Cherry Blossom Macarons

Just a few weeks ago, my mother in law sent me these beautiful pictures of the cherry blossoms in North Carolina. ...

Amazing right?

The National Cherry Blossom Festival runs from March 20th to April 27th.  This has been my inspiration for April's Macaron of the Month.  (subscribe here)

Cherry Blossom Macaron Recipe

My basic macaron shell is adapted from the classic Laduree recipe.

Macaron shells 
275g Almond Flour
250g  confectioners sugar
210g egg whites
210g  granulated sugar
a few drops red food coloring

1 separated egg white

a douse of rose water

Used with a Black Cherry spread & Buttercream filling

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F

Combine almond flour and confectioners sugar together in a food processor and blend thoroughly. Sift the mixture.

With your standing mixer, beat your egg whites until foamy and slowly add a few drops of rose water & granulated sugar beating on medium speed. Once the sugar has mixed with the egg whites completely, increase to medium high and beat until a thick glossy meringue forms.

With a clean rubber spatula, fold your sifted almond flour and sugar into the egg whites slowly until combined.  You will want to stick to longer strokes and be sure to scrape from the bottom of the bowl.  This is where the almond flour and sugar tend to remain unmixed.  Over mixing will make the macarons to runny and flat.  You will want the mix to flow like lava. 

Pour mixture into a piping bag and delicately pipe the macarons onto a double stacked baking pan with a silicone baking mat.  You may use parchment paper as well, but I find that the heat distribution is better with the mats.

Gently tap the pans on the counter to release air bubbles form the shells.  Allow them to rest on the counter for ten minutes before baking.  

Place pans in oven for 15 minutes.  Remove form oven and allow macarons to cool completely then fill with a dollop of black cherry preserves and buttercream.

Whisk the small remaining egg white and red food coloring.  Use a medium sized brush to paint the top of the macarons shells.  Do not over brush the egg whites as you can risk making your macarons soggy.  Place in fridge and remove 15 minutes before serving!