Honey Ginger Macarons

April 8, 2022

These Honey Ginger Macarons have a unique flavor pairing with little fuss involved, and better yet, are made with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry!

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Honey Ginger Macarons with white chocolate honeycomb gold leaf decoration

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The decorating technique we’ll be talking about today DOES require some special supplies, but it’s totally optional to do that part. This luxe looking beehive decoration on these honey ginger macarons was created with bubble wrap, and edible gold leaf. We’ll touch on that more later in the post!

How to Make Honey Ginger Macarons

To begin, let’s make the shells. If you want more details on the macaron making process or you’re new to baking macarons, head over to my Basic French Macaron Recipe first!

Yellow Macaron Shell Color Formula

For this pale yellow shade, I used…

4 drops of Americolor Lemon Yellow
2 Smudges of Wilton Brown

Food Coloring AmeriColor Student – Kit 12 .75 Ounce Bottles Soft Gel Paste Colors

Wilton 8-Count Icing Colors for Cakes & Cupcakes, Gel-Based Colors for Frosting – Note that Packaging May Vary

Yellow meringue for french macarons. Stiff peaks example.

Prepare your batter as usual. Make sure to get those peaks on your meringue nice and stiff like the image above. Pipe macaron shells using a 2A piping tip.

Piped yellow macaron shells on silicone mat

While your shells are resting/baking/cooling, whip up your honey ginger buttercream. This recipe is straight forward, but has room for flexibility based on the amount of ginger you’d like.

Beat the butter and honey until fluffy, and then add the powdered sugar in. Continue beating for a few minutes, scraping down the sides every so often. Add in the ginger, and beat until incorporated. Add in the heavy cream next, and beat on a low speed until smooth. At this point, you can add a small pinch of salt to taste to balance out the sweetness a bit.

Honey ginger buttercream dollops on macaron shells with ginger sprinkled on top

I like to add the max amount of honey possible, so just a note, if your buttercream gets soupy from over beating, just pop it in the fridge to chill, and then rewhip to bring it back together. Something I’ve noticed over the years, is whipping the honey in with the butter at the beginning seems to be more stable and have less issues with a soupy consistency vs mixing the honey in at the end.

Assembling Honey Ginger Macarons

Before assembling, make sure your shells are completely cool. Match up your shells so each has a partner of equal size, and pipe a dollop of your buttercream on one shell in each pair. Leave a little space around the edge of the dollop, because it will spread when you sandwich the shells.

Honey ginger buttercream dollops on macaron shells with ginger sprinkled on top ready to be assembled

At this point, I added another sprinkle of ginger to make that flavor really stand out. This step is optional and can be adjusted to taste. Once finished, place your top shell on the filling and gently press down. Take a look at the natural lighting showing off in this video I took of the honey ginger macarons while assembling!

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White Chocolate Honeycomb Dessert Decoration Using Bubble Wrap

Next, let’s take a minute to check out this honeycomb decoration. Y’all, it’s a STUNNER! This honeycomb technique is surprisingly easy, and also super fun and satisfying to make.

White chocolate honeycomb dessert decorating technique

You’ll begin by washing and drying a sheet of bubble wrap. Then, you’ll need to melt down several ounces of white chocolate. Spread a thin layer of the white chocolate on the textured side of the bubble wrap, and allow it to set completely. Place it in the fridge if you want to speed up the process!

White chocolate on bubblewrap to create honeycomb technique

Now comes the super satisfying part. Flip your chocolate so the bubble wrap layer is on top, and then carefully peel it back until the bubble wrap is completely removed. ASMR fans rejoice! Like I said, SUPER satisfying.

Large piece of white chocolate honeycomb dessert decorating technique

Break your honeycomb into small organic shaped pieces, and set aside.

Broken up pieces of white chocolate bubblewrap honeycomb for dessert decorating

Gold Leaf Application

Next, bust out your edible gold leaf. Turn off your fans, close your windows, and hold your breath because this stuff will fly away with the bat of an eyelash! I ruined my first piece just trying to get a shot of it for a video. Even moving it around too fast on the sheet made it flutter away and get stuck all up on my fingers. Oops.

I used an Edible Gold Leaf product I found on Amazon. This particular one is no longer available unfortunately! If you search for a different option just make sure it’s safe to eat if you plan on using it in edible decor.

I ended up having the most luck getting the gold leaf to stick by brushing a SMALL amount of water on my chocolate first. I then took one of my decorating brushes and gently touched it down to break off a small piece of the gold leaf, and then carefully placed it on to the chocolate.

Even with my sub par gold leaf skills, I was super happy with the final result! The gold makes the honeycomb POP like nobody’s business.

Finished honey ginger macarons with white chocolate gold leaf honeycomb topper decorations

You can either place the honeycomb on the top of your shells, or on the sides. Attach the honeycomb using either a small amount of melted chocolate, or a little bit of buttercream.

Are you feeling the warm fuzzies of creating something beautiful yet? Because I definitely am! I hope you enjoy these Honey Ginger Macarons with an edible honeycomb topper.

Honey Ginger Macarons

Whip up these honey ginger macarons with a simple but unique honey ginger buttercream, and an optional but fabulous edible honeycomb topper.

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Prep Time 2

Cook Time 40

Rest Time 40

Total Time 2 40

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Servings 1.75″ Assembled Macarons

Ingredients

Important Note: If you use the recipe scale function, it will only convert the amounts on the left, not the notes in parenthesis on the right or any amounts written in the instructions)

Macaron Shells

130 grams Egg Whites Approximately 4-5 Large Eggs (Use scale)
120 grams Granulated Sugar
1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar
200 grams Almond Flour
200 grams Confectioner’s Sugar
1 pinch of Salt
4 drop Americolor Lemon Yellow Gel Food Coloring
½-1 drop Americolor or Wilton Brown Gel Food Coloring

Honey Ginger Buttercream

4 oz Salted Butter
3 TBS Honey
8 oz Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Ground Ginger plus a bit for garnish
1 TBS Heavy Cream
1 Pinch of Salt Optional

Decoration

8 oz white chocolate chips
3-5 sheets of Edible Gold Leaf
1 square foot of bubble wrap

Instructions

Macaron Shells

Line 2 upside down baking sheets with a silicone mat or parchment paper (circle template optional but recommended).
Place a medium/large round piping tip (2A) in a large piping bag. Twist the bag right behind the tip and add a clip to seal off the opening. Place the bag tip down into either a clean tall cup with the edges folded over the rim to keep the bag open, or clip it into a bag holder.
Using a kitchen scale, carefully weigh out and sift the confectioner’s sugar and almond flour into a medium mixing bowl. Whisk well to fully blend the two together.
Place egg whites, granulated sugar, and cream of tartar into a large mixing bowl, and begin beating with a whisk attachment using either a handheld mixer or a stand mixer for 2 minutes on a medium low speed (Kitchen Aid Speed 4).
Turn up the mixer to a medium speed (Kitchen Aid Speed 6) and beat for an additional 2 minutes.
Add the gel food coloring.
Turn the mixer up to medium high speed (Kitchen Aid Speed 8) and beat for 3 more minutes, or until peaks are very stiff and the meringue clumps up in a ball in the center of the whisk. Test stiffness by removing the whisk and pointing it upward. (See photo in post) Once the peaks can hold their shape flipped upright, your meringue is ready.
Pour half of the almond flour/confectioner’s sugar mixture into the bowl with the meringue, and fold 15 times. One fold is scraping all the way around the edge of the batter in the bowl, and then pressing your spatula through the middle. Be sure to scoop around the bottom of the bowl and lift as well so you don’t miss any dry ingredients.
Pour in the remaining powdered sugar and almond flour, and continue folding (approximately 30 more folds) until dry ingredients are fully incorporated, the batter is no longer clumpy and stiff. Do not overfold. Please note this recipe stays a bit thicker than most, and should not be folded to the traditional figure 8 test consistency. Start checking your batter’s readiness every 5 folds or so at this point by scraping all batter down to the bottom of your bowl, and then wiggling your bowl back and forth several times. If the batter levels out with a few subtle peaks and lines remaining, it should be ready. The batter should not be completely flat/smooth, this is what it looks like when it's over mixed. (See photos of correct batter consistency in Basic French Macarons post for reference.)
Pour batter into the prepared piping bag, and twist the opening off. Hold your bag at the twist between your thumb and pointer finger. Remove the clip by the tip.
Holding the piping bag straight up and down, apply pressure to begin piping your batter in the center of your circle templates, releasing pressure once you are a few millimeters short of your desired size. After you release pressure, use a small quick circular flick to release your tip from the piped macaron.
Once you’ve piped a full tray, firmly bang the tray on the counter a few times to pop any air bubbles and smooth out shells. Pop any remaining large bubbles with a toothpick. Repeat with the second tray immediately.
Begin preheating your oven to 300℉, using an oven thermometer if possible to ensure accurate temperature readings.
Set aside shells to dry until they form a skin and are no longer tacky to the touch. Once you can gently run a finger over your shells, they are ready to bake. Use a fan to speed up the process, rotating the tray every few minutes to ensure even drying. This usually takes at least 16-20 minutes for me even with a fan.
Once the shells are dry, and the oven has fully preheated to 300℉, place one tray in the center of the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 18 minutes.
Quickly open door to check the shell’s doneness by gently pressing on the side just above the feet to see if it’s firm. If it moves at all, rotate the tray and bake for another 2 minutes.
Check shells by performing the same test, pressing on the side. If they are still unstable, bake for one more minute, and check again. Repeat until shells are firm and do not budge.
Repeat the bake with the second tray.
Allow shells to cool completely, and then carefully remove them from the silicone mat or parchment paper by gently peeling them off.

Honey Ginger Buttercream

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and honey together until light and fluffy.
Add in powdered sugar (and optional salt) and beat until fluffy. Scrape down the sides of your bowl periodically.
Add in the ginger and beat until incorporated. Do not over mix or your buttercream will become soupy. If it does, pop it in the fridge for awhile and then try beating it again in the mixer, and it should come back together.
Add in heavy cream and beat on a low speed until combined. Add salt to taste to balance sweetness.

Assembly

Match each shell with a partner shell of equal size.
Wait to fill macarons until the shells are fully cooled. Using a piping bag with a large round piping tip (like a 1A) pipe a dollop of honey ginger buttercream.
Sprinkle more ground ginger on each dollop of buttercream before sandwiching.
Gently sandwich the matching shell on top.
Refrigerate in an airtight container for 24 hours to allow the macarons to “mature” and fully develop their flavor and texture.

Decoration

Wash and dry one square foot of bubble wrap, and set aside.
Place white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl.
In a microwave safe cup or bowl, heat the white chocolate for 30 seconds, and then stir.
Repeat until chocolate is partially melted, and then shorten time intervals to 10 seconds. Do not overheat or the chocolate will burn. Stir well after each heating in the microwave.
Once only small lumps of chocolate remain, stir well until smooth as residual heat melts the remaining chocolate.
Spread a thin even layer of white chocolate on to the bubble side of the bubble wrap, and allow it to set completely. (Refrigerate to speed up the process)
Carefully peel off the bubble wrap from the chocolate, and then break into small organic shaped pieces.
Using a small brush, add a very small amount of water to your chocolate in the places you plan on adding gold leaf to.
Once again using a small brush, tap down on to your gold leaf sheet and carefully pull away a small amount. Place it on your honeycomb pieces by gently setting it down making as little contact with the brush as possible.
Attach finished honeycomb pieces to the macarons using melted chocolate, or buttercream.

Notes

Skip the resting process with Oven Drying. See How to Oven Dry Macarons Post for more details.

The white whisk

Honey Ginger Macarons

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