Salted Honey Rose Macarons
Sweet honey, soft florals, and a pinch of fleur de sel mesh together to create this unique macaron flavor perfect for Valentine’s Day or the upcoming Spring.
Ingredients
Macaron Shell
- 130 grams Egg Whites Approximately 4 Large Eggs, measure with scale
- 120 grams Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar
- 200 grams Finely Ground Almond Flour
- 200 grams Confectioner's Sugar
- 1 pinch Salt Optional
- Gel Food Coloring 1-2 Drops of Deep Pink, Smidge of Brown, Smidge of Lemon Yellow
Honey Rose Buttercream
- 4 oz Salted Butter
- 1 pinch Salt
- Scant 1/4 tsp Rose Water 20-25 drops Flavor to taste
- 8 oz Confectioners Sugar
- 3 tbsp Honey
- 1 tbsp Heavy Cream
- Fleur de sel to taste (to sprinkle on after piping filling)
Rose Royal Icing Drizzle
- 4.7 oz Confectioner's Sugar
- 1/2 tbsp Meringue Powder
- 1/4 tsp Rose Water
- 1.5 tbsp Water
Assembly
- 1/4 Cup Honey for Centers
- 2-3 tbsp Dried Edible Food Safe Rose Petals For Decoration, See Tutorial in Post
- 2 tsp White Non Pariel Sprinkles
Instructions
Macaron Shell
- Line 2 baking sheets with a silicone mat (circle template optional but recommended).
- Place a medium sized round piping tip (such as a 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 pink gel food coloring.
- 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 photos 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, your batter is no longer clumpy and stiff. Do not overfold. This recipe's batter stays a bit thicker than traditional macaron batter. 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 very few peaks and lines remaining, it should be ready. (See photos in Basic French Macarons 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 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.
- Begin preheating your oven to 300 degrees, 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 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 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.
- Allow shells to cool completely, and the carefully remove from silicone mat or by gently peeling them off.
Honey Rose Buttercream
- Beat butter, honey, and rose water until light and fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer.
- Add in powdered sugar and the pinch of salt and beat until fluffy. Scrape down the sides of your bowl periodically.
- If buttercream becomes soupy, see note below *
- Add in heavy cream and beat until just combined.
Rose Royal Icing
- Whisk together powdered sugar and meringue powder in the bowl of an electric mixer.
- In a separate small bowl, combine water and rose water, and then pour into the powdered sugar mixture.
- Whip for approximately two minutes.
- Check for medium/soft peak consistency. If it's too thick, and a small amount of water to thin it out. Whip to combine, and check again. Repeat until you've reached the medium/soft peaks.
Assembly
- Match each shell with a partner of equal size.
- Pipe a dollop of the Honey Rose Buttercream on one shell using a piping bag fitted with an 8B piping tip.
- Pipe honey into the center of each buttercream dollop using a separate piping bag with just a small piece of the tip cut off creating a tiny opening.
- Add a generous sprinkle of fleur de sel.
- Sandwich the partner shell on top.
- Drizzle a few lines of rose royal icing on the top of each assembled macaron.
- While icing is still wet, add a few sprinkle pearls, non pareils, and small pieces of the edible rose petals.
- Place in an airtight container for 24 hours to fully develop optimum flavor and texture. Store in the fridge, but serve at room temperature. Enjoy!
Notes
If buttercream becomes soupy from overmixing, pop in the fridge for 15-20 minutes to chill, and then try again.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!