Baking Mad Monday: Salted Butter Caramel Jumbo Macaroons

I grew up in Brittany, and I am very fond of creamy churned butter packed with sea salt crystal...which of course make a very, very tasty caramel filling perfect for these oversized macarons which will become a beautiful and delicious dessert!

I've teamed up with my friends from http://www.bakingmad.com to show you how to make them.

Ingredients:

FOR THE MACAROONS:
250gr ground almonds
450gr golden icing sugar
200gr egg whites
50gr golden caster sugar
Point of a knife of dark yellow food colouring paste
2 drops of coffee extract
Sea salt crystal (for topping)

FOR THE SALTED BUTTER CARAMEL FILLING:
150gr golden caster sugar
150ml double cream
30gr salted butter (Brittany or Jersey )
150gr salted butter ( Brittany or Jersey)

Method :
Preheat the oven to 150c. line 2 baking trays with silicone baking paper. Pass trough a fine sieve the ground almond and golden icing sugar to get a very fine powder.

With a hand held electric whisk beat the white to a stiff peak adding the caster sugar a bit at the time. Whisk in the colouring and extract.

Using a large rubber spatula fold the almond mix into the white till you get a smooth and glossy mixture, don't over do it as the batter must be pipe-able!!

Turn the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm plain nozzle.

Pipe the macarons to a 5.5cm disc and sprinkle a few salt crystal on the top.

Leave to “crust” for 30mins at room temperature, then bake for 12/15mins.

As soon as the trays are out of the oven pour a bit of cold water between the tray and the baking paper - that will help to remove the macaroon without breaking them.

Leave to cool.

To make the filling:

In a thick base sauce pan take the sugar to a dark blond caramel on a medium heat, don t over stir!! Off the heat add slowly the 30gr of butter.

In a separate saucepan heat up the cream.

Put the caramel back on the heat and add the hot cream a bit at the time . Keep cooking it up to a temperature of 110c (use a sugar thermometer ).

Pour the mixture into a bowl to cool down cover with kitchen film.
Using a hand held electric whisk beat the butter till pale and fluffy and gently add the cold salted butter caramel cream .

Turn into a piping bag fitted with a 1/5cm plain nozzle. Pipe some bulb of cream all over the inside of a macaron and gently sandwich with another perfect macaron shell.

Keep the macaron in the fridge for at least 6h till the cream set and the shell soften.

Secure them with left overs of cream on a plate dusted with cocoa powder…as a show man I like serving mine with a hot butter scotch sauce drizzle over a block of pink Himalayan salt …FABULOUS!!

Happy Baking!

E x