Ube Macarons with Ube Cheese Buttercream

Directions

• Almond Paste: In a bowl, add sifted 150g almond flour and 150g powdered sugar. Add 55g of egg whites into the almond flour and sugar and combine with a spatula until it forms a thick paste. It takes a few minutes and may look dry but do not add any more egg whites!
• Sugar Mixture: In a heavy-duty pot, add 150g granulated sugar and 37g water (I use tap water and any temperature works as long as it’s not boiling). Place a digital thermometer in the pot and heat over medium heat. As it cooks, it will start to bubble up, you can occasionally swirl the pan but do not mix it with a spatula, or the sugar will crystallize.
• Egg Whites: While the sugar comes to a boil, in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, add 55g of egg whites. When the sugar mixture reaches 105° Celsius, beat the egg whites on high. The egg whites should be fluffy and white before adding the sugar mixture.
• Meringue: When the sugar mixture reaches 118° Celsius, remove it from the heat and immediately pour the hot syrup into the mixer while simultaneously running it at high speed, in between the whisk and the bowl. Do not scrape all the sugar syrup out, only use what will easily pour out. Whisk for 2-3 min until the meringue is fluffy, glossy and has formed stiff peaks. The temperature of the meringue should be around 40-45° Celsius and the outer bowl should be warm to touch but not hot.
• Macronage: Switch the whisk attachment of your stand mixer to a paddle attachment and add all the almond paste to the meringue. Turn on the mixer on low for 5 seconds then gradually increase it to medium-high or until the almond paste is mostly mixed in for 10-15 seconds. Add the Ube extract and adjust the amount based on how vibrant you want the shells. Scrape the bowl with a spatula and gently fold in until the mixture is homogenous – this should only take another 30 seconds or so. When you lift the batter you should be able to drop it to make a figure 8 shape. Do not overmix!
  
• Piping: Transfer to a piping bag with a round tip (I use Wiltons #12) and pipe onto trays lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. For standard macarons, I pipe each macaron around 1.5 inches wide and 1 inch apart from each other.
• Removing air bubbles: While holding the parchment or silicone mat in place with both hands, whack the entire macaron tray straight down on a safe counter. Continue turning the tray by 90° and whacking twice until you have come around 360°, for a total of 8 whacks. Use a scribe or toothpick to lightly swirl out any remaining air bubbles.
• Drying: Let the macarons dry completely at room temperature in a dry area for around 30 minutes or until the surface is dry to a light touch. The macarons should form a slight film on top, which creates that smooth shell. If you do not dry them completely they will crack.
• Preheat your oven to 290° Fahrenheit and move the rack to the middle of the oven. Bake dried shells one tray at a time for 13-15 min. Cool the shells completely.
• Ube Cheese Buttercream
• In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment or a bowl with a whisk, cream equal parts softened unsalted butter and softened mascarpone cheese until smooth.
• Add Ube extract, a pinch of salt, and half of the powdered sugar and mix on low until fully combined.
• Add the rest of the powdered sugar, mixing on low until fully combined. If the cream is a bit thick you can add a splash of warm milk. Make sure it is warm, as the buttercream will separate if you add cold milk.
• Transfer to a piping bag with either a round or star tip. If the cream is a bit soft, place the filled piping bag in the fridge for 10-15 minutes until it slightly firms up. You do not want it to be completely firm as it will be lumpy and difficult to pipe.
• Assembling the Macarons
• Before piping the macarons, line up two shells of equal size together. Pick up two shells, with one in each hand so that the macaron bases face one another to match them up. Repeat until you have two shells that are similar in size and then place them beside each other.
• Take one of the macaron shells and pipe around 1 Tbsp of buttercream in the middle, leaving a small border around the edge. Take the corresponding shell and slightly press the macaron together, just until the cream comes up to the edge. Do not push too hard or you can crack your shells.
• Optional: To paint the macarons gold, mix small parts of food-grade gold glitter with vodka or Everclear. I estimate the measurements until I get a colour/opacity that I like.
  To make streaks: dip your brush in the gold glitter and swipe from the middle out.
  To make splashes: dip your brush in the gold glitter, and use your fingers to flick gold over the shells.
• Careful not to smudge the gold glitter. Let macarons dry in the fridge uncovered for 30 minutes or until the glitter is dry and buttercream is set. Transfer to an airtight container and let the macarons rest in the fridge for 24 hours to mature. You can eat them right away but they taste much better after maturing for at least 24 hours.