Sometimes, we have some crazy ideas! And when a friend and I tested different Macaron recipes last march we got such a crazy idea: baking macarons as give away for her wedding. We just found the perfect recipe (from the faboulous Pierre Hermé) and already had an idea how the Macarons should look like. And the filling should be flavoured with rosewater to fit to the rose bud on top the macaron.

In the next month, we test baked several rounds. The shells worked perfectly with the first try, adding rose buds on top of a shell prior to baking works like a charm. But the filling caused more problems.

First I tried french butter cream and like it very much. The flavour was elegant, buttery and with a balance rose flavour. But the filling did not keep so well when stored at roomtemperature for a long time. My next try was white chocolate ganache, flavoured with rosewater. But without something sour like the raspberries the filling to counter balance the sweetness, the macarons were way to sweet. So what to do? And so I tried some rather unknown: Butter ganache! This is a mixture of creamy butter and white chocolate, and this mixture reduces the sweetness of the cream and adds the elegant butter flavour I missed with the white ganache.

Time was flying and suddenly it was beginning of november and just eight weeks to the wedding – and we started to collect every baking tray we could get from family and friends. In my little kitchen there were stacks of grounded almonds, sugar and chocolates. And not to mention the dozens of eggs… Time for baking!

It took us about eight hours to bake the 600 shells we needed. The trays were stacked on tables, chairs and everywhere else in the small flat. But luckily no one tipped over a tray and all macarons survived without accident! The last thing we did at this evening before collapsing on the sofa was sorting all shells so that each top had already its perfect fitting bottom. Then we prepared the filling and where ready for sleeping!

The next day we met after work and filled all macarons. As everything was sorted and prepared it took us only about hour to fill all of them. And as it was freezing cold outside we place the trays with the filled macarons on the open window and the filling set very fast. Then we packed everything in boxes for freezing and at the end, 300 mcarons did not look so much. The boxes where then transported to (to be) mother in law  who had offered us her second freezer and who took care for packing them in beautiful little boxes the day before the wedding, too. And every guest could take home some macarons after a beautiful wedding!

Macaron Rose

yields about 60 Macarons

Macaron shells

• 300g finely grounded almonds
• 300g powdered sugar
• a bit pink food colour
• 110g egg white (1)
• 300g sugar
• 70g Water
• 110g egg white(2)
• 60 dried rosebuds

Butter Ganache

• 150g Butter
• 150g white chocolate
• 15g rose water
• 1/2 Tsp. Fleur de Sel

Mix grounded almonds and powdered sugar in a food processor until very fine. Sieve the almonds through a fine sieve in a bowl and add food colour and egg white (1). Do NOT stir!

Now bring the sugar and water to boil, while whipping the egg white (2) to soft peaks. When the sugar syrup reach 118°C add it to the egg white while whipping. Continue whipping until the egg white cools to 50°C. Add the egg white to the almonds and egg white in the bowl and fold into the mixture. The mixture should be able to flow slowly from a spoon.

Pipe macarons with a diameter of 3,5 cm, place a rosebud on half of them  and let them dry for 30 min (important!). Their surface has to be dry to touch.

In the meantime prepare the butter ganache: Melt the white chocolate and let it cool down to 32°C. Cream the butter and slowly add the chocolate. Continue whipping until the mixture is light and creamy, then add rose water and fleur de sel. Set aside until needed.

Preheat the oven to 170°C.

Bake the macarons at 170°C (Convection mode) for about 12 min. Open the oven door after 8 and 10 min to remove steam from the oven.

To fill the  macarons first pipe a bit of ganache on the bottom macaron shell (without rosebud), then fill the middle with some curd and place a macaron shell with rosebud on top. Let them rest for 24 hours in the fridge before serving.