Having extra caramel sauce on hand meant I HAD to make a Salted Caramel Macaron recipe… right??? RIGHT. This recipe consists of French macaron shells filled with smooth salted caramel buttercream and a velvety homemade caramel sauce. Enjoy!
Before starting, gather and measure all of your ingredients for the macaron shells. I recommend using an aluminum baking sheet to bake your macaron shells on. If you’re using a baking sheet made out of a different material, your time and temperature may differ from what I have provided.
Special Equipment Needed:
- Silicone Baking Mat
- Handheld Mixer or Stand Mixer
- Half Sheet Baking Pan – Aluminum
- 3 Piping Bags
- Kitchen Scale
- Sifter
Tips & Tricks
Making the Meringue – The key to a successful macaron shell is the meringue. Before starting, here’s a couple tips. 1. Use a metal or glass bowl. Plastic is porous and you’d run the risk of fats being stuck on the bowl, which would cause your meringue to fail! 2. Wipe down your bowl with lemon juice or vinegar if you feel like there may be residual fat on it.
The Macaronage & Filling a Piping Bag – When you’re folding the dry ingredients into the meringue you want to do so GENTLY. If you under or over mix, you run the risk of messed up shells. Check the batter frequently by doing the “figure 8” test. You should be able to make a figure 8 without the batter breaking off of the rubber spatula. You can fit the piping bag with a large round tip but, I cut a straight line about 1.25 inches up from the tip instead.
Piping Shells & Assembling – Before piping the shells you’ll want to prepare a baking sheet. I do so by flipping it upside down so there’s no interrupted airflow from the sides of the pan, and lining it with a silicone mat. You could use parchment paper but, I find the paper wrinkles and causes funky shells. While piping, hold your bag perpendicular to the baking sheet and do not lift while piping. To assemble, pair each shell up with it’s “twin.” Then pipe a circle on the bottom shell and fill that circle with the caramel sauce.
Explore more macaron recipes here!
Salted Caramel Macaron Recipe
Caramel Sauce
Caramel Buttercream
Macaron Shells
Instructions
Caramel
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In a heavy bottomed saucepan mix together the sugar and water. Set the saucepan over medium heat. Do not stir again, swirl the pan if you feel like the sugar needs mixed. Remove from heat once the mixture has turned an amber color. Immediately add the room temp heavy cream and whisk. Once that's incorporated add in the butter and mix until combined. Finally, add in vanilla extract and salt and stir to combine. Transfer the caramel to a container to cool.
Caramel Buttercream
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Beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Then add the powdered sugar and heavy cream and continue to beat for 2 minutes. Add in the caramel sauce and beat until combined.
Macaron Shells
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In a medium sized bowl sift the almond flour and powdered sugar together. Set that aside. Measure the granulated sugar in a separate bowl and also set that aside.
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Then, in a large bowl add egg whites and start whisking. Once the egg whites start to foam, add in cream of tartar while whisking. Follow that by gradually adding in the granulated sugar. Continue to whisk on high speed until you have stiff peaks. This is called a meringue.
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Sift in half of the already sifted almond flour and powdered sugar into your meringue. Gently fold together until mostly incorporated. Then sift in the remaining dry ingredients and continue gently folding until you've reached a consistency of "flowing lava."
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Prepare the baking sheet by flipping it upside down and line it with a silicone mat. Fill a large piping bag with the batter and cut a straight line 1.25 inches up from the tip. Holding the piping bag perpendicular to the sheet, pipe 1" circles, do not lift the bag while piping. Once all of the shells are piped, lift the baking sheet and drop it on the counter 3-4 times. This will pop an air bubbles that may be in the batter.
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Let the shells rest for 45 minutes. Preheat your oven when there is 15 minutes left on the timer. Bake @315 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.
Assembly
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Once the macaron shells are at room temperature, pair them up with their twin. Then pipe a circle of the salted caramel buttercream on the bottom shells. Then fill the empty hole with caramel sauce. Take the top shells and "sandwich" your macarons. Refrigerate over night to mature. Take out of the fridge at least 10 minutes before eating to soften.
