Blueberry Buttercream for Blueberry Macarons

Woah, where has the time gone? My 2 months of summer vacation have flown by in a blur! Somehow in the past two months we visited Iceland (gorgeous place), Toronto to visit family, and a roadtrip of the small towns here in Alberta!

Since it has been a while since the last macaron post I bring you these gorgeous blueberry macarons. For these blueberry macarons, I used freeze dried blueberries. I have found that when making fruit based macarons the freeze dried components are much better for the texture and taste of the macrons compared to using real fruit. There is also less fruit juice that may potentially seep out of the macarons while they are resting in the fridge.

Freeze dried blueberries

To make the blueberry macaron shells, follow the directions in my Macaron Basics posts here. For the macaron colour of these blueberry shells I used 3 drops of Wilton Teal gel food folouring. 

Blueberry Buttercream Recipe

• 80g castor (caster) sugar (superfine sugar)
• 25g water
• 1 whole egg (~60g)
• 1 egg yolk
• 180g soft unsalted butter (cut into cubes)
• 1 tablespoon of finely processed freeze dried blueberries

1. Bring sugar and water to a boil in a small pot. Heat the sugar to 250F(120C) using a candy thermometer. If it boils, clean the sides of the pan with a damp pastry brush. Try not to mix the solution, but allow the sugar solution to heat on its own.
   
2. In another bowl or the bowl of your stand up mixer whisk the eggs and egg yolks until it lightens in colour.
   
3. Once the hot sugar mixture reaches 250F slow down the whisking speed of the eggs, and immediately pour the hot sugar mixture into the egg mixture. Increase to a higher whisking speed (8 on my KitchenAid). Continue whisking until the mixture has cooled down completely (approximately 10-15 minutes). It will look glossy, white and meringue like (see video below). 
   
   
   
4. Keep whisking the meringue until it has cooled (10-15 minutes). Meanwhile in a separate bowl, whisk the butter until it has thickened. It will lighten a bit in colour. Once the meringue has cooled, slowly add in the whisked butter a tablespoon at a time. 
5. Continue whisking until the buttercream is smooth. It may curdle slightly but this is okay. Keep whisking and the buttercream will come back together.
6. Place the freeze dried blueberries into a food processor. Blitz until you have a fine powder.
   
7. Add 1 tablespoon of the freeze dried blueberries into the buttercream mixture. Whisk until combined. Using a spatula stir the blueberry buttercream a few times to deflate air pockets. Then, transfer the blueberry buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a tip.

   

   Transferring the blueberry buttercream from the bowl to a piping bag.
   I use a tall container to hold the piping bag in place.

   
8. Set up your macaron shells so each shell has a partner shell that matches it in size. Pipe a small mound of blueberry buttercream onto each half macaron shell. Assemble the macarons by placing the tops on the macaron and gently push together until the buttercream mound flattens. Store the macarons in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 days. 2 hours before serving, bring them out of the fridge as they are best enjoyed at room temperature.
   
   

I love how blue the buttercream turns out on these macarons and the contrast they give with the shell. Needless to say, these were perfectly delicious. You can also join me in thanking my friend A who served as a great hand model for most of these pictures! I was teaching her how to make the blueberry buttercream and how to assemble macarons. Next time, I plan on showing her how to make the macaron shells!

As always, if you ever have questions about your macarons or even how to get started shoot me an email at beyondumami@gmail.com, leave a comment below, tweet me on twitter or message me on instagram! I'm always glad to help!