I’m a little bit obsessed with two-puds-in-one treats at the moment (that’s the official term I swear!). I recently posted my to-die-for Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies recipe and if you haven’t yet, you HAVE to give them a go! I’m also a huge fan of my Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake too. I’ve definitely got a few more ‘fusion’ desserts up my sleeve so watch this space!
These Strawberry Cheesecake Macarons are filled with the most scrumptious homemade strawberry jam and a creamy soft cheese frosting. Yum!
This recipe uses the Swiss method to make the macaron shells. It requires heating the egg whites and sugar gently until dissolved before whipping them up to stiff peaks. It’s my favourite method and it also means you can use your egg whites straight from the fridge!
This recipe will take about 20 mins to prepare the macaron mixture and then the macarons will need drying time before they are baked. This can take 30 mins – 2hrs. Once dry, they are baked for approximately 15 mins. This recipe will make up to 24 macarons. The jam can be made well ahead of time and takes about 40 mins to make. I’ve added some tips on how to sterilise your own jars so that the jam can be stored for up to 3 months.
Ingredients:
For the macarons:
- 95 g ground almonds, sieved until fine
- 95 g icing sugar
- 90 g egg whites (approx. 3 egg whites) at room temperature, aged if possible (see tips)
- 90 g granulated sugar
- pink food colouring, powder or gel is best
For the strawberry jam:
- 200 g strawberries, chopped into quarters
- 175 g preserving sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
You can also use shop bought strawberry jam if you don’t have time to make your own!
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 50 g unsalted butter, softened
- 100 g cream cheese, kept cold
- 200 g icing sugar
To decorate, I drizzled the shells with melted pink decomelts (you could also use chocolate) and decorated with pink nonpareils from Baking Time Club. You can get 20% off on all Baking Time Club sprinkles with my exclusive Pippatisserie discount ‘PIPPA20’!
Useful Equipment: 2 baking trays and 2 macaron mats placed on top (if you don’t have a macaron mat, place a sheet of baking paper on each tray and draw out circle templates with a diameter of 3 cm – you can use a cookie cutter to do this), mixing bowls, hand/stand mixer with whisk attachments, stainless steel or glass mixing bowl, saucepans, piping bag with a round nozzle, food processor (optional), sieve, spatula, cocktail sticks, small plate, 250 ml preserving jar (e.g. Kilner)
Useful Tips:
- For best results, age your egg whites. This can be done by separating your eggs the day before and placing the egg whites uncovered in the fridge overnight.
- Bring your eggs to room temperature before whisking.
- You need your dry ingredients to be as fine as possible. Blend them together in a food processor or push them through a sieve a couple of times before combining with the egg. This is how the macarons get their shiny shell.
- Pay attention not to over-whisk your egg whites. This can cause your shells to crack apart during baking (too much air!). You need to get them to the thick and glossy stage.
- Leaving your macarons to dry out before baking is crucial for getting the smooth shell. If they are not dry, they are likely to crack when baking. Once you can touch the top of the shells without your finger sticking, they have dried enough.
Please don’t hesitate to send me a message via the contact page or on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) if you need any advice or help troubleshooting your macarons!
Sterilising your jar: Before making the jam, make sure that your preserving jar is sterilised. You can do this by either washing it in the dishwasher or by hand washing with plenty of soap and hot water and then drying out in the oven on a low heat (160 °C). Make sure that you take off the rubber seal beforehand, wash it separately and do not put them in the oven with the jar.
To make the jam:
- Place a small plate in the freezer. You will use this later to test whether the jam has reached its setting point.
- Put all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and mix to make sure all of the fruit is coated in the sugar. TIP: If you prefer a smoother jam, you can used a masher to break down the strawberries to a rough puree-like consistency.
- Heat the mixture on a low heat, stirring occasionally. Once the sugar starts to dissolve, bring to a boil and let it boil for 5 mins.
- At this point, start testing for the setting point by putting a small tsp of jam on the plate from the freezer. Once the jam has cooled, poke it with your finger; if it wrinkles distinctly then it’s done. If it can be pushed around without any resistance, continue to boil for another 2 mins before testing again. Repeat this until you reach the setting point.
- Once reached, leave the jam to cool in the pan slightly (about 15 mins) before decanting into your jars.
Method:
Making the Macaron Shells:
- Sift together the almond flour and icing sugar into a bowl. If you have one, I recommend blending them together in a food processor to get the mixture as fine as possible.
- In a clean stainless steel or glass bowl on top of a saucepan with simmering water (a bain marie – the water should be about 1 inch deep but make sure your bowl doesn’t touch the surface) lightly whisk the egg whites and granulated sugar together until the sugar has completely dissolved. You can check this by rubbing the egg whites between your fingers – if it’s still got a grainy texture, keep heating and mixing.
- Once the sugar has dissolved, remove the bowl from the heat. Using a hand or stand mixer, whisk the egg white mixture until stiff peaks form. It should be thick and glossy!
- Add the almond flour and icing sugar mixture as well as your food colouring and fold until combined. As you do so, push your spatula down through the mix as you turn the bowl – the aim is to remove some of the air trapped in the mixture.
- Repeat this movement until the batter starts to fall like ribbons. This is a key step to get right as under-mixing can upset the texture of the shells. Pick up some batter with your spatula and let it fall off the end. If it is falling like a ribbon, try drawing a figure of 8. If the batter doesn’t break whilst doing this then it is ready. If it does, keeping folding until the ribbon stage is reached. It should fall quite slowly.
- Place the mixture into a piping bag with a round nozzle and pipe onto your macaron mat/template. Try piping straight down into the centre of the circle to achieve a circular shaped macaron.
- Lift the tray about 10 cm off the surface and drop it down onto the table. Do this a couple of times to bring any air bubbles to the surface. You can then smoothen the top with a cocktail stick.
- Let the macarons sit at room temperature until dry on top. This can take from 30 mins to 2 hrs depending on the room. You will know they are ready when you can touch the top and it isn’t sticky.
- Whilst the macarons are drying, preheat the oven to 150 °C fan/320 °F.
- Bake for 13-14 mins (to get an even bake, rotate the tray every 7 mins). Cool completely on the tray.
Assembling the Macarons:
- In order to get neat looking macarons, try and pair similar shaped shells together.
- For the frosting, beat together the cream cheese and softened butter in a mixing bowl. Gradually add the icing sugar and continue to mix together until smooth and creamy.
- Place into a piping bag and pipe a circle around the edge of the bottom shell. Fill the hole with a teaspoon of jam and sandwich together with the top shell.
- Decorate however you choose! See my tip above if you fancy a drizzle of melted chocolate and a handful of sprinkles. Enjoy!
These macarons will keep up to 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge. Any leftover jam will keep in the fridge for up to a month.
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