Rhubarb-Lemon Fizz Macarons

You may have noticed that my blog is looking a lot prettier all of a sudden! The lovely Toni of Lemon Freckles recently gave my blog a bit of a makeover, and as a thank you I thought I would bake her some macarons! 

I wanted to make them extra special, and I think I've come up with a Macaron that is basically Toni in food-form! Not only are these macarons super cute (everybody loves pastel sprinkles, right?) they're packed full of delicious, tangy flavors. Rhubarb shells sandwiched together with a zesty Lemon Sherbet Frosting and a sprinkling of Popping Candy! 

Rhubarb-Lemon Fizz Macarons

Recipe by Charis Mitchell

Makes 20 macarons

For the shells

3/4C water drained from a can of chickpeas

1/2C sugar

10 drops rhubarb flavoring (make sure it is NOT oil based)

1/4tsp pink food coloring 

1 1/4C ground almonds

1/2C powdered sugar

2tsp pastel sprinkles

For the frosting

1Tbsp heaped vegan butter spread

3 1/2 - 4C powdered sugar

Juice and zest of 1 large lemon

4tsp popping candy (vegan lemon popping candy here)

Make the shells

Begin by simmering the chickpea liquid in a small pan over a medium heat until it has reduced to 1/3C. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes while you prepare your dry ingredients.

Process the ground almonds for a few seconds in a food processor until finely ground, then add the powdered sugar and process again until combined. Sieve into a medium bowl and discard any pieces too big to pass through the mesh. 

Once the chickpea liquid has cooled down pour it into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a balloon whisk and whisk on medium speed until white and fluffy (this takes me around 5 minutes) Add the sugar and whisk on high until the meringue is extremely stiff and glossy (depending on your mixer this can take anywhere from 5-10 minutes) Add the rhubarb flavoring and pink coloring and whisk until combined. 

IMPORTANT : At the end of this step the meringue should be really, really thick - almost the consistency of marshmallow fluff. If the meringue isn't thick enough your macarons won't turn out perfect.

Add half the dry ingredients to the meringue mixture and mix, using a spatula and pressing down to remove some of the air from the mixture. Add the rest of the almond-sugar mix and stir in a circular motion until there are no dry bits left. 

Press the batter against the side of the bowl and then scoop up from underneath. (Watch a video of this step HERE) Repeat this 15-20 times, until the batter is thick but slowly drops off the spatula, like a ribbon.

Spoon the mixture into a piping bag and seal it at the top. Pipe 1 inch circles onto baking trays lined with grease proof paper, being careful to pipe from above as opposed to from the side. Hold each tray at chest level and drop onto the work surface or table twice. Sprinkle the sprinkles over the top of half of the macarons and leave to dry out for two hours at room temperature.

Place your first tray of macarons in the oven and then set it to just under 100 degrees Celcius. Bake the macarons for 20 minutes before turning off the oven and leaving them in there for 15 minutes, and then opening the door and leaving them in there for a further 15 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven and leave the macarons to cool completely on the tray while you make the frosting.

Make the frosting

Cream together the butter spread and a cup of the powdered sugar until fluffy. Add the lemon juice and zest and mix well. Add more powdered sugar, a 1/2C at a time until your frosting is thick but will pipe easily. Scoop into a piping bag and seal at the top. Pipe generous blobs of frosting onto the bottom shell halves (the ones without the sprinkles) and top with a sprinkling of popping candy before sandwiching them together with the top halves.

Place in the fridge in an airtight container overnight - this is an important step as it allows the flavor from the frosting to seep into the shells and gives the macarons the desired chew.

Macarons keep well in the fridge for up to a week and in the freezer for months.

Pssst...Floral Frosting is now open to Sponsors! xo