Red Velvet Macarons with Mascarpone Frosting

Make these red velvet heart macarons with mascarpone frosting for your valentine! Filled with a subtly sweet, creamy mascarpone frosting, these valentine’s macarons are light and decadent all at the same time. If you’ve never made macarons before, be sure to read all of my essential macaron rules below!

Ingredients

• White Vinegar: To ensure that your meringue remains stable, clean and wipe down all appliances with white vinegar.
• Powdered Sugar: You’ll need powdered sugar for the macaron shells.
• Almond Flour: Be sure to use extra fine almond flour to get those super smooth shells!
• Egg Whites: You’ll need about 3 egg whites for the shells. Don’t worry about bringing them to room temperature because you’ll just heat them up over a double boiler to make a swiss meringue! 
• Granulated Sugar: The sugar is going to be added to the egg whites when making the swiss meringue for the shells. It will only take a couple minutes for the sugar to dissolve into the egg whites, so whisk frequently and watch carefully! You’ll also need ¼ cup of sugar for the frosting. 
• Vanilla Paste: Add a touch of vanilla paste to amplify the flavor!
• Food Gel: I recommend using food gel over food coloring, since it is much more potent and doesn’t add too much liquid. My favorite brand is Americolor. 
• Heavy Cream: You’ll need about a ½ cup of cold heavy cream. 
• Mascarpone: You’ll need about a ½ cup of mascarpone for the frosting.

My 6 Essential Macaron Rules

1. Wipe down all bowls and appliances with white vinegar. This will ensure that everything is spotlessly clean and nothing will hinder the stability of the meringue. 
2. Beat the meringue until STIFF peaks form. The best way to test this is to turn the bowl upside down to make sure that the meringue is stable enough and does not move at all. 
3. SIFT SIFT SIFT! You need to sift the powdered sugar and almond flour twice to get those smooth macaron shells!
4. Mix the batter with a silicone spatula by circling around and straight through the middle. Once all of the dry ingredients are incorporated, deflate the macaron batter by spreading it against the sides of the bowl. This will ensure that the shells do not come out hollow.
5. Test the consistency of the batter frequently by drawing a figure eight with the silicone spatula. You should be able to draw a figure eight a few times in a row without the batter breaking. This is how you know the batter is ready to be piped onto a baking sheet. 
6. Allow the macarons to rest long enough before going into the oven. I would recommend 30-40 minutes of rest time before baking. As they rest, a skin forms on the surface, which is what forces the macarons to bake upwards and grow feet!

Ingredients

For the Macaron Shells:

• 130g powdered sugar
• 120g almond flour
• 7g cocoa powder
• 105g egg whites
• 100g granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• ½ tsp red food gel

For the Mascarpone Frosting:

• 113g (½ cup) heavy cream (cold)
• 50g (¼ cup) granulated sugar
• 113g (½ cup) mascarpone (cold)
• ½ tsp vanilla paste

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Instructions

These red velvet macarons filled with a light mascarpone frosting are the perfect delicate cookie to make for your valentine!

For the Macaron Shells:

1. Prepare a macaron template by tracing a heart-shaped cookie cutter about 2 inches apart on one sheet of parchment paper. You will place this under another piece of parchment paper when ready to pipe the macaron shells. You could also skip the template and just free-hand it. 
2. In a medium bowl, sift the powdered sugar, almond flour, and cocoa powder twice.
3. Next, heat the egg whites and granulated sugar over a double boiler until the sugar has dissolved or until the temperature is about 120 degrees F.
4. Transfer the egg white mixture to a large bowl or a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk until the meringue reaches soft peaks. At this point, you can add the vanilla paste and food gel.
5. Continue whisking the meringue until stiff peaks form. The best way to test if it is ready is by turning the bowl upside down. If the meringue does not fall or move at all, then it is ready.
6. Start the macaronage by folding in ⅓ of the dry ingredients. Mix carefully with a silicone spatula by scraping aroung the sides of the bowl, then through the middle of the batter. Do this a few times until it is mostly combined.
7. Add the remainder of the dry ingredients, folding with the same gentle method. Once the dry ingredients are fully incorporated, begin spreading the batter along the sides of the bowl to deflate it slightly. I find that this mixing method ensures that the shells do not bake up hollow. Continue scraping around the sides of the bowl and through the middle. The mixture is ready when you can draw several figure eights without the batter breaking.
8. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag with a small round piping tip (I used Ateco 802). Place your macaron template under another piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and pipe perpendicular to fill in each heart. Carefully remove the template and tap the baking sheet on the on counter a few times in order to release any air bubbles. It also helps to bang on the bottom of the baking sheet with your hand. 
9. Let the macarons rest for about 30-40 minutes, or until they are dry and no batter comes away when you touch them.
10. Toward the end of the resting time, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
11. Bake the macarons for about 12 minutes. Allow to cool completely before removing them from the baking sheet.

For the Mascarpone Frosting:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine the heavy cream, sugar, mascarpone, and vanilla.
2. Whisk on low speed until fully combined, then turn up to medium high speed until thick (only about 30 seconds).

For Assembly:

1. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. 
2. Pair the macaron shells up and pipe the frosting onto the bottom shell, then place the paired shell on top, pressing down slightly to ensure they stick together.

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Notes

• The flavor of macaron shells develop more by the second day, so I recommend making them the day before and chilling them overnight, then assemble the next day. 
• If you have trouble peeling the macarons off of the parchment once they have cooled, pop them into the freezer for a few minutes and they should come off easily.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 macaron Calories: 137 Sugar: 14.8 g Sodium: 13.6 mg Fat: 5.6 g Carbohydrates: 15.9 g Protein: 1.9 g Cholesterol: 13.4 mg.