When it comes to macarons, I am very particular about it! They should be soft, delicate and chewy and the inside should be moist not mushy! They should not stick to my teeth when I take bite; if I feel resistance while biting I would leave the macaron right there.
But Janki how do you know these how macarons should be?
Well, I trust french pastry chefs when it comes to macarons and after my patisserie crawl in Paris the texture and taste of french macarons have stuck in my brain like muscle memory. And this has made me more critical of my macarons! It took me years and a macaron baking class to bake my perfect macarons consistently.
Then I decided to try macarons without egg whites and I failed spectacularly! But I didn’t give up, that’s not me! After three straight days of making eggless macarons, I am proud to say I have my perfect macarons which are eggless.
The key ingredients for making eggless macarons is Aquafaba; it’s the liquid from canned chickpeas. Drain the chickpea can and use the liquid for make eggless macarons. Aquafaba plus cream of tartar provides the same base as egg whites. You can make meringue, buttercream and even use blow torch to get the brunt effect similar to egg whites.
After trying bunch of recipes and modifying them based on my instincts, this recipe has worked for me every single time.
I don’t recommend reducing aquafaba nor storing the extra aquafaba for future use. Use the aquafaba immediately after opening the can.
Hope my instructions are straight forward for you to give this recipe a try!
Happy Baking!
Eggless Macarons
Ingredients
Macaron Shells
- 75 grams aquafaba
- 110 grams almond flour
- 95 grams powdered sugar
- 60 grams granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Chocolate Buttercream (make in advance)
- 9 ounce semi sweet chocolate chocolate finely chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
Mango Ganache
- 1 cup white baking chocolate finely chopped
- 1/3 cup mango puree I use Kesar mango puree
- 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter diced
Other Fillings
- 1/4 cup strawberry or cherry jam
Instructions
Macaron Shells
- Make sure you have all ingredients measured and by your side before starting to make the macarons.
- Line two baking sheets with silicone mats. I used the silicone mats with stencils for macarons.
- Also have a large piping bag fitted with round tip.
- Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar together in a bowl and set it aside.
- Place the aquafaba in the bowl of stand mixer, add cream of tartar and whip it for 30 seconds to a minute on a medium high speed; until aquafaba mix looks thick and soupy.
- Increased the speed to high and gradually add all the granulated sugar.
- Continue to whip on a high speed until stiff peaks form. If you dip the whisk in the aquafaba mix and hold it straight, the peak should stand straight up.
- Transfer the aquafaba mix into a wider bowl to help you fold in the dry mixture.
- Add the shifted flour and sugar mix and start folding with a spatula slowly. If you want to add any food coloring, this is the time.
- Fold the batter forming the letter J with spatula. Be patient and keep doing it until everything comes together.
- Keep folding slowly just until the batter is flowing slightly. If you grab a spatula full of batter and hold it over the bowl, the batter should fall in the bowl in chunks and not following like a ribbon. This is the key difference between regular macarons and eggless macarons.
- Transfer the batter into the piping bag and pipe 1 1/2 inch circles on the baking sheet. My single sheet has 30 circles so I didn't need to use the second tray.
- Slam the tray against the counter to let all air bubbles out and let the tray rest for 30 to 45 minutes until the shells dry. Test this by slight touch of your finger.
- Pre heat the oven to 285 F, bake one tray at a time for 20 minutes. Rotate every 5 minutes (this is important!).
- Let the macaron shells cool down before removing them from the baking sheet.
Chocolate Buttercream (make in advance)
- Placed the chopped chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. The butter and heavy cream will go in this bowl so make sure to pick a right size bowl.
- Heat the heavy cream and butter combined in a sauce pan over medium high, stirring frequently until just simmering.
- Pour the hot cream and butter mixture over the chopped chocolates, cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Remove the warp and stir gently until smooth. If there are still chocolate chunks, microwave the mix for 30 seconds, stir and repeat until you have a smooth mixture.
- Place plastic warp directly on the top of the chocolate, allow it to thicken overnight at room temperature. Do not refrigerate!
Mango Ganache
- Placed the chopped white chocolate in a heatproof bowl.
- In a medium sauce pan bring the mango puree to slow simmer over a medium low heat.
- Remove the puree from the heat and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for 30 seconds, then whisk it until smooth
- Add diced butter and stir until combine.
- If the white chocolate and butter do not completely melt, place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk continuously until everything is combined.
- Let the ganache cool down completely before filling. As it cools down, it won't be runny and would be easy to pipe.
Assembly
- Pair up macaron shells or keep half of the shells separate before starting to fill and assemble them. This way you won't end up filling all macaron shells.
- For Chocolate + jam macarons, pipe the buttercream around the edge of the shell either with a round top or star tip and fill the center with your choice of jam. I made one set with strawberry jam and other with cherry jam. Make sure the not to over fill the shell with jam, otherwise the it will ooze out.
- For Mango ganache, pipe the ganache with round tip from the center and stop just before the ganache reaches the edge.
- Let the filled macaron shells sit for a minute before putting the top shell.
- Decorate with melted chocolate and sprinkles.
- Refrigerate the macarons in an airtight container for at least 24 hours before serving.
- Let the macaron sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.
