Lychee Macarons

I’ll admit, making macarons is a bit of a project. The careful folding of the batter, waiting for it to dry on the sheet before baking… and in the end you get these little sandwich cookies that large-mouthed people can just eat in one big bite. And you never know if they’re going to crack or otherwise turn out horribly.

But you know, it’s a challenge that I like to undertake every once in a while. Especially since people seem to love macarons so much. They’re probably happy that they’re not paying $2~3 a pop like they would at a bakery.

This time, I decided to use lychee flavoring, since I love the flavor of lychee. Since I couldn’t find any lychee powder, the lychee flavor is in the buttercream filling.

Lychee Macarons

2 egg whites
100 grams powdered sugar
60 grams almond flour
60 grams granulated sugar
red or pink food coloring

Filling
1 stick butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lychee liqueur
1 teaspoon lychee syrup
1/2 teaspoon rose water
red or pink food coloring

1. Sift the powdered sugar and ground almond together, and set aside.
2. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until frothy.
3. Add the white sugar, and continue mixing at high speed, until stiff peaks form.
4. Mix the dry ingredients into the egg white mixture, and fold with a spatula until incorporated.
5. Mix in food coloring until the desired pink color is obtained.
6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and pipe the macaron shells on it.
7. Preheat oven to 300F.
8. Let the macaron shells sit for 20-30 minutes at room temperature, until they are dry enough that you can touch them without any batter sticking to your finger.
9. Bake the shells for 12 minutes in the oven, until they don’t slide on their feet.
10. Make the filling by beating the butter until fluffy.
11. Add powdered sugar, half a cup at a time, until the desired consistency is reached.
12. Add the lychee liqueur, lychee syrup, and rose water, and enough food coloring until the desired pink color is obtained.
13. Spoon or pipe the filling onto the macaron shells, and close them with another shell to form a sandwich.

The batter has a nice pink hue.

I cannot for the life of me pipe regular circles. But these will have to do.

Twelve minutes in the oven, and they managed to not crack, somehow.

The lychee buttercream. The liqueur really gives it a good lychee flavor.

Despite the wildly differing sizes, I think these turned out quite well.

The hint of rose is actually noticeable, and it goes well with the lychee flavor. I wish there were a bit more lychee flavor, but sadly, it’s difficult to add more without making the buttercream runny.