Famous French Patisserie Ladurée's Heart-Shaped Macaron Recipe
Ladurée, the famed French pâtisserie that’s been around since 1862, produces the most exquisite macarons in the world. They’ve become such a “thing,” they’ve had their own appearances in TV shows such as Gossip Girl and Sex and the City and Sofia Coppola’s film Marie Antoinette. If Ladurée’s macarons and any others were in a beauty contest, said other macarons would take one look at Ladurée’s range of pastel colors and perfect sandwiching and cower, shrinking back into their less-elegant-than-Ladurée packaging. But there will be no bad feelings here. It’s all love as Valentine’s Day nears; for the first time ever, Ladurée is making heart-shaped macarons this year. And Jimmy Leclerc, the pastry chef there, gave us (only us!) the recipe.
Enjoy it, lovers.
Ladurée’s Ginger-Rose Heart-Shaped Macaron
Makes 10 macarons
We recommend using a baking scale and really weighing out the ingredients in this recipe. Macarons can be difficult, and making them how pastry chefs do—by measuring in grams—will ensure the best results.
Macaron:
500 g whole almonds
500 g icing sugar
320 g egg whites, divided
8 g red food dye
400 g sugar
80 g water
Marmalade filling:
125 g raspberries
75 g sugar
15 g peeled and minced fresh ginger
2 g rose extract
4 g pectin powder
Special equipment:
Scale
Candy thermometer
Piping bag and tips (you’ll need a number 6 tip for this recipe)
To make the macaron:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
In a food processor, pulse the almonds and icing sugar together until you get a powder-like consistency. In a large bowl, mix the almond-sugar powder with half of the egg whites and the food coloring.
Vigorously whisk the other half of the egg whites for 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy (you’re looking for a soft peak). Meanwhile, heat the sugar and water in a saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer. Once it reaches 250 degrees F, remove it from the heat and add to the egg whites. Continue to whisk for 1 more minute.
With a spatula, fold the meringue into the colored mixture, and put the batter into a piping bag fitted with a number 6 tip. Pipe 20 small heart shapes (about 4 inches in diameter) onto the parchment-lined sheet pan. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the macarons have risen slightly and the exterior is hardened.
To make the marmalade filling:
In a saucepan, mix together all of the ingredients and bring them to a boil. Remove from heat, let cool, and then refrigerate for 4 hours.
Assembly:
Spread a good bit of marmalade onto the flat side of 10 macaron halves, then close each with the other 10 halves. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours. Enjoy!
More sweets for your sweet:
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