Sweet Potato Pie Macarons
Sweet Potato Pie Macarons are perfectly spiced and perfectly sweet. A magnificent combination of southern American roots and this European classic–I say they’re the perfect fall dessert idea!
Ingredients
For the Macarons
- 136 g egg whites room temperature, preferably aged
- 136 g granulated or caster sugar
- 150 g powdered sugar 10x sifted
- 160 g almond flour superfine
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- few drops of orange gel food coloring
- jar of fluff or marshmallows slightly melted optional
For the Sweet Potato Pie Filling
- 1 can 15oz sweet potato puree
- 1/2 cup 100g granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup 110g brown sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1/3 cup 80ml heavy cream or milk
Instructions
For the Macarons
- Line two baking sheets with silicon mats or parchment paper.
- Place a sieve over a medium bowl and measure 150g of powdered sugar and 160g of almond flour directly into the sieve. Sift the two ingredients into the medium bowl using a spatula to gently help break up some of the larger piece in the sieve. Discard any bits that won't sift through. Set aside.
- Measure 136g of room temperature (preferably aged) egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. A large bowl and a hand mixer will work fine, but they will take longer. If unsure that the bowl has no grease residue, wipe out the bowl with a tiny splash of vinegar and a paper towel before adding the egg whites.
- Add 1/4 tsp of cream of tartar to the egg whites begin to whip on medium speed. While mixing, measure out 136g of granulated sugar into a bowl.
- Once the egg whites look like a very foamy bubble bath, begin to slowly and in a steady stream, add the 136g of granulated sugar. Do not add all the sugar in at once. Another good method is to add spoonfuls of the sugar in a steady stream.
- Whip until stiff peaks form. Keep a close eye, you do not want to over or under whip the meringue.
- In small batches, add the almond flour and powdered sugar mixture and use a spatula to carefully fold the dry mixture into the meringue. This is called the macaronage. You want to scrape around the outside of the bowl a few times, then a few times down the middle. The idea is to achieve the correct texture to pipe the macarons.
- Continue this process until all of the dry mixture has been added and the batter falls in a continuous "ribbon" off of the spatula. A good test is if you can draw a figure eight with the batter.
- Fit a piping bag with a large round tip and place that bag into a tall cup.
- Scrape the macaron batter into the piping bag and seal with a rubber band or clip.
- Pipe equal (roughly 1 1/2 inch in diameter) circles of batter onto the lined baking sheets. Tap the baking sheet onto the counter a few times to release any air bubbles. Allow the macarons to rest for 30 minutes, or until the outer shell has dried a bit. In total you should have 48 macaron shells. (While the macaron shells are resting, get started on the sweet potato pie filling).
- Towards the end of the resting/drying process, preheat the oven to 310°F (roughly 154°C). If you can lightly touch your finger to the macaron and it feels dry, they are ready to bake. Bake the macarons for 13-15 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the process.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool before carefully removing them from the parchment paper.
For the Sweet Potato Pie Filling
- While the macarons are resting, make the sweet potato pie filling by adding 1, 15oz can of sweet potato pie puree, 1/2 cup (100g) of granulated sugar, 1/2 cup (110g) of brown sugar, 2 tsp of ground cinnamon, 1 tsp of ground nutmeg, 1 tsp of vanilla extract, 1 Tbsp of cornstarch and 1/3 cup (80ml) of heavy cream or milk to a medium saucepan over medium/high heat.
- Stir to combine everything and then bring the mixture to a boil. Once it starts to bubble slightly, reduce the temperature down to low heat and keep stirring.
- Keep stirring the mixture constantly for about 35-40 minutes. In this time the macarons will rest and bake.
- When the filling is done, it will have thickens, reduced down a bit and turned a darker color than when you began.
- If timed correctly, the macarons will be out of the oven and cooling at the same time that the sweet potato pie filling is cooling.
For the Assembly
- Once the macaron shells and the sweet potato pie filling have cooled, add the filling to a piping bag (or plastic bag), snip the corner and fill every other macaron shell, leaving room for the top macaron shell to be pressed down to bring the filling to the edge. I like to leave about 1/4 inch of a border before adding the top macaron shell.
- Optionally, add a small swipe of fluff or slightly melted marshmallow to the top of the macarons once they are filled. Then toast the fluff/marshmallow with a handheld torch.
- Serve and enjoy!