Red (brown) Velvet Macarons with Cream Cheese Frosting

So last week I tried to make red velvet macarons with cream cheese frosting. Except...I didn't use enough red food coloring so they really just looked like plain ol' chocolate.

They were still beautiful, though! And delicious. You can find the recipe for these macarons at the bottom of the post.

Anyways, this was my third time making macarons. You can read about my first and second times making macarons on my tumblr. 2012 is clearly the year of the macaron for me. After I started using tumblr in January, pictures of macarons kept popping up on my dash. It was long before I declared trying them as an item on my bucket list. Well, on my birthday my best friend Sarah came to visit me at school and as my birthday present, she got me a box of 20 macarons from a local bakery in our hometown (which was only like five minutes away from my house!! I was so excited to find out that they sold them!!). After I tried my first macaron, it was OVER. Macarons were my OFFICIAL obsession. I spent the weeks leading up to spring break reading articles and recipes about the technique of making them, and then I spent about half of my spring break eating and making and eating and making macarons.

My first two attempts at making these were, in my opinion, a pretty big success. They formed feet (the cute little frilly things at the bottom) and didn't crack. And they were delicious! And if we are comparing my third try to the first two, it was also pretty successful. But I think the fourth time will be the charm, and I'll tell you why in a little bit.

I used Tartelette's basic macaron recipe from her article "Demystifying the Macaron" plus some cocoa powder for the shells. And then for the frosting I used a basic cream cheese frosting.

So the main thing I did differently from the first two times, was use almond flour instead of grinding up the almonds myself in a food processor. This saved me SO MUCH TIME and it also resulted in a much smoother, less lumpy consistency from the last two tries. I used the Bob's Red Mill brand which I found in the organic section of my grocery, and it was kind of expensive ($9.99 for a 16 oz package! Yikes!) but pretty worth it in my opinion...my opinion mostly banking on the fact that I used my parents' credit card. Heh. Anyways, using the almond flour was a huge time savor, and I didn't have to break out the clunky food processor (OR CLEAN IT UP THANK GOD). I probably should have mixed the almond flour, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder in a blender before sifting (because I had to mix them all together in a bowl ANYWAYS) so I will probably try that next time. The blender is easier for me to clean than the food processor, I'M JUST SAYIN'.

Since I used red gel food coloring, I added it into the egg whites while they were beating instead of while I mixed in the dry ingredients. I have to say, this is the second time I've used gel food coloring and I am NOT IMPRESSED. When I used purple, it wound up being too purple for my liking (like...Willy Wonka purple instead of the lilac I wanted) and then when I used the red food coloring it turned the egg whites barely pink and didn't show up at all after I added the dry ingredients. And of course, with the red food coloring, I couldn't just add more red in afterwards because then I would have had to overmix it to get the color to actually blend in blah blah blahh. Anyways, I ordered some Americolor powdered food coloring on Amazon and I'm gonna try that next week.

I've been told they look red in the pictures, but in real life they were just straight up chocolate colored. So sad.

I was not so happy with the turnout of the macarons while they were resting/forming shells before being put in the oven. They were kind of lumpy, because I tend to undermix when it comes to all baking. They were the right consistency by the time I piped out the last macaron, but the first two rows were not the most perfect shells I've seen. So next time I'm definitely going to try to mix them a bit more to reach a "lava" consistency (whatever that means). I also need to use a larger pastry tip for piping, because I've been using the Wilton #12 tip, which means I have to actually pipe out a little swirl. Next time I'm going to try using an Ateco 807 tip, which will hopefully allow me to just kind of...squeeze out the right size circles. ...in my head it makes sense. Although, I did use a template this time for the circles so overall they were much more uniform in size (and not as giant as the last two tries!).

I piped the filling onto the shells this time instead of just spreading it on with a knife, which was much prettier! And the icing was delicious!! I'm fairly convinced you can't go wrong with cream cheese icing. It's a little tangy, which I think adds a nice contrast to how sweet macarons can be. Also, I'm getting much better at piping in general! Yay me!

Overall, I'd still count this as a success! The macarons weren't perfect, but they were still delicious. Crunchy on the outside and chewy and delicious on the inside. The chocolate flavor was subtle, just like in an actual red velvet cake. The cream cheese frosting was tangy and sweet (although I might try my mom's cream cheese frosting recipe next time...that stuff is like crack) and a nice compliment to the shells. And they looked pretty good for amateur status if I do say so myselff.

I mean...it's not like I could quit school, move to paris, and start making macarons at Laduree...

But I'm getting there! Om nom!

Chocolate macaron recipe (from Tartelette):

Ingredients:
200 gr powdered sugar
110 gr almonds (slivered, blanched, sliced, whatever you like) or almond flour
25 gr cocoa powder
90 gr egg whites (use egg whites that have been preferably left 3-4 days in the fridge in a lidded container)
50 gr granulated sugar

Directions:
Place the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and almonds in a food processor and give them a good pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Sift if desired (helps keep the shells smooth in appearance). In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, (think bubble bath foam) gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue (think shaving cream). Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry.
Add the nuts and powdered sugar to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that falls back on itself after counting to 10. Give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip (Ateco #807 or #809) with the batter and pipe small rounds onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets. Let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to dry their shells.
When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 280F.
Bake the macarons for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool. Once baked and if you are not using them right away, store the shells in an airtight container out of the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks (longer and the sugar starts to seep out which makes them sticky). Fill the macarons and let them mature in the fridge at least 48 hours prior to eating them.

Cream Cheese Frosting recipe:

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
8 oz (1/2 lb) powdered sugar

Directions:
Use a handheld electric mixer to beat together the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla; add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.