Polar Bear Macarons
Bear-shaped macaron shells are sandwiched with a minty, white chocolate ganache filling and decorated with giant white chocolate buttons and melted dark chocolate to make these super cute, festive treats!
Servings 11 macarons
Equipment
- 2 piping bags
- 1 small(ish), round piping nozzle
- 1 fine round piping nozzle
Ingredients
For the mint & white chocolate ganache:
- 200 g white chocolate, finely chopped.
- 90 ml double cream
- 1/8 tsp peppermint extract, or to taste.
For the macaron shells:
- 95 g ground almonds
- 103 g icing sugar
- 72 g egg whites (split into 2 x 36g portions).
- 95 g caster sugar
- 30 g water
To decorate:
- 22 giant white chocolate buttons
- dark chocolate, melted and cooled slightly.
Instructions
Make the mint & white chocolate ganache:
- Place the chopped white chocolate and cream into a heatproof bowl. Heat gently (in the microwave, on low heat, in 1 minute intervals, stirring in between each burst, or over a bain-marie, stirring frequently) until the chocolate has completely melted.
- Add the peppermint extract (adding a little at a time, tasting frequently to check the level of mint flavour) and stir through well.
- Cover the filling with clingfilm, pressing it directly onto the surface of the ganache, so that a skin does not form. Allow to cool slightly before putting into the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours.
Make the macaron shells:
- Line 2 baking trays with baking paper and place the printed templates (if using) underneath the paper. Fit a piping bag with a small(ish) round nozzle and set aside.
- Place the ground almonds and icing sugar into a food processor. Pulse 10 times, then sift into a large bowl, discarding any lumps. Repeat this process once more, so that you are left with a very fine powder.
- Add one of the 36g portions of egg white to the almond/icing sugar mixture. Mix well to form a thick paste, then set aside.
- Place the remaining 36g of egg white into the clean, metal (see Note 1) bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment. Leave aside while you make the sugar syrup.
- Place the caster sugar and water into a small saucepan. Place over a medium heat and bring to a boil. Do not stir (swirl gently if necessary). Allow the syrup to continue bubbling, while monitoring the temperature with a digital sugar thermometer.
- When the syrup has reached 114°C, turn the stand mixer to high speed and begin to whip the egg whites to soft peaks. Keep the syrup over the heat as you do this.
- When the syrup has reached 118°C, the egg whites should have reached soft peaks. With the mixer still running on high speed, carefully pour the syrup down the side of the bowl in a slow, steady stream. Once all of the syrup has been added, turn the mixer up to full speed and beat until stiff peaks are achieved and the metal bowl has come to room temperature (about 5 minutes).
- When the meringue is ready, add 1/3 of it to the almond paste mixture. Mix vigorously to combine the two mixtures and loosen the thick paste slightly.
- Add the rest of the meringue and fold it in, using a figure of eight motion, until the mixture is homogenous and comes off the spatula in ribbons— if you leave those ribbons for 30 seconds, they should level themselves out into the rest of the mixture.
- Transfer the macaron batter to the prepared piping bag. Lay the bag flat on the work surface and use a dough scraper/palette knife to push the batter down towards the nozzle end, to push out any air. Flatten out the batter using the scraper too, to knock any remaining extra air bubbles out.
- Holding the bag vertically, just above the baking tray, apply gentle pressure to pipe the two ears. Then, fill in the rest of the bear shape with the batter.
- Once the macarons are all piped, lift the whole tray and drop it down onto the work surface a few times to bring any air bubbles to the surface. Use a sharp knife/cocktail stick to burst the bubbles, letting the mixture fall back on itself.
- Set the macarons aside at room temperature to form a skin- on a relatively dry day, this should take about 30-40 minutes, but can take less time on drier, warmer days and more time on cold, humid days. Check on the macarons every 10-15 minutes or so, if unsure. The macarons will be ready when you can gently touch their surfaces without any batter coming off on your finger.
- When the macarons are almost ready, preheat the oven to 165°C fan. When the macarons are ready and the oven is hot, bake the macarons in the centre of the oven, one tray at a time, for 11 minutes. To check if they are done, place a finger on top of the shells and wiggle gently. When done, the tops of the macarons should not wobble. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the tray before assembling.
Assemble the macarons:
- Once the macaron shells have cooled completely, you can fill them with the chilled ganache. Pair the macaron halves up, matching them as much as possible in terms of size/shape.
- Spread/pipe the chilled ganache onto the underside of half of the shells. Place the corresponding half of each macaron on top and gently press down to sandwich them together.
Decorate the macarons:
- Place the melted dark chocolate into a piping bag, fitted with a fine round tip. Use a small amount of the chocolate to stick a giant white chocolate button onto the lower portion of one side of each macaron, to act as the muzzle.
- Using the remaining chocolate, pipe the facial details (two eyes above the muzzle and a nose on the muzzle) onto each macaron. Set aside to harden at room temperature, then serve.
- The macarons are best eaten immediately, but can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or at room temperature for 2-3 days. You can also keep the unfilled macaron shells in an airtight container, at room temperature for about 5 days, before filling.
Notes
- It's important to use a metal bowl for this, as not only will the egg whites whip up better, but you will be able to use the temperature of the bowl as an indication of when the meringue is ready. It's also important that the bowl (and whisk) are completely clean. To clean them, rub a small amount of white wine vinegar over them using a piece of kitchen roll. This will remove any traces of fat/residue that will prevent your egg whites from whipping up properly.