and also check out my Guide To Perfecting French Macarons which shows my piping technique.
I hope you enjoy making my Christmas Pudding Macarons. They're such cute, festive little cookies that I guarantee are going to be a huge hit this Christmas! And those Christmas spices and brandy white chocolate ganache are seriously just so so festive!
And please, if you make these macarons, be sure to leave a comment or a rating on my recipe below! I love hearing from you and will make sure I answer any questions you may have. If you do make this recipe, please tag me on Instagram! I'd love to see what you've made!
For more Christmas desserts, check out:
Christmas Pudding Macarons
Ingredients
Macaron Shells
- 150 g Almond Meal
- 150 g Pure icing sugar
- 5 g Dutch Cocoa
- ½ teaspoon Mixed Spice
- ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
- 55 g Aged egg whites (A) see post
- 55 g Aged egg whites (B)
- pinch Cream of tartar
- 150 g Caster sugar
- 38 g Water
White Chocolate Brandy Ganache
- 400 g White Chocolate chopped
- 150 g Heavy Cream
- 1 tablespoon Brandy
Decoration (optional)
- Melted white chocolate to drizzle
- Red, green and white sprinkles optional
Instructions
White Chocolate Brandy Ganache
- Place the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl
- Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it reaches boiling point
- Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 1 minute
- Use a bamix or whisk to blend the cream and chocolate, then stir through the brandy. Cover with plastic wrap (touching the surface to prevent a skin) and cool until thick (I pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes).
Macaron Shells
- Preheat oven to 145°C fan and place 2 empty baking trays on 2 racks. (1 on each rack)
- In a food processor, combine the almond meal, cocoa and icing sugar (this will be your "tant pour tant"). Now sift it 3 times into a large mixing bowl.
- Line baking trays with silpat mats (you'll need 4 mats, if you want to pipe the macarons all at once).
- Prepare a large disposable piping bag with a #1A piping tip and place the bag inside a tall cup/jug, ready to be filled.
- In a small saucepan, heat the caster sugar and water over medium heat. Give a little stir as you insert the digital thermometer. Once the syrup starts to boil, stop stirring, as this will cause crystals.
- WHEN THE SUGAR MIXTURE REACHES 110°CIn a bowl of your stand mixer, begin whisking the egg whites (A) and cream of tartar (it may be easier to whisk it with your hand mixer first, as it's a small amount. Once it's increased in volume, transfer the bow to your stand mixer). once the sugar syrup reaches 110°C. Use the mixer on medium speed to form soft peaks, keeping watch of the syrup, as it must not go over 118°.
- As soon as the sugar syrup reaches 118°, remove the thermometer and (with the mixer turned to low) pour the syrup into the whisked egg whites in a thin, steady stream. This is the Italian meringue.
- Increase speed to medium and continue to whisk until mixture cools to 35°.
- In a separate mixing bowl, combine the tant pour tant (almond meal, icing sugar, spices and cocoa) with the remaining egg whites (B) with a rubber spatula, to form a thick paste.
- Once the Italian meringue has cooled to 35°, scoop some out with the rubber spatula and mix it into the paste to loosen it.
- Add the remaining meringue in a couple of batches and continue to fold through, scraping the bowl and folding the mixture over, whilst rotating the bowl. Make sure you scrape the bottom, to get all of the paste.
- Continue folding, scraping and rotating (macaronner) until the batter is smooth and shiny. Batter should have the consistency of cake batter and not too thin.
- Scoop batter into prepared piping bag, then place the bag on the bench and push out air pockets. Twist the end of the bag and secure with a rubber band (I find twisting it is sufficient).
- Piping the shells: holding the nozzle end with one hand and the twisted end with the other, hold the bag directly above the marked silpat mat and gently squeeze from the top hand. Release pressure before the batter reaches the inside edge of the circle and give the bag a little twist at the nozzle end, to break the release of batter.
- Place a tea towel onto the kitchen bench, then give a gentle whack of the tray, to release air bubbles. Rotate tray and repeat.
- Let macarons rest for 15 minutes up 1 hour, to allow them to dry a little (you want the shells to not be sticky)
- Place 2 trays with the piped shells into oven, directly on top of the trays that are already in there.
- Bake for 14-15 minutes (check macaron shells -if they still wiggle, they're not quite ready. Give them another minute). Repeat with remaining trays.
- Once cooked, immediately slide silpat mat off baking tray and onto the bench to cool. Once completely cooled, shells can be gently lifted from mat (see post), put into pairs and filled.
Filling the Macarons
- Put the ganache into a mixing bowl of a stand mixer and whip for 1 minute, making the ganache lighter in colour and fluffier.
- Scoop the White Chocolate Brandy Ganache into a piping bag fitted with a #1A or large fluted nozzle and pipe onto half of the macaron shells, sandwiching with the other half.
- Decorate wit the extra melted chocolate and sprinkles
- Refrigerate or freeze macarons in an airtight container. They will keep for 3 days in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer.
Notes
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