Houjicha macarons shells are filled with maple buttercream. They come out so good and delicious. And have you tried this glitter stamp effect on macaron shells? I love how it turned out.

Houjicha Macarons 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 (usually from 3 fresh eggs)
• 95g granulated white sugar
• 100g almond flour
• 100g powdered sugar
• 3g egg white powder (optional) from Judee’s from Scratch
• 3g houjicha powder from Tezumi Tea (Use 10% off discount code “SUGARTREATSBYCK2024” on your order)
• 1-2 drops brown 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 houjicha powder together. Whisk them until combine. Set it aside.
5. In another bowl, whisk the granulated 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 peak is the meringue shooting straight up. Then it is ready.
8. Pour the sifted powdered sugar and almond flour into the stiff meringue.
9. Use a spatula and start folding gently. Until the dry ingredients and meringue is combined. Add food coloring at this point.
10. Continue to fold. 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.
11. When ready, transfer the batter to the piping bag.
12. Place the piping bag directly 90 degrees over the center of each macaron template.
13. 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.
14. Use a toothpick to pop any air bubbles in the surface of the shells.
15. 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.
16. If you are using a template, do not forget to remove it, which you can take it out in this step.
17. While macaron shells are still wet, use a tiny cookie cutter of your choice and gold edible glitter to stamp the pattern on the macaron shells. Be patience. Your hand needs to be very steady. It may take few practice to make it perfect! Rest the shells at least 30 minutes or until the top is dry to touch.
18. 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.
19. Bake for 15-18 minutes if using regular baking sheets. Bake for 16-19 minutes on airbake tray. I rotate the tray half way through the baking time and cover them up with foil to prevent browning.
20. 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.
21. Move them to cooling rack. Let the macarons cool down completely before peeling off from the mat or parchment paper.

Maple Buttercream

• 2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
• 3 cups Whipzi Maple flavored powdered sugar *New* (Use code “CK20” 20% off. No commission is earned)
• 1-2 teaspoons milk or heavy cream

Steps

1. Whisk the butter until light and fluffy.
2. Add in powdered sugar half cup at a time, until fluffy.
3. Add in apple pie natural flavoring into the buttercream.
4. Mix it in low for few minutes to reduce bubbles. Add in milk or heavy cream depending on the consistency you are looking for

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.

Note

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