Mini Macaroons With Salted Butter Caramel

Prep Time: 45min Preheat Oven: 155°C (311°F) Cook Time: 15min

The Macaroon Shell:

250g (1 1/4 cups) Ground Almonds

350g (3 1/8 cups) Powdered Sugar

150g (2/3 cups) White Granulated Sugar

215g (about 7 eggs) Egg Whites

5g (1 tsp) Food Coloring Powder

The Salted Butter Caramel Filling:

0.14L (about 3/5 cups) Double Cream or Additive Free Heavy Whipping Cream

1 pinch Maldon Sea Salt

150g (2/3 cups) Unsalted Butter (if you use salted butter, you don't need to add salt)

170g (3/4 cups) White Granulated Sugar

Cooking Instructions:

The Macaroon Shell:

Sift the ground almonds and the powdered sugar together.

In an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites until white and fluffy. Add the sugar to the egg whites and continue to whisk until you have stiff, glossy peaks.

Fold the ground almonds and powdered sugar mixture into the meringue mixture. (Gently scrape the edge of the bowl and fold spatula into the middle of the mixture, keeping the mixture light and fluffy.)

Keep folding the mixture until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is smooth, shiny and has reached the ribbon stage. (The ribbon stage includes lifting the spatula and having a continuous stream fall with a silky ribbon-like texture.) Add the food coloring, carefully making sure to not overwork the mixture.

Spoon the mixture into a piping bag. In order to get the mixture down to the bottom of the piping bag, make a whipping motion downward. Then twist the top of the bag and hold with your dominant hand, thumb facing up. Grab the bottom of the piping bag with your other hand.

Pipe 2cm circles (mini size) in straight lines across a baking sheet (I recommend a baking sheet with holes to disperse the heat evenly) lined with parchment paper. Leave a 1cm gap between each macaroon shell so they have room to expand in the oven. When piping, hold the piping bag as vertically as possible so that the shells come out evenly. To be consistant, for every shell, start with the tip of the piping bag very close to the surface of the baking sheet and squeeze for 2 - 3 seconds, stop squeezing, and then lift.

After piping, drop the baking tray onto the work surface from about 1 foot away in order to remove any large air bubbles. In addition, you may have some small peaks. To soften these peaks, dampen a finger under some water so your finger won't stick to the macaroons and lightly pat them down.

Allow the macaroons to rest at room temperature for 20min or until the shells are no longer sticky to the touch and have developed a light skin on the top.

Bake the macaroons in the oven for 15min. If you are baking a lot, you may need to prop the oven door slightly open with a spoon to prevent steam from building up in the oven. When you take them out, you can check if the macaroons are cooked by gently lifting a macaroon at the edge of the tray. If this macaroon does not stick, gently shake the others free and allow them to finish cooking on the tray as it cools. Allow the macaroons to cool completely before filling.

If you have uneven macaroon shells after baking, it helps to pair up the two halves before you begin using the caramel filling.

The Salted Butter Caramel Filling:

Place the sugar into a heavy bottomed pan (preferably light in color so you can keep a better watch on the color of the sugar) and allow the sugar to melt without stirring. Be careful not to let the sugar burn.

Once you have a light golden caramel, add the butter and the cream in a little at a time. Mix well until you have a smooth, creamy filling. Remove from the pan and allow to cool. When cooled it should still be maleable not rock hard.

Spoon the caramel filling into a piping bag.In order to get the mixture down to the bottom of the piping bag, make a whipping motion downward. Then twist the top of the bag and hold with your dominant hand, thumb facing up. Grab the bottom of the piping bag with your other hand.

Pipe little spirals of the caramel filling onto half of the macaroon shells with a little buffer left around the edge to allow for spreading when smushed together with the other half of the macaroon. Top these with the other half of the macaroon shell pair.