Ube macaron shells are filled with Vietnamese coffee Russian (condensed milk) buttercream. If you like the drink, you will definitely love this! I am loving the texture on the macaron shells!

Ube Macaron Shells

Adopted from Pies & Tacos Blog – Swiss method.

Note: You do not have to get exactly 95g of egg whites. You can calculate the ratio as 1:05. For example: if you only get 100g of egg whites out of 3 eggs, multiple it by 1.05 to get to 105g on dry ingredients (almond flour and powdered sugar). Remember to use a scale to weight all the ingredients.

Yield about 40-44 shells

• 95g egg whites (from 3 fresh eggs)
• 95g white granulated sugar
• 92g almond flour
• 100g powdered sugar
• 8g ube powder on Amazon (I sifted twice)
• 3g egg white powder (optional) from Judee’s from Scratch
• 2 drops of purple food coloring (optional)

Steps

1. Before you start, wipe all the tools and bowls with white vinegar or lemon juice to make sure there is no oil on them and get all of the ingredients ready. Prepare a large piping bag, fitted with a large round tip. I use piping tip round 12. 1A can be used to. It depends on what your preference. Set aside.
2. Line two baking sheets with silicone mat or parchment paper. If you are using a template, you can put them underneath the mat or parchment paper now.
3. Measure out all of the ingredients using a scale.
4. In one large bowl, sift the powdered sugar, almond flour, and ube powder together. Whisk them until combine. Set it aside.
5. In another bowl, whisk the sugar and the egg white powder (if using). Using a double boiler method, place the bowl over a pot with water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Add the egg whites to the sugar and whisk the mixture until frothy. Use your finger to touch the mixture and you should not be feeling any sugar in it, which means the sugar is completely melted and ready for next step.
6. Transfer the sugar mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer. With the whisk attachment, start whisking mixture on low for about 30 seconds, then gradually start increasing speed to medium-low (KitchenAid speed 4). Whisk on medium for one to two minutes, until the mixture is white and starting to become fluffy. Raise the speed medium-high (KitchenAid speed 6) and whisk for a few minutes (could be up to 10 to 12 minutes) until stiff peaks are formed. Once they get glossy and you start seeing streaks formed by the whisk, it might be time to stop.
7. Stiff peaks is the meringue shooting straight up. Then it is ready.
8. Pour the sifted powdered sugar, almond flour, and ube powder into the stiff meringue.
9. Use a spatula and start folding gently. What you are trying to do here is to deflate the air in the meringue and also incorporate it with the dry ingredients until it reaches a lava stage. I do not normally reach to figure 8 stage (if you have heard of this), because at this point, I feel like the batter is already overmixed and too runny. If the batter is flowing down from the spatula effortlessly and slowly, then it should be ready for the next step. If the batter is breaking up from the spatula, it means it is undermixed and you need to keep folding.
10. When ready, transfer the batter to the piping bag.
11. Place the piping bag directly 90 degrees over the center of each macaron template.
12. When piping is done, I would recommend tapping the bottom of the tray instead of banging the tray against the counter. Banging the tray against the counter is too loud and it really is scaring my kids. It still works but I no longer do the banging. This step is to get rid of air bubbles in the batter.
13. Use a toothpick to pop any air bubbles in the surface of the shells.
14. Pre-heat the oven to 310 degrees. You would need oven thermometer to know how hot your oven is. This is very important when baking macarons. What I have found out is the display of the oven is not accurate and it could be few degrees off, either hotter or under. Therefore, you would need to adjust the temperature and/or baking time. My oven is without a fan.
15. If you are using a template, do not forget to remove it, which you can take it out in this step.
16. Rest the shells about 20-40 minutes, depending on how humid where you live. It could take up to an hour for the top of the shell to dry. When you gently touch the surface of a macaron and the batter does not stick to your finger, it is ready to bake.
17. You could only bake one tray at a time and put the tray in the middle rack. I rotate the tray half way and I use airbake tray. The advantage of using airbake tray is if there is hot spot in your oven, the macaron shells are baked evenly and the airbake tray also can keep them from burning.
18. Bake for 15-18 minutes if using regular baking sheets. Bake for 16-19 minutes on airbake tray.
19. To make sure the macarons are done baking, when you try to move a macaron, it should not feel jiggly. If the macaron is still jiggly, bake for additional 2 minutes and test again. When done, remove from the oven and bake the second tray.
20. Move them to cooling rack. Let the macarons cool down completely before peeling off from the mat or parchment paper.

Vietnamese Coffee Russian (condensed milk) Buttercream

• 2 sticks (8oz) unsalted butter at about 60F. still cool to touch
• 1 can (14oz) condensed milk
• 2 teaspoons Halo Pantry Vietnamese Coffee flavoring

Steps

1. Use a whisk attachment
2. Add butter and condensed milk into the mixing bowl
3. Start on low few 1-2 minutes
4. Speed up to high and whisk for 5 minutes
5. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. It may look wet but it is alright.
6. Continue to whisk on high for another 2-3 minutes. The buttercream will come together
7. Add the Vietnamese coffee flavoring and whisk on medium speed. Add more if you prefer stronger flavor
8. It is ready to use!
9. This is a big batch. Freeze the leftover buttercream and bring it back to room temperature. Then whisk it.

Assemble

1. Pipe the buttercream on the macaron shell.
2. Top with another macaron shell.
3. Chill the macarons in the refrigerator 24-48 hours for the macarons to mature. When ready, leave the macarons out for 15-20 minutes before serving.

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