Salted Grapefruit Macarons With Gin Buttercream

Salted Grapefruit Macarons With Gin
                        Buttercream

 Salted Grapefruit Macarons With Gin Buttercream. Inspired by the classic cocktail, The Salty Dog.

French Macarons, what can I say, they are one of the most visually stunning treats imaginable but
they can be big time merde-heads to make. The recipes seem so basic, the shells themselves require
only a handful of ingredients and the fillings can be as simple as raspberry jam. However, you must
follow the instructions just right or you’ll end up feeling like you are lost underground on the Métro
in Paris, it’s a dark place.
I enjoy treating myself to a fancy French macaron every now and then but what I like most about
them are the beautiful color and flavor combos. With their popularity in the states lately I’ve seen all
kinds of gorgeous and sometimes wacky combos. A few years ago I made them on a whim and they
turned out great. So, when I tried them again a few weeks ago I assumed they were in the bag. Au
contraire, when it comes to macarons never assume anything. After many laborious and frustrating
attempts, I think I now have a slight grasp on the fine French art of macarons. In this post I hope to

save you all some time and energy so you don’t make the same rookie mistakes I made in the early
rounds.
This recipe is for Salted Grapefruit Macarons with Gin Buttercream, based off of one of my favorite
summertime sippers, the Salty Dog. This cocktail is far from French but too much fanciness can be
tired. I enjoy the trompe l’oeil these macarons evoke, they fool the eye into thinking sweet French
thoughts but fill your mouth with gin soaked sour and salty sweetness. This flavor combo has
serious savoir-faire.
Prepare yourselves, this is a long and exhaustive post but macarons are complicated. However, when
you get them right you will feel that je ne sais quoi that comes with victory. It’s worth it, trust me. I
have listed a bunch of tips and tricks that I learned along the way in the image captions below. If you
try this recipe and it fails, try again…and then maybe again. Macarons are tricky and they take
practice, plain and simple. Godspeed, my friends.

It helped me immensely to draw 1″-1.25″ guide circles on the backside of the parchment paper in
pencil. Be sure to leave at least 1″-2″ of space between the circles.

You need to start by aging your eggs, this helps diminish the moisture content while maintaining the
  protein bonds that are needed for the shells to form. This extensively informative Macaron guide
from Food Nouveaugoes into more depth about the importance of aged eggs, among everything else
Macaron related (it’s a brilliant post). The simplest way to age eggs is by separating the whites into a
  small bowl, cover them in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-4 days. Also, exact measurements are
    imperative, use a kitchen scale for precise measuring. If you don’t have one just order one on
                                           Amazon already.

Aged egg whites are a thing, use them (see above). Caster sugar is a superfine sugar that melts faster
 than granulated sugar therefore works very well in meringues. Gel food coloring produces a much
better color quality and blends smoother than liquid. Finely zest the grapefruit at least 2 hours before
     making the macarons, you want it to be dry so the moisture doesn’t affect the way the other
                                      ingredients come together.

If you want consistent and smooth macarons, be sure to start with blanched almonds, they are easier
                  and cleaner to work with as the skin has already been removed.

   Grind the almonds into a rough meal is formed, careful not to over grind into almond butter.

Then you’ll add the powdered sugar to the ground almonds and grind again for a few minutes until a
                                  fine and even powder has formed.

Sifting is critical to the process. Your powdered sugar should be sifted and then you will sift together
                            the powdered sugar and the ground almonds.

This is why it’s so important to sift, it will eliminate any unsightly leftover chunky bits of almond.

                Whip the eggs whites for 1-2 minutes until they start to get foamy.

Once the egg whites are foamy, slowly add the caster sugar one tablespoon at a time.

Whip the egg whites and sugar together for another 1-2 minutes until stiff peaks start to form. They
should be firm and stand on their own. When the bowl is turned upside down the egg whites should
                  stick to the bottom of the the bowl and shouldn’t slide around.

Add just a few drops of gel food coloring at a time, a little bit goes a long way.

Gently whip the grapefruit zest and food coloring in with the egg whites and sugar during the last few
                                 moments of whipping to stiff peaks.

Oh so gently fold the almond/powdered sugar mixture in with the meringue in two parts with 3-4
folds each. It is so critical to not over mix here, if you do the meringue will lose it’s structure causing
                    your macaron batter to become too thin and spread like crepe.

             That’s it, only fold until the dry ingredients are just incorporated, no more.

I always set my piping bag inside a tall vase to fill. For a thin batter like this, it might be helpful to
pinch the bottom of the bag with a clip (or twist the bag) while you fill, it keeps the bag from leaking
                     and helps to not waste any of that precious macaron batter.

Ughhhh, this is what happens if you over mix your meringue and dry ingredients. I can’t stress this
                   enough…DO NOT OVER MIX, gently fold with minimal strokes.

Your macaron batter should pipe out like this, thick and smooth with a slight dome and minimal
 spread. Now, let these sweet little rounds rest on the kitchen counter for at least 30-40 minutes
 before you pop them into the oven. The top should form a tacky, slightly hardened skin before
                                             baking.

The macarons should slightly dome and rise up in the oven but maintain smooth top and a strong
                                            frilly foot.

Lightly sprinkle half (just the tops) of the shells with sea salt just before baking so when they come
                              out of the oven the salt sticks to the top.

A solid macaron shell should dome at the top and have a nice strong foot, like this. If you over mix
     the batter they will spread too thin and you will not have the beautiful strong structure.

Be sure to allow the macarons to cool completely on the parchment paper before you remove them.
Once they are cooled they should peel right off the parchment and have a smooth bottom like this.

   Freshly squeezed grapefruit juice and a good bottle of gin are key elements to this delicious
buttercream. I used Aviation Gin, a small batch distillery based in Portland, OR, it is phenomenal.

You only need about 2 tablespoons of grapefruit juice so I suggest you make yourself a little Gin and
                      Juice cocktail with the remaining fresh squeezed nectar.

 First whip together the butter (at room temperature) and the sifted powdered sugar until smooth
 and consistent. Slowly add the gin and juice and mix until fully incorporated. If the buttercream
starts to get too thin add more powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until a thicker consistency is
                                               reached.

  Add the pink food coloring gel a tiny drop at a time until you find a color that tickles your fancy.

Use a small piping tip to pipe the filling on the bottom macaron halves, do not pipe all the way to the
               edge as the filling will spread when you sandwich the cookies together.

When fitting the top and bottom shells together, slightly twist them in opposing directions to lock the
                        frosting, this will help keep them from coming apart.

Très belle.

All boxed up and ready for a soirée.

Salted Grapefruit Macarons with Gin
                          Buttercream
    Fancy French Macarons get a sour salty twist in these Salted Grapefruit Macarons with Gin
    Buttercream, inspired by the classic thirst quenching cocktail The Salty Dog.
   Prep Time: 02h 00min
   Cook time: 01h 30min
   Yield: about 30 macarons
    Ingredients:
   Grapefruit Macaron Shells
   blanched slivered almonds - 115 g
   egg whites - aged 24 hours at room temperature - 100 g (about 3)
   powdered sugar - sifted - 225 g
   caster sugar - 50 g
   grapefruit zest - finely zested - 1 heaping teaspoon
   sea salt for sprinkling - 1-2 teaspoons

   Grapefruit Gin Buttercream
   unsalted butter at room temperature - 1/2 cup (1 stick)
   powdered sugar - sifted - 2 1/2 - 3 cups
   gin - 2 tablespoons
   grapefruit juice - fresh squeezed - 2 tablespoons
    Instructions:
    Before you begin:

Begin by aging your egg whites. Separate the whites from the yolks into a small glass bowl. Cover the
whites with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for 24 hours up to 4 days, this helps diminish the
moisture content while maintaining the protein bonds that are needed for the shells to form. Before
using the egg whites allow them to come to room temperature.
This extensively informative Macaron guide from Food Nouveau goes into more depth about the
importance of aged eggs, among everything else Macaron related (it's a brilliant post).
Finely zest a grapefruit and allow the zest to dry out for at least 2 hours before incorporating it into
the meringue, you want it to be dry so the moisture doesn't affect the way the other ingredients come
together.
It helped me immensely to draw 1"-1.25" guide circles lightly on the backside of the parchment paper
in pencil. Be sure to leave at least 1"-2" of space between the circles.
I found grinding my own blanched almonds to work better than almond meal, however I did not try
almond flour. They provided a consistent, smooth and clean texture without flecks of almond skin.
For the meringue I used caster sugar, a superfine sugar that melts quickly. I did not try using regular
granulated sugar.
Grapefruit Macaron Shells
Line 2-3 baking sheets with prepared parchment paper.
Using a food processor, grind the almonds for about 1-2 minutes until evenly and finely ground,
scraping down the sides of the food processor at least once. Do not over process or you'll end up with
almond butter.
Add the sifted powdered sugar to the food processor and grind together for another 1-2 minutes until
evenly combined. Sift the powdered sugar/almond mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a mixing
bowl to eliminate any chunks, (this is a very important step).
Using a stand mixer (or a hand mixer), beat the egg whites on medium-high speed for 2 minutes
until they start to foam and get frothy. Slowly add the caster sugar one tablespoon at a time, while
whipping, until fully incorporated. Continue to beat the egg white/sugar mixture until glossy and
stiff peaks form. They should be firm and stand on their own, when the bowl is turned upside down
they should stick to the bottom of the the bowl and shouldn't slide around. Quickly add the
grapefruit zest and food coloring during the last moments of the stiffening process. Be careful to not
overbeat the meringue, it should remain stiff and light.
Add half of the sifted almond mixture, gently folding it into the meringue using a spatula. Carefully
lift the meringue from the bottom and up around the sides, toward the middle, being careful to not
over mix the meringue. You want it to remain airy. Only folding 3-4 times, if possible. Once the first
half of the almond mixture is incorporated, add the second half and carefully repeat the folding
motion until just incorporated.

Authoritatively mix by hand about 10 rotations until the consistency is that of molten lava (because
we all know just what that looks like, right?). But really, you want it to be smooth and shiny but still
sturdy, not runny. It is better to undermix here than overmix. If you feel like you are overmixing,
stop!
Pour the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a 0.5-inch tip. On your prepared baking sheets, pipe out
1-1 1/4" rounds within the circles that you drew on the backside of the parchment paper. Continue
until you have used all of the macaron batter.
Forcefully rap the cookie sheets on the counter a few times to get rid of air bubbles and smooth out
the tops of the macarons. Now allow them to rest on the baking sheets at room temperature for at
least 30-40 minutes. A thin and tacky film should form during the resting period and if you gently
touch with your finger the batter should not stick. 15-20 minutes into the resting period preheat your
oven to 300°.
Just before baking sprinkle half of the shells lightly with coarse sea salt.
Bake one sheet at a time for about 15-18 minutes, rotating halfway through. The macarons are done
when they are baked all the way through and the shells just start to harden. If you underbake them,
the interior will come out mushy but if you overbake them they will start to brown in the oven and
get crunchy. Watch them carefully and gently touch the top to test, they should feel firm but not hard
and your finger shouldn't depress into them.
Allow macarons to cool completely on the baking sheets on wire racks. If you try to remove them
from the parchment before they have fully cooled the bases may tear. Once they have fully cooled
they should pop right off the parchment.
Grapefruit Gin Buttercream
Whip the butter on medium-high speed of an electric mixer using the whisk attachment for a few
minutes minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low, and gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing
and scraping the sides of the bowl until all is incorporated.
While mixing on a medium speed, add the grapefruit juice and gin until incorporated and fluffy. If
the frosting appears a bit too soft and thin, add some additional powdered sugar, one spoonful at a
time until desired consistency is reached. Add a few drops of pink or red food coloring and blend
until you are happy with the color.
Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag with a 1/4" tip attached and pipe the filling on the bottom
macaron halves (the unsalted shells). Do not pipe all the way to the edge as the filling will spread
when you add the tops. To assemble, gently press the salted tops onto the filled bottoms and twist
slightly in opposing directions as you sandwich them together. This will lock the frosting in place and
keep the cookies from separating.
You've done it, Bien fait!