Blackberry macarons

There are always new flavors and ideas to try when making macarons. When I was in Paris I was lucky enough to try Pierre Hermes signature macaron named Ispahan. It's larger than normal macarons and it has a raspberry, rosewater and lychee flavor. It was absolutely delicious and it looked amazing. It inspired me to make my own version of a bigger and "filled" macaron.

I had this idea of making a simple mascarpone cream with fresh blackberries and a homemade blackberry jam. I was searching for frozen blackberries but I couldn't find them anywhere. I ended up just buying frozen forest fruits and picking out the blackberries (haha). I wanted the jam to ooze out and have a strong blackberry flavor. If you prefer different berries you can substitute the blackberries for your favorite berry. 

I was extremely happy with how my macarons turned out. They were gorgeous and the taste was sublime. The jam was packed full of flavor and sweetness and the mascarpone-vanilla cream added some relief from all that sugar. The addition of candied ginger made the taste even more interesting and a bit spicy. There macarons are definitely worth your time and effort.

Blackberry macarons

(Makes about 8)

Time:

Preparation: 45min

Cooking: 15min

Resting: 30min

Baking: 15-17min

For the macaron shells:

• 95g room temperature egg whites
• 125g granulated white sugar
• 40g water
• 135g almond flour or finely ground almonds
• 135g icing sugar
• a drop of purple food coloring (optional)

For the mascarpone cream:

• 100g mascarpone
• 250+50g heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon icing sugar
• 1 vanilla bean
• 4g gelatin

For the blackberry jam:

• 125g frozen blackberries
• 170g white granulated sugar
• 90g water
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

For the filling:

• 150g fresh blackberries
• 15g candied ginger (optional)

Making the blackberry jam:

Thaw blackberries if using frozen. Place them in a small pot and add the lemon juice. Process with immersion blender until smooth and pour it through a sieve. Heat the blackberry mixture until smoking then turn off the heat.

In a separate pot add sugar and water and place on medium heat. Heat until it reaches 121°C (250°F). Add the blackberry puree and stir with a whisk, be careful the hot mixture will bubble up. Cook about 10 minutes or until it reaches 105°C (221°F). Pour in a heatproof bowl and set aside to cool completely. Once cooled, pour in a piping bag.

Making the mascarpone cream:

Soak gelatin in cold water and set aside.

Combine mascarpone, icing sugar and 250g heavy cream, lightly whisk to combine. Pour 50g of heavy cream in a small sauce pan, add vanilla and heat until very hot. Squeeze water from gelatin and add to hot cream. Stir and pour in the mascarpone and cream mixture. Add a tablespoon or two of previously made blackberry jam.

Blend with immersion blender until smooth. Place plastic foil on the surface, to prevent the skin from forming and place in the fridge to set.

Once completely set and jelly-like, whisk until stiff peaks form. Pour in a piping bag and set in the fridge until you are ready to assemble.

Making the macaron shells:

The preparation for the shells is the same as in the Basic macarons recipe.

To achieve a marbling effect on the shells, follow the basic macaron recipe and do not use any food coloring. When the mixture is ready to be pured in the piping bag, pour only 1/2 of the macaron mixture in a piping bag. Color the other half of the mixture with violet food coloring. Pour the colored mixture in the same piping bag. Place the spatula in the piping bag and gently mix the two different colored mixtures in the piping bag.

Pipe the macarons on a parchment paper/silicone mat. Let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes or until they are not sticky to the touch.
Bake in the preheated oven at 150°C (302°F) for 17 minutes. If the macarons are still sticky at the bottom return them to the oven and bake more. Set aside to cool completely.

Assembly:
Pipe mascarpone cream on the bottom half of the macaron shell. Pipe blackberry jam over the cream. Arrange fresh blackberries around the cream. Pipe more jam over the cream and blackberries. Slice tiny candied ginger pieces and arrange them over the jam.
Top with the upper macaron shell. Pipe a small dollop of cream on top and garnish with fresh mint.

This macarons are ready to be enjoyed right away because the fresh cream makes them soft. They can be stored for maximum two days in the fridge. After a day they can turn out very soft, I recommend you assemble them right before ready to serve.