Purple Murple Macarons with Blueberry Buttercream


Purple Murple macaros filled with blueberry buttercream on a white plate.
A 4 Tier of Blueberry macarons
Originally for these macaron shells, I was aiming for more of a pastel purple shell. Instead, they came out slightly on the dark purple side. Looks like I was a bit heavy handed on the purple gel food colouring. I had just bought it and was super excited to use it.

If you have been following along with me on my macaron journey, the recipe for these is pretty much the same one I have been using for the past 7 years! Wow, can you believe it? I have been baking macarons & blogging about them for so long already! Despite moving 3 times in the past 7 years, including across several provinces, the recipe has stood the test of finicky ovens and humidity! There are some tweaks here and there, but ultimately it is the same exact recipe. Oven baking times may differ slightly but that is because of aforementioned finicky oven.


The original recipe for the blueberry buttercream is from my blog post in 2016. Here is a full blog post with instructions for the shell as well as the buttercream. Let's walk through the steps again. 


almond meal and icing sugar mixed together. for purple murple macarons.
almond meal and icing sugar mixed together. 

Ingredients for Purple Murple Macaron Shells



  • 225g icing sugar
  • 125g almond meal
  • 5g albumen
  • 28g berry sugar (extra fine sugar)
  • 100g aged egg whites
  • 2 drops Wilton purple gel food colouring 

  • Notes:
    • Make your own berry sugar by processing regular sugar in a food processor until the sugar crystals are super fine. Keep any extra sugar in an air tight container for future baking. 
    • Keep almond meal in the fridge when you are not using it to prevent it from going rancid. A few hours before baking, take the almond meal out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature. 
    • Egg whites need to be aged for 2 days in an airtight container.  I place my egg whites in a draft free place on the kitchen counter. Keep the egg yolks in the fridge for the buttercream.
    • Pre-measure all ingredients before starting. In fact, do this for ALL recipes!  
    • Kitchen tools: 
      • kitchen scale (approx. $20 on amazon or Canadian tire)
      • food processor (helpful to grind the almond meal and icing sugar together)
      • sifter
      • spatula (at least 2)
      • hand mixer or stand mixer
      • piping bag and tip
      • large upright cup (helps to hold up piping bag)
      • silicon mats or parchment paper
      • heavy duty baking sheets (or stack two baking sheets together; this prevents macarons from burning). 
    Directions for Purple Murple Macaron Shells
    1. Measure all ingredients. Set up the piping bag for the macarons with a round piping tip (I use a Wilton 2A or Ateco 804 piping tip). Line baking sheets with silicon mats or parchment paper. If you are worried about piping macarons too large, use a smaller piping tip. 
      Icing sugar, almond meal, berry sugar, albumen in individual bowls on the counter.
      ingredients for making the macaron shell

    2. Process the almond meal and icing sugar in a food processor until it is well mixed together. Use a spoon to occasionally move the ingredients around before processing again. I have mine set on the finest setting. 
      food processor sitting on the counter with almond meal and icing sugar in the food processor.
      processing of almond meal and icing sugar

    3. Sift the icing sugar-almond meal mixture through a sifter to ensure there are no clumps. Place a bowl underneath.
      The processed almond meal and icing sugar in a sifter on top of a bowl
      Sifting of the icing sugar and almond meal after processing. 

    4. Measure out 100g of egg whites and place in the bowl of the stand-up mixer with the whisk attachment.  Slowly whisk at low speed until little bubbles form. Once the bubbles form, add in the mixture of berry sugar and albumen. Then turn the mixer to medium speed (e.g. 4 on the Kitchen Aid).
      Adding the albumen & extra fine sugar mixture to the whipping egg whites in a stand up mixer.
      adding in the albumen and extra fine sugar to the whipping egg whites. 

    5. Continue to whisk the egg whites until "soft peaks" form. To check, stop and tilt the head of the Kitchen Aid back or stop and lift the tip of the whisk into the mixture to see if a small "bird's peak forms". If you see a peak form, then you are done whisking the egg whites. If it looks drippy/wet as you lift up, keep whisking until the "soft peaks" form - off the whisk.  Add in the two drops of Wilton Leaf purple food colouring with a toothpick.mixing almond meal and icing sugar together
    6. Slowly incorporate the almond meal sugar mixture by sifting 2 tablespoons at a time into the meringue. Mix in a clockwise direction. This step is probably one of the most crucial steps in making macarons - also known as the macaronage process. Sift 2 tablespoons of the almond -sugar mixture into the whipped egg whites after each step. Mix in a clockwise direction.
      1st part= 16 turns
      2nd part = 11 turns
      3rd part = 14 turns
      4th part = 11 turns
      5th part = 11 turns
      6th part = 23 turns
      purple murple macarons - macaron batter flowing like magma
    7. Give a few more turns to the batter scooping through it with your spatula. Once the macaron batter feels and looks like magma (flows slowly) you are ready to transfer it to the prepared piping bag. When you transfer the macaron batter to the piping bag you are also "mixing it".
    8. Pipe out small circles. Hold the piping bag vertically. Pipe straight down and then do a quick circular movement to the right to finish piping one shell. I pipe across the length of my tray. I typically pipe 18-20 macaron shells per tray. How many shells you pipe on a tray will depend on how big you make each shell. Before piping the next sheet, firmly rap the tray on the counter to get rid of any air bubbles inside the shells. This is called "tamping". Use a toothpick to gently poke any bubbles.
      purple murple macarons after beng piped

      here's an example of me piping & tamping. These were for chocolate macarons but the idea is the same.  

      Continue to pipe the rest of the trays. 5 shells on the first row, then 4, then 5, then 4. For this particular video above, I ended up piping smaller macarons for each row.

      Let the piped macarons sit for at least 60 minutes until a skin forms and is dry to the touch (this is an important step).
    9. Preheat the oven to 280-290F. Allow the oven to come to the correct temperature. This may take 30 minutes. Using an oven thermometer will be helpful. Depending on your oven you may be baking anywhere from 280F to 290F. Currently I am baking each tray of my macarons at 290F for 20 minutes. Once the macarons are done baking allow the shells to cool on their tray before you gently peel them off. Lift under the mat and then push up to gently release each macaron shell. The bottoms should be nice and smooth.
      purple macarons all piped, baked and ready for buttercream. arranged vertically.
    10. At this point you can choose to place the macaron shells in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer to be filled with buttercream for another day. Otherwise, continue on with matching shells together in order to fill them with the chocolate buttercream.

    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)
    • 2 tablespoons of finely processed freeze dried blueberries
    1. Bring sugar and water to a boil in a small pot.  Place candy thermometer on the side of the pot. Heat the sugar to 250F(120C. Do not touch the solution, but allow the sugar solution to slowly bubble on its own.
      heating up of the sugar mixture in a small pot with a candy thermometer on the stove
    2. In another bowl or the bowl of your stand up mixer whisk the eggs and egg yolks until it lightens in colour.
      whisking one egg and an egg yolk in the bowl of a kitchen aid
    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). 

      Whisk with the meringue on a black background. Whisk is metal
    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. Continue whisking until the buttercream is smooth. If it looks like it is curdling, that is okay! Keep whisking and the buttercream will come back together. whisked and creamed butter in a glass bowl. butter makes swirls.
    5. Place the freeze dried blueberries into a food processor. Blitz until you have a fine powder. You can find freeze dried fruits in the snack aisle of most health food stores, in camping stores or online.
      freeze dried blueberries on a hand near a window.
    6. Add 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.
      buttercream in the making on a whisk with head of whisk titled back. metal bowl of kitchen aid underneath.
    7. Set up your macaron shells so each shell has a partner shell that matches it in size.
      purple macarons ready for piping with buttercream bag filled with blueberry buttercream to the left.
    8. 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.
      shells arranged vertically. blueberry buttercream piped on each shell.
    9. 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.
      blueberry macarons in a white specked hand made bowl
    Well, there you have it! My complete recipe for purple murple macarons filled with a blueberry buttercream. You can certainly use fruit jams instead of freeze dried blueberries but I find that this often results in a wet buttercream. So use caution and just had a touch. 

    If you have any questions about this recipe, feel free to connect with me through social media (twitter, instagram or facebook) or leave me a comment below! 

    Comments

    1. These are the prettiest purple colour! Macarons have been on my list to make for such a long time! Thanks for the detailed post on how to make them. So helpful!

      ReplyDelete
    2. thanks Leanne! Yes, do make them and let me know how it goes! I love making step by step instructions with pictures as I always find that helpful! if you need help trouble shooting let me know or contact me through instagram too!! :)

      ReplyDelete
    3. Wow- sounds like this recipe is perfection! I’m not a fan of macaroons but my daughter is and really wants us to try baking them. And since I’m a baker and live a good baking challenge... Looks like I found my recipe!

      ReplyDelete

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