Saffron Macarons with Passion Fruit Marmalade Buttercream

These have to be the hardest thing I’ve ever attempted to make, and I still haven’t come close to perfecting it yet. I’m not a baker; I like to improve in the kitchen and baking seldom allows for that. Items need to be measured and with macarons, ingredients MUST be exact.

The first thing you need to have is a lot of patience. This isn’t a cookie you can rush. Respect the damn cookie. You will need to prepare ingredients ahead of time. Even after you’ve baked and filled your macarons, it is recommended that you allow them to rest in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours before enjoying them. This allows for the flavors to come together and the texture to change; crisp on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. Macarons fresh out of the oven are not macarons so CALM DOWN and WAIT!

All of the sources I’ve found on baking macarons recommends that you use a food scale to measure and not measuring cups, for precise amounts. They have them everywhere now and they are fairly cheap so get one.

My macarons are based entirely on joyofbaking.com ‘s recipe, they have a youtube video that I recommend you watch prior to baking. There’s another great video from Entertaining with Beth on youtube that you should check out too!

I thought adding saffron to the shell batter would meld well with the almond flavor. It is completely optional. The passion fruit buttercream is tart and balances out the sweetness of the cookie.

Saffron Macarons with Passion Fruit and Marmalade Buttercream.

For the Shells

100 grams ground blanched almonds or almond meal/flour

180 grams confectioner (powdered or icing) sugar

100 grams "aged" egg whites, at room temperature

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (optional)

35 grams superfine or castor white sugar (can grind sugar in food processor to make fine)

A few strands of Spanish saffron, crushed finely with the back of a spoon (approx.. 1/8 teaspoon)

For the Filling

½ cup of butter

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 tablespoons orange marmalade

4 tablespoons passionfuit pulp (in the freezer aisle)

1-5 Days Ahead: Separate your egg whites, placing them in a small bowl. Cover with a paper towel and allow to age in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. This is an important step in ensuring your egg whites reach the desired stage when beaten.

Day Of: Have ready three baking sheets (make sure they have flat bottoms (no warping)) lined with parchment paper.

Place the ground almonds and confectioners sugar in a food processor and process until finely ground (about 1 - 2 minutes). Sift the mixture to remove any lumps. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (can use a hand mixer), beat the egg whites and cream of tartar (optional) on medium speed until foamy. Add in the sugar and ground saffron, gradually,  and continue to beat on medium-high speed until the meringue just holds stiff peaks (when you slowly raise the whisk the meringue is straight up, no  drooping, called a 'beak').

In three additions, sift the ground almond/sugar mixture over the meringue. When folding, cut through the meringue and then fold up and over, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl (I recommend you watch the joy of baking video to see how it is done). Once the almond mixture is completely folded (called macaronage) into the meringue (the batter will fall back into the bowl in a thick ribbon).

Fill a pastry bag, fitted with 1/2 inch (1 cm) tip, with about half the batter. Pipe about 1 - 1 1/2 inch (3 - 4 cm) rounds onto the parchment paper.  Tap the baking sheet on the counter several times to release air bubbles.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Let the Macarons sit at room temperature for about 30-60 minutes  or until the tops of the Macarons are no longer tacky. This is CRITICAL for the macarons to bake properly.

Bake Macarons for 16-20 minutes. Do not underbake, or cookies will sink.

Meanwhile prepare your buttercream. Cream your butter with mixer at medium speed until soft and yellow. Slowly add the confectioners sugar and mix until smooth. Add passion fruit pulp and marmalade.

Remove from oven and let the Macarons cool completely on the baking sheet

Take two cookies. Pipe a small amount of the filling on the flat side of one cookie and sandwich with the other. 

Place assembled cookies in refrigerator and allow to rest for 24-48 hours

Steak(less)house Pizza *Vegan*

 This was derived from a recipe I cam across in Chef Daniel Bolud's self-entitled cookbook for a steakhouse pizza.  It was actually not one of the written out recipes, but rather listed as a staff meal; what the chefs and serving staff at his restaurant would whip up and eat from time to time. I was intrigued and dog-eared the page, intending to prepare a steakhouse pizza of my own.

I came across the folded page a few months back and became even more determined to replicate this pizza, especially since I had become a vegetarian. I love a good challenge. So I substituted the strips of rare meat for juicy seasoned portobello's and the the dairy cream in the spinach for homemade almond. 

This pizza is carnivore approved, my husband loved it. The horseradish cream and fried onions are an amazing addition both in texture and flavor. 

*Disclaimer* I don't measure. These measurements are estimates. Use your own judgment.

Steak(less)house Pizza:

3-4 cups fresh baby spinach

1 cup prepared almond cream (instructions below)

Fresh ground nutmeg to taste

2 Large Portobello Mushrooms cut into strips

Ground thyme

Smoked paprika


Fresh ground black pepper

1 clove garlic minced

1 round of frozen pizza dough (thawed and prepared as package instructs)

Cornmeal 

2 Tbs prepared horseradish sauce 

1/4 cup Veganaise or homemade vegan mayo

Salt and Pepper to taste

Prepared fried onions

For the Creamed Spinach:

Preheat oven to 450. Sautee the spinach with a little olive oil or non-stick spray in a medium saucepan. Once wilted, add almond cream, salt, and pepper to taste. Simmer on low until thickened and spinach is breaking up. Set aside.

For the Seasoned Portobello Mushrooms:

Heat a little oil or non-stick spray in a medium saucepan. Add sliced portobellos, season with salt pepper thyme and paprika. Reduce heat and add garlic. Set aside.

For the Pizza Crust:

Once pizza dough has thawed and risen according to its package instructions, punch it down and roll it out thinly. sprinkle a little cornmeal at the bottom of a cast iron skillet or pizza pan. Spread out rolled dough into pan with fingers. prick with fork and brush with a little olive oil.

Spread cooled spinach onto crust. Arrange portobello mushrooms over spinach mixture. Reduce oven heat to 400 and bake for 10-15 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

For the Horseradish Sauce:

In a small bowl combine horseradish, veganaise, and the rest of the almond cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste. set aside.

***

Serve warm slices of pizza with fried onions and a dollop or horseradish cream. I suggest pairing with a nice pinot grigio or even a bubbly prosecco.

*Almond Cream* 
1 Cup Almond Milk
1 Tablespoon vegan butter such as Smart Balance
1-2 Tablespoons Flour.
in a small saucepan, melt vegan butter. which in flour until a thick paste forms, cook on low while still whisking for a few minutes. Add almond milk slowly into flour paste, whisking vigorously to avoid lump. Cook and stir on medium heat until thickened. Allow to cool.