Peanut Butter & Jelly Marbled Macarons

Macarons, the way to my heart ❤ The process of making my marbled macarons can be found in my youtube video here –

After many a macaron disaster, I came across this recipe that clicked with me, and since following it every time I attempt macaron it has never failed me.

The peanut butter jam filling my LORD is just addictive. The nutty buttercream is sublime, and when paired with a sharp raspberry jam it creates the most beautifully balanced bite of macaron.

The marbled effect is such a lovely finish too, but completely optional. You could even take it one step further and use a rainbow of colours. It’s really important in this step that you use a gel colouring and not a liquid-based colour.

Please leave any comments or questions you have below and enjoy.

Lots of love, Sofia xxx

INGREDIENTS

Macaron:

• 130g ground almonds
• 130g icing sugar
• 90g caster sugar
• 100g egg whites
• A pinch of cream of tartar or salt
• Pink food gel (optional) – any colouring you used to need to be a gel for this recipe and not a liquid food colouring 🙂

Buttercream:

• 140g butter, room temp
• 280g icing sugar
• 2-3 heaped tbsp peanut butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp raspberry jam
• 1 tbsp milk (if your buttercream is feeling too thick to pipe

 

METHOD

1. Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
2. Sift together your ground almonds and icing sugar (the 130g batch) together into a bowl, discarding large lumps. I also like to give my ground almonds and icing sugar a whizz in the food processor – so the consistency is super fine.
3. In a clean glass bowl, whisk your egg whites until foamy and frothy. Add your cream of tartar or salt and continue to whisk until ‘soft peaks’ – this is when the egg whites are starting to get thicker, but don’t yet retain their shape. Add your caster sugar in 3 stages and continue to whisk until you get a nice glossy meringue – I would say for another 2 or 3 minutes.
4. Next, add 1/3 of the almond mix into the egg whites and fold with a spatula. With your spatula make figures of 8 patterns, scooping the ground almond mix around and down in the meringue. You don’t have to be too delicate at this stage!
5. Add the rest of the almond mix and continue to fold gently. This stage is called ‘Macaronage’, and is so critical!
   1. Stop folding when your macaronage has a ‘lava-like’ or honey consistency –  Another great tip is to draw out a figure of 8 into the macaronage with your spatula – if the trails of the macaronage mix stay in place then it is ready 🙂
6. Next, take your piping bag fitted with a round nozzle, and brush a blob of food gel in three or four lines inside the piping bag.
7. Fill up your piping bag, and pipe the macaron mixture into equal-sized circles. When piping your macaron mix, guide the nozzle with one of your hands holding just above the nozzle, whilst applying pressure at the top of the bag. This grip will help give you the most accuracy and control when piping.
8. After piping, bang your tray on top of your work surface… by tap, I mean actually hit your baking tray down onto the surface with quite a force. This is to get rid of any air bubbles in your shells which cause cracking when baking. I tap my tray about 3 or 4 times, but try not to get carried away..!
9. If there are any visible air bubbles on the surface of your macarons, pop them with a toothpick.
10. Next, turn on your oven to 160°C.
11. Leave your macaron shells to rest on a work surface for around 30 mins. This is so your shell’s develop a ‘skin’, which allows little macaron ‘feet’ to form when baking. I have always rested my macarons, although some cookery books will miss out this step. You’re looking for the appearance of your shells to become matte and not shiny on the surface, this could take 15 mins, or even 45!
12. Place one baking tray into the oven at a time, and bake for 12-14mins. Your macarons should have little feet forming, and turn a very pale golden colour.
13. Gently remove the shells from your baking parchment, and leave to cool.
14. Now it’s time to make the buttercream! Start by placing your softened butter in a bowl/ freestanding mixer, and beat for 3-4 mins until pale and smooth. This will produce the fluffiest buttercream.
15. Next, sift in half of your icing sugar into the butter, and beat until smooth and consistent. Once consistent, sift in the remaining icing sugar and vanilla extract and beat again.
16. Finally, add in your peanut butter until you have a silky buttercream that you can dollop off your spoon. If the buttercream is looking too thick, add 1-2tbsp of milk and beat well.
17. Now its time to assemble. Pair up your shells that have the same size (sometimes mine vary slightly), to make a top and bottom of the macaron.
18. To assemble your macarons, pipe a blob of buttercream (roughly covering 3/4 of the surface of the shell) into the centre of one of the pairs of macaron shells.
19. Spoon a small blob of raspberry jam on top of the buttercream, and finally place the paired macaron shell on the top.
20. ENJOY.