Macaron Birthday Cake
Whip up some birthday magic with a macaron birthday cake layered with nostalgic cake batter frosting and cheerful rainbow sprinkles.
Ingredients
Rainbow Sprinkle Macaron Shells
- 130 grams egg whites (Approximately 4 large eggs, always use scale to measure)
- 130 grams granulated sugar
- ½ tsp cream of tartar
- 200 grams almond flour (Preferably Blue Diamond)
- 200 grams confectioner’s sugar
- 1 tbsp rainbow nonpareil sprinkles
- 1 small dot violet gel food coloring (Optional: helps cancel out yellow tones for whiter shells)
Cake Batter Frosting
- 8 oz salted butter (room temperature)
- 5.2 oz yellow cake mix (1 cup) *needs to be heat treated, see recipe instructions
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 8.5 oz powdered sugar (2 cups)
- 8 oz cream cheese (room temperature, use the block style of cream cheese, not the tub)
- 2 tbsp rainbow nonpareil sprinkles
Assembly
- Birthday Candles
Instructions
Rainbow Sprinkle Macaron Shells
- *See notes for Oven Drying Process before beginning. This is what I primarily use currently, but this recipe will detail out a traditional rest method.
- On a piece of parchment the size of your baking sheet, create a template for the bigger shells. Trace four 4" circles, evenly spread out and not too close to each other or the edges of the pan. Tip: Use a 4" bowl or cookie cutter. *Note: Piping the shells as 4" circles will eventually give you 5" shells after the batter settles once the trays are tapped.
- Prepare the baking sheets by placing two baking sheets upside down. One tray should have the parchment template with a silicone mat on top. For the other tray, a silicone mat with smaller macaron circle templates is recommended.
- Place a medium sized round piping tip (like a Wilton 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 3 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 3 minutes.
- Add a TINY dot of purple gel food coloring to whiten shells (optional) Don't add too much color here or the shells will be too purple.
- Turn 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 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 your almond flour/confectioner’s sugar mixture into the bowl with your meringue, and fold 15 times. One fold is scraping all the way around the edge of your batter in your bowl, and then dragging your spatula through the middle. Be sure to scoop around the bottom of the bowl 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 and the batter is no longer super clumpy. 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 few subtle peaks and lines remaining, it should be ready. (See photos in post for reference.)
- Pour batter into prepared piping bag, and twist the opening off. Hold your bag at the twist between your thumb and pointer finger. Remove the clip.
- Holding the piping bag straight up and down, apply pressure to begin piping your batter in the center of your 4" circle templates, releasing pressure once you reach the edge of the template. Don't circle the piping tip around the template for this size of macaron, just let the batter flow out to the edges as you pipe. After you release pressure, use a small quick circular flick to release your tip from the piped macaron.
- Once you’ve piped all four larger shells, 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.
- Sprinkle on the rainbow nonpareils. Make sure some land on the sides where they will be seen after assembling the layers.
- With the second tray, pipe 4-5 1.5" sized macaron shells and several mini 1.25" shells. Tap trays and pop air bubbles again, and add rainbow sprinkles.
- Begin preheating your oven to 300 degrees, using an oven thermometer 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 shells are dry, and the oven has fully preheated to 300, place the first tray with the larger shells 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.
- Bake the second tray with the smaller macarons. They won't need as much bake time. Check shells after 16 minutes and repeat the check for doneness, baking in 1-2 minute increments until shells are firm when tested.
- Allow shells to cool completely, and then carefully remove from silicone mat or parchment paper by gently peeling them off.
Cake Batter Frosting
- Begin by heat treating the cake mix. Preheat oven to 350 degrees ℉. Spread the cake mix in an even layer on a baking sheet, and bake for 5 minutes until the mix reaches 160° making it safe to eat. Set aside until cool.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on a medium high speed for one minute.
- Sift in the heat treated cake mix, and add in the salt, almond extract, and vanilla extract. Beat for 2-3 minutes on medium high. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
- Add in the powdered sugar, and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 more minutes.
- Add cream cheese, and beat until combined. Do not over mix at this point, cream cheese frosting can become runny if over mixed.
- When ready to use the frosting, fold in the rainbow sprinkles. Note: The more you mix the frosting once the sprinkles are in, the more the sprinkle color may bleed and change the tone of the overall buttercream. Wait to add in the sprinkles until you're about to use the frosting.
- Since this frosting contains cream cheese, it can get a bit soft if it's too warm. If the frosting feels too soft, chill it in the fridge to firm it up when needed.
Assembly
- Spread a small dollop of frosting onto your desired serving plate or cake board. Press one of the larger macaron shells flat side down onto the plate to secure it in place.
- Load the cake batter frosting into a piping bag fitted with a 4B piping tip or something similar. Pipe dollops around the edges leaving about 3/4 inch of space, and then fill in the center with dollops as well.
- Place the second shell flat side down on top of the dollops. Be super gentle when pressing the shell on the frosting making sure it's level. Do NOT press down hard or it may cause cracks and uneven filling squishing out on the bottom by the time you assemble all the layers.
- Repeat piping the dollops and placing the large shells on the cake until all four of the 5" shells have been layered on.
- Match up each of the smaller macaron shells with a partner of equal size. Pipe a dollop of frosting on one shell in each pair and sandwich the partner shell on top.
- Arrange the small macarons on the top of the cake with frosting dollops intermixed. See photos for reference.
- If desired, add on birthday candles and more rainbow sprinkles to finish it off.
- Refrigerate in an airtight container for 24 hours to allow the macarons to “mature” and fully develop their flavor and texture. Enjoy!
Notes
*For detailed instructions on Oven Drying, read through my post on How to Oven Dry Macarons and Skip the Resting Process at the link below
https://thewhitewhisk.com/how-to-oven-dry-macarons-and-skip-the-resting-process/
Brief summary of Oven Drying Steps
- Preheat oven to 275 F
- Prepare and pipe macaron batter.
- Place first tray of macarons directly into the oven, and prop the door open with a wooden spoon.
- Bake for 6-7 minutes with door propped open, or until macarons have begun to form feet.
- Close the oven door. If oven fluctuates up to 300 F on it’s own, don’t manually raise the temp. If oven does not fluctuate high enough, raise the temperature so it reaches 300F.
- Bake for 11-12 additional minutes, and then check to see if macarons are done baking by gently pressing the side of the shell. If it’s firm, it’s done. If it wiggles, rotate the tray and bake for an additional two minutes.
- Check shells for doneness, and if needed bake in 1 minute intervals until shells are finished baking and are no longer wiggly when pressed.
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