Blueberry Macarons

More macarons! I made these for Titus christening, and was really pleased with them. I chose to keep the shells uncolored, but you could certainly tint them blue or violet if you want to match the filling. To get a really strong - but still natural - blueberry filling, I made a syrup from blueberries and sugar, and reduced it. It worked really well, and the leftover blueberries were eventually used in another baking adventure - muffins - but more on that another day.

Blueberry Macarons
(printable recipe)
makes about 20

3 egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp caster sugar (or in my case, homemade vanilla sugar)
200 g powdered sugar
110 g almonds, blanched

Combine powdered sugar and almonds in your food processor, and grind until very fine. Sieve. Re-grind any lumps or big pieces of almonds. Mix carefully (they tend to separate a little bit when sieving, since the sugar falls through first.)

Beat egg whites and sugar until you have a thick, glossy meringue. Don't overbeat. Stir in the almond-sugar powder, and fold together. Don't overmix this - most seem to say that you should use less than 50 strokes. (You can try it by dolloping a little batter on a baking sheet - if the peak falls down, it's ready. If it doesn't, try a few more strokes.)

Pipe small rounds on a baking sheet with baking paper. If you'd like, sprinkle some extra ground almonds on half of them. Leave at room temperature for 30-60 minutes, to form a skin.

Bake at 150°C for 15-20 minutes. (I have a convection oven, and 15 minutes was perfect for me.) Let them cool completely before filling. Unused shells can be frozen, or kept in an air-tight container for a day or so.

Blueberry Buttercream:
200 g frozen blueberries
200 g sugar

3 egg yolks
75 g sugar
82 g corn syrup (or if you're in Sweden, white baking syrup works perfectly)
225 g unsalted butter, softened

Start by combining sugar and blueberries in a small saucepot and boil for 15 minutes or so - you should have about 50-100 ml of fairly thick syrup. If you have more, just reduce it further. If it's less, no worries, you'll still get all the flavor. Press through a sieve, and save the solids for something else. Let the syrup cool completely.

Beat the egg yolks until fluffy. Bring sugar and corn syrup to a boil, and immediately remove from heat. Pour over the egg yolks and beat at high speed until fully cooled. (Try not to get any on your beaters, or it will spin to the sides of your bowl.

Add the butter, a pat at a time, until fully incorporated. Finally add the reduced blueberry syrup, a little at a time.

Spread - or pipe - the cream onto half of the macaron shells, top with the remaining shells. Eat right away or freeze.

Recipe in Swedish:
Blåbärsmacarons