Mango Macarons

Bright, colourful and full of flavour!

I love how cheerful these fabulous little macarons are. I always associate mangos with warmth and sunshine so it’s nice to be able to feel that joy all year round!

These macarons are sandwiched together with a mango white chocolate ganache and a dollop of mango jelly (yum!). They are sweet, fruity and oh so moreish!

This recipe makes the ganache and jelly in excess so no need to worry you’re going to run out if you like your macarons to be generously filled. The leftovers are great to use as cake fillings or spread on top of an old-fashioned digestive as a tea-time treat!

As usual, I have suggested using the Swiss method to make these macarons. This is where you heat the egg whites to dissolve the sugar before whipping them into stiff peaks. I find it’s the easiest way and I get faultless macaron shells every time! Of course, if you’re a French or Italian meringue kind of person, you can adapt the recipe for those methods too.

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, heatproof bowl, sharp knife, chopping board, measuring jug, saucepans, piping bag with a round nozzle, food processor (optional), sieve, spatula, cocktail sticks

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 covered with cling film in the fridge overnight.
• 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 ‘stiff peak’ stage.
• For best meringue results, wipe your mixing bowl and whisk with kitchen towel dampened with lemon juice.
• 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!

Making the Macaron Shells:

1. 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.
2. In a clean stainless steel or glass bowl on top of a saucepan with simmering water (a bain marie) 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.
3. 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!
4. 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 (making a ‘J’ shape) – the aim is to remove some of the air trapped in the mixture.
5. 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, keep folding until the ribbon stage is reached. It should fall quite slowly.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Let the macarons sit at room temperature until dry on top. This can take from 30 mins to 2 hrs depending on the conditions of the room. You will know they are ready when you can touch the top and it isn’t sticky.
9. Whilst the macarons are drying, preheat the oven to 150 °C fan/320 °F.
10. Bake for 13-15 mins. Cool completely on the tray.