Birthday Cake Macarons

Confession: I’m not a big cake fan. Don’t get me wrong, cake is delicious, there are just other sweet treats I would rather treat myself to.

August is a double birthday month for my family — my brother’s birthday was a couple of weeks ago and my birthday is coming up on Saturday. A combination of two birthdays and a slight disinterest in cake as a celebration treat led to these birthday cake macarons!

It probably doesn’t surprise you that I made birthday-themed macarons, does it?

I brought these to a birthday week dinner my friends wanted to do with me and they were a hit! Perfect after some of my kale and mushroom risotto and some wine.

The shells are just a plain vanilla shell that I dyed purple {because that’s my favourite colour and as the baker, I get to make that decision ;)} and covered in sprinkles.

No birthday is complete without lots of sprinkles.

The filling is a sweet birthday cake inspired buttercream with sprinkles mixed in. If you’re going to sprinkle, you have to really sprinkle. Be bold. Be colourful.

Birthday Cake Macarons: 

Ingredients:

Shells: 

• 200g almond flour
• 200g powdered sugar
• 2 1/2 fl. oz. water
• 200g sugar
• 160g egg whites, separated into 80g each
• 1 vanilla bean
• Gel food colouring (optional)
• Rainbow sprinkles

Birthday Cake Buttercream: 

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp. milk
• 1/3 cup rainbow sprinkles

Directions:

1. To make the shells: In a food processor, process the almond flour and powdered sugar. Sift into a bowl and set aside.
2. In a saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil. Without stirring, make sure the temperature of the syrup doesn’t go above 240°F.
3. Gently beat 80g of egg whites to soft peaks, then increase the speed of your mixer when the temperature of the syrup hits 220°F. When the syrup reaches 240°F remove from the heat and pour in a thin stream into the beaten egg whites. Continue to beat meringue for about 10 minutes so it cools.
4. Combine the almond flour/powdered sugar and remaining 80g egg whites, making a smooth almond paste. Scrape the vanilla bean and incorporate the seeds into your almond paste. {If you’re going to add colour to your shells, add it now. Colour will pale once the meringue is added so you’ll probably need to add more than you think}.
5. Using a flexible spatula, incorporate about 1/3 of the meringue into the almond paste to loosen the mixture, then add the rest of the meringue, carefully incorporating it into the batter.
6. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Put the batter into a piping bag fitted with a large pastry tip. Pipe out rounds, about 1-1 1/2″ wide. Tap the bottom of trays against your countertop, pour some sprinkles over the rounds and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
7. Heat oven to 300°F. Bake macarons, one sheet at a time, for 14 minutes.
8. To make buttercream: beat the butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat until incorporated. Pour in vanilla extract and milk, stirring to combine. Finally, add sprinkles and combine again.
9. Pipe the buttercream onto one half of each macaron pair.Place other half on top and sandwich together slightly.
10. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Let come to room temperature before eating.