Raspberry and White Chocolate Macarons

In this recipe, we will be making the shells using the french method, which means we will be realizing a french meringue. Unlike the Italian or Swiss meringue, the french meringue is the easiest and fastest type because it doesn’t require cooking. The downside is, it is the least tolerable so make sure to take notes of all the tips and mistakes to avoid, so you can make the best macarons with ease and confidence.

The garnishing is a delicious white chocolate and raspberry ganache. it’s easy to make and has a super creamy texture and amazing flavor. The white chocolate and raspberry ganache captures all the flavor of the raspberry and the creaminess of the white chocolate, plus, as creamy as it is, the shells will not go soggy and you can keep them for a longer time.

White Chocolate and Raspberry Ganache

For this ganache, we need two main ingredients, raspberry, and white chocolate. Regarding the raspberries, you have many options. I used frozen raspberries because it is what I had, you can use fresh ones, frozen ones, or even raspberry puree that you can buy ready from the store. If you choose to use frozen strawberries, I add some sugar and water to process them and make a puree, if you use fresh raspberries then you don’t need to add the water, add just the sugar. If instead, you have a store-bought raspberry puree, then you will skip all the processing part and you will add the puree ( bought or prepared) to a saucepan to heat it.

Leave your raspberry puree on medium heat till it starts simmering, the sugar tends to stick to the bottom so make sure to keep stirring, once you see the little bubbles on the sides, remove it from the heat and sieve it to remove all the seeds, then allow it to it to slightly cool before you add the white chocolate. If you use blocks of chocolate, it is better to chop it before so that it melts easier and faster.

Use a spatula to incorporate and stir from the center outwards till all the chocolate melts from the heat of the puree. This the same way you would prepare a simple chocolate ganache, but instead of the cream, we are using the hot raspberry puree. If the chocolate doesn’t totally melt (maybe you waited too long for the puree to cool) use a hot water bath or microwave it briefly. At this point, the ganache will still be runny and nit thick, this ill happen when it cools. When you have a nice smooth ganache, cover it with some plastic wrap on touch and allow it to cool and thicken. This could take about 4 to 5 hours.

Not on the side: you can perfectly freeze your ganache for up to two months or make it in advance and keep it in the fridge until you need it.

Macarons shells

Since we are making white chocolate and raspberry macarons. I decided to color the shells in pink, this is uniquely for the visual. If you prefer not to color the shells you can keep them in their natural beige color, and they will still look just as good and taste the same.

You will first need to realize what is called a (tant pour tant) which simply means, the same amount for each, since we will be processing together equal amounts of almond meal and powder sugar. Sometimes you can by the tant pour tant ready from the store but it is very easy to make, so simply process the almond meal and powdered sugar till you obtain a very fine powder, make sure not to over mix, otherwise the almonds will start releasing their oils and you will end up with a paste, you don’t want to have that.

Now that you have made your own tant pour tant, go ahead and sieve it to get rid of any small pieces that escaped the processing part. By following these steps you will have very smooth shells. The finer the tant pour tant the smoother the macaron shells will be. Discard of any sieve leftovers from the sieve, up to 1/2 tbsp you can discard. Let’s make the meringue.

Since we are making the french meringue, no cooking is required. Start by beating the egg whites until they are foamy and white. If you add the sugar before, the meringue won’t be so stable and shiny. When they start thickening, only then start adding the sugar on at least three times and keep mixing till all the sugar dissolves and you have a nice shiny meringue that is stable and forms a beak.

Next is the most important part of making macarons, the macaronnage. Add the meringue to the tant pour tant you prepared and keep folding slowly using the macaronnage technique, it’s basically folding up the mixture and give it a gentle smash when you get to the top (see the video below for the technique). You should stop when you can form a ribbon that doesn’t cut when you heave the spatula.

If you choose to color the macaron shells, use only gel or powder food loring because the fluid form can change the texture and the humidity. You can add the color to the meringue or while incorporating the tant pour tant.

When ready place the mixture in a piping bag fitted with a round tip that should be about 1/2 inch or a bit more than 1 cm. Pipe the macarons on parchment paper or a silicon mat. In order to achieve even macarons, try using silicon mats that have patterns on them, print the patterns and place them under a transparent parchment paper or simply draw the circles on the back of the baking paper. This way you will have even shells.

After piping all the macarons, give the baking tray a few taps on the bottom or against the table to make all the air bubble rise to the top and get rid of them. then leave them to dry in a dry place without any humidity. If you are leaving them to dry in the kitchen, for example, make sure there is nothing cooking or steaming otherwise they will not dry. They take about 15 min to half an hour to dry. Once dry, heat the oven to 150C / 302F. The baking time is about 16 min to 17 min depending on the oven. When you take them out wait for them to slightly cool before attempting to take them for the sheet.

Garnishing and preserving the macarons.

Match the macarons by placing next to each other each two that perfectly fit and have the same size. Place the white chocolate raspberry ganache in a piping bag and use the same tip you used to pipe the shells to pipe the ganache on one shell and close it with the matching second shell. Make sure to garnish the macarons the same day or maximum one day before serving, they will still taste just as good the second day but the shells will still get slightly soggy.

You can make both the macarons and the ganache well in advance and freeze them until the day you need them. This is perfect for upcoming occasions, surprise guests, or spontaneous cravings. All you will need to do it pipe the ganache and you have ready macarons. You can freeze the macaron shells by carefully placing them in an air-tight container, make sure to lay some baking paper between them so they don’t stick to each other and freeze them. Both the macarons shells and the ganache don’t need time to thaw. Isn’t that just perfect?

Below is the recipe demonstration video where you can see all the instructions and techniques on how to make the best white chocolate and raspberry macarons using the french method. I hope you will try this recipe soon, if you watch the video, you have everything you need to know to make the best failproof macarons. If you, I would appreciate knowing how it went and how they turned out! Happy Baking!

Equipment you might need:

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White Chocolate and Raspberry Macarons Videos Recipe