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Who is still up for a little – or rather a big – baking challenge for Valentine’s Day? Then these pink aquafaba macarons are just the thing for you. The little beasts are not easy to handle, but is there anything you don’t do for your loved ones? And the hard work is well worth it, because the end result is not only a visual hit. These vegan Macarons taste also incredibly delicious. A real little sin for Valentine’s Day. And of course you can bake these pink macarons at any time, because they taste delicious 365 days. And if you don’t have a date for Valentine’s Day, you can have them for Mother’s Day, Galentine’s Day or any other occasion.
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Guys, I know why baking in general is not my thing. You don’t even want to know how many times I tested this recipe for you. And that’s exactly what I usually have absolutely no desire to do. I like creations that are simple and sure to succeed. But I persevered and the end result was definitely worth it. However, I would absolutely not bake the little beasts regularly. In this sense, hats off – or my condolences, as you take it 😝 – to all who bake something like that more often.
Well, long story short, after a few attempts it finally worked. Ok, visually, the Aquafaba Macarons have of course still significant potential for improvement. But the inner values count! And since I already have a second vegan macaron recipe planned for late spring, I’m confident that the next batch will look better. Practice makes perfect and so on…. 🤪
Since the title doesn’t reveal too much about these heavenly vegan macarons except that they are baked with aquafaba and colored pink, I’ll briefly elaborate on what your taste buds can expect. The Aquafaba Macarons shells are kept very simple; vegan beaten egg whites made with aquafaba and sugar, ground blanched almonds, powdered sugar and vegan pink food coloring. Since the food coloring I used is 100% natural, it is made from vegetable and fruit concentrates. These already give the macaron shells a subtle aroma.
Alternatively, I’ve baked some with ground dried dragon fruit and that worked wonderfully too. Therefore, I assume that it also works with dried raspberries or strawberries.
Important: You should never use liquid food coloring for macarons. They affect the consistency of the mass and can liquefy the dough. Therefore, please always use powder colors.
For the filling I chose a white chocolate ganache – vegan, of course. All you need for this is vegan white chocolate chips, vanilla sugar and soy cuisine.
Quick note: If you don’t know aquafaba…
This is the liquid from the can of chickpeas. I basically recommend whenever you use canned chickpeas, store the liquid in them and freeze it This so-called aquafaba can be used in vegan cuisine like egg whites and whipped to egg whites.
I don’t want to talk all over you here, but a little Aquafaba Macaron One o One seems perfectly reasonable to me. Before I got started myself, I read countless blog posts. In order for macarons – whether vegan or non-vegan – to work out, there are a few things to keep in mind. RULE NO.1; weigh everything carefully and really follow the recipe 1:1. No freestyle actions please!
Is your head already smoking? I hope not, because now we’re just getting started!
First, a few basic rules in terms of ingredients.
For the aquafaba macarons, you obviously need chickpea water. Please do not use aquafaba made from chickpeas you soaked yourself for this recipe. I tried it twice and it would not let me whip it despite reduction. For this recipe you will need canned chickpea water. The chickpea water also needs to be reduced by half before whipping, by boiling it down. And then be completely cooled and ice cold before you process it further. You can do this the day before and then let it cool overnight in the refrigerator.
You will also need ground almonds, blanched/white. These are almonds whose skin/shell has been removed. Sift the almond powdered sugar mixture. It is quite important that the mixture is a fine powder. Otherwise, the surface of the aquafaba macarons will not be nice and smooth. You’ll probably have to do several rounds of grinding and sieving. I started with a mixture of 75g ground almonds and 75g powdered sugar, ground and sifted for 3 rounds. 25g of the mixture was finally left. Could not grind further with my food processor and did not go through the sieve.
Now the main points about the procedure itself for the aquafaba macarons.
Aquafaba needs time. Therefore, really whip long enough. I can usually do this in about 5 minutes with my Kitchen Aid. First, briefly whisk the chickpea water with cream of tartar until foamy (takes about 3 minutes). The cream of tartar stabilizes the it. However, please really only use cream of tartar, not regular baking powder. Then, step by step, let the sugar enter the foam while the machine keeps beating. The aquafaba is ready when it stops flowing down from the stirring rod. You can also test as follows: form a figure eight in the air with the stirring rod. The aquafaba should form the figure eight without flowing down from the stirring rod.
You also really need a kitchen machine or hand mixer. By hand, the aquafaba can hardly be whipped in a stable way.
After whipping the aquafaba and finely sifting the almond-powdered sugar mixture, add the latter to the aquafaba. Fold in mixture and mix well. Really only stir as briefly as possible Then pull the dough with a spatula over the bottom of the bowl. Then immediately form the aquafaba macarons by spraying the mixture with a piping bag on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. To get evenly shaped macarons, you can draw circles of about 3.5cm size on the baking paper in advance. I simply used a shot glass for this.
Fundamental to whether or not your aquafaba macarons will succeed is a) the beating out of the air and b) the dry season. Before you let the vegan macarons dry, hit the baking sheet really hard on a table several times. Or hit the bottom of the baking tray with your hand. Then let the macarons dry for 2 hours. Aquafaba requires a longer drying time than regular macarons. They are sufficiently dried when you can run your finger over the shiny surface and it will remain smooth. The mass should no longer stick to the fingers.
After drying, it’s time to bake the aquafaba macarons. I have found that 110° Celsius is the optimum temperature. 120° Celsius was already too hot and caused the surfaces of the macarons to burst. However, every oven is fundamentally different and some often do not heat evenly. Here you will have to experiment a little. I baked my aquafaba macarons for 30 minutes in the middle of the preheated oven at 110° Celsius, and then left them in the turned-off oven for another 25 minutes before taking them out.
Guys we made it! Now it’s time to experiment and find out for yourself what works best for you.
And if after all the instructions your head is already buzzing and your desire to bake Aquafaba Macarons has gone down the drain… Then you can bake this lemon tart with vegan meringue. This recipe is a little easier.
Herewith I wish meal and bon appétit!
Pink Vegan Aquafaba Macarons
Equipment
- 1 sauce pan small
- 2 bowls
- Food Processor
- 1 black felt-tip pen best suited for food
- 1 shot glass
- 1 tea strainer large (it makes the process faster)
- 1 kitchen machine with whisk attachment
- 1 pastry spatula
- baking paper
- 1 baking tray square, large
- 2 piping bags
- 1 round nozzle
- 1 star nozzle
Ingredients
Aquafaba Concentrate
- 125 g chickpea water* canned chickpeas
Macarons
- 75 g ground blanched almonds*
- 75 g powdered sugar
- pink food coloring*, powder depending on the desired color intensity
- 50 g aquafaba concentrate*
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar*
- 70 g sugar
White Chocolate Ganache
- 150 g white chocolate drops vegan
- 1 packet vanilla powder sugar app. 8g
- 75 g soy cream
Instructions
Aquafaba Concentrate
- Add aquafaba to a sauce pan and reduce by about half over high heat. Use a scale for this so you know exactly when you have 75g.
- Allow the aquafaba to cool and refrigerate.* It must be very cold before further processing.
Macarons
- While the aquafaba is chilling, grind the almonds, powdered sugar and food coloring in a food processor. Then sift into a bowl with a sieve. It will take several grinding and sifting processes. I ended up with 25g left of the almond-sugar mixture that I couldn’t grind any finer,* which I used elsewhere for other dishes.
- Cover the baking tray with baking paper. To make the macarons evenly sized, paint round circles on the baking paper. For example, shot or shot glasses are suitable for this. Do not forget to turn the baking paper afterwards, otherwise the color of the pen will rub off on the macarons.
- Once the aquafaba is really cold, put it in the bowl of the food processor together with the cream of tartar and beat for about 3 minutes until frothy.
- Then, step by step, add the sugar and continue beating on high speed. The mixture becomes white and glossy. Continue beating for about 5 minutes. The mixture is ready when it no longer drips from the beater of the food processor, is stiff and you can form a figure eight with it in the air.
- Add almond powdered sugar mixture and mix in briskly with a dough scraper. Then pull the dough mixture over the bottom of the bowl with a spatula.
- Fill the macaron mixture into a piping bag with a normal round nozzle. Use the piping bag to pipe dots onto the pre-drawn circles on the baking paper. Continue until all the mixture has been used up.
- To give the macarons a nice surface and the typical little feet, hit the baking tray several times with a lot of force on a flat surface (e.g. table) or let it fall. This allows the air in the dough to escape.
- Let the macarons dry for 2 hours. They are ready as soon as you can run your finger gently over their surface and nothing sticks to your finger.
- 30 minutes before the macarons are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 110° Celsius.
- Bake the macarons in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes. Then turn off the oven and let stand for another 25-30 minutes with the oven closed. Then remove the macarons from the oven and let them cool completely.
White Chocolate Ganache
- While the macarons are drying, you can prepare the ganache. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and melt over a water bath.
- Mix the melted mixture well and let it cool to room temperature.
- Then place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to allow the ganache to set.
- Once ganache is set and macaron shells have cooled, whip ganache using a food processor fitted with a whisk attachment. The ganache will be white in color and slightly fluffier. However, it should not run out of the bowl when you turn it upside down.
- Fill the whipped ganache into a piping bag with a star nozzle*. Now pipe the ganache onto a macaron shell. Then place a second macaron shell on top of the ganache and your first macaron is ready.
- Repeat the last step until you run out of ganache. The ganache should be enough for 15 macarons.
Notes
Nutrition
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