If you know me, I love making macarons, there is something so therapeutic about making the meringue in the stand mixer, about mixing the batter with the dry ingredients, and making swirls to see if the batter consistency is right, and so relaxing to finally pipe them onto the baking tray. It is also weirdly relaxing to bang the tray against the kitchen counter, lol, a gazillion times! And then watching the macarons grow feet! It is all a fun process. It is also therapeutic to make royal icing in different colors and pipe designs on the macaron shells!
Henna is so popular in India and has grown to be popular in other parts of the world too! Henna, known as Mehendi in India, is a beautiful art. I love the designs that brides put for their weddings. They are so intricate, and beautifully done. The women who do the mehendi work professionally are so talented, and need a steady and fast hand to get it done right. It takes around 6-8 hours to do bridal mehendi. The bride has to sit in one place and her mom or a relative will feed her while she is getting her mehendi done. It is hard to sleep as well, because once you apply the mehendi, you have to leave it overnight, unwashed, so that the color comes out dark and beautiful. They say, the darker the color on your hand, the more your husband will love you It is a popular myth!
For the Diwali box, I wanted to make henna macarons, where I put henna designs on top of the macaron shells. Making henna designs on a macaron shell is pretty challenging, and it took me a few practices to get it somewhat right. It was a lot of fun though, and extremely relaxing. I also did it when my kids were asleep and I had the kitchen all to myself! I went with bright colors on the shells for the henna design instead of the usual henna green color! As a kid I would love having henna put on my hands, and honestly I simply love the smell of henna too! My mom had bought me henna design books and I would practice henna designs on my hand and my mom’s hand. It was a lot of fun. My mom would actually make the henna cones for pipping, herself! She was really good at it!
The macaron shells have freeze dried mango powder in them. I bought the freeze dried mango from Trader Joe’s. They have a vast variety of freeze dried fruit which are great for macarons or any other baked goods! I made two types of buttercream : 1) Mango-Saffron Buttercream 2) Guava-Cardamom Buttercream. The mango-saffron buttercream has mango puree, that my dad got for me from India. My sister in law freezes the freshly pureed mango, from a particular variety called Payaree, which is my absolute favorite kind of mango. My dad got it for us and my kids absolutely love it. It is sweet yet tart enough, and that was the mango that my mom bought the most, when we were kids. This mango puree is absolutely delicious, and irresistible! I added saffron to it as well and it gives it a wonderful floral taste.
The guava buttercream is made with guava puree or guava paste, from a brand called Goya. You can get it from Amazon or from a Mexican grocery store. I also added a touch of cardamom for a floral touch. I grew up eating a lot of guavas, and they are so sweet in India unlike the guavas here! Both the buttercreams work well in the macarons. The recipe for the buttercream is to use either MANGO-SAFFRON buttercream OR GUAVA buttercream for the entire batch of macarons. I have simply given options/recipes for both the buttercreams. I was very happy with how the macs turned out!
Hetal made these fun rose meringue kisses, that have a slight hint of rose flavor in them. She painted them with India colors of orange and green and elevated them with some gold on it. Meringue kisses are so fun to make and make for a very cute foodie gift and they look adorable in the Diwali gift box too! You can get her recipe from her blog!
Now for the final reveal of the Diwali box, that we will take place on Tuesday next week! We could not be more excited to share the finale with you! Hope you all have fantastic weekend, and that you have enjoyed the 8 recipes in all that we have shared between Hetal and I!
Have a wonderful weekend!
XO
Amisha
Print Mango-Saffron Henna Macarons
Ingredients
For the Mango macaron shells: 7 ounces confectioner’s sugar 4 ounces almond flour 3 tbsp mango powder(made from freeze dried mangoes from Trader Joe’s) 4 large(4 ounces) egg whites, room temperature Pinch of cream of tartar 3.5 ounces granulated sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract A drop of yellow and orange color (IF YOU WANT TO MAKE ONLY GUAVA MACARONS, USE PINK COLOR IN THE MACARON SHELLS, I STILL KEEP THE MANGO FLAVOR IN THE SHELLS. UES THE GUAVA BUTTERCREAM RECIPE FOR THE GUAVA MACARONS) Mango-Saffron Buttercream filling: 6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temp pinch of kosher salt 4 cups confectioner’s sugar ( the buttercream should not be runny, it should be firm, but pipeable at the same time, add more powdered sugar accordingly if required) 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 tbsp warm heavy cream A pinch of saffron 2 tbsp mango puree 2 tbsp mango powder(ground from freeze dried mangoes) Guava-Cardamom Buttercream filling: 6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temp pinch of kosher salt 4 cups confectioner’s sugar ( the buttercream should not be runny, it should be firm, but pipeable at the same time, add more powdered sugar accordingly if required) 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 tbsp heavy cream ½ tsp cardmom powder 2 tbsp guava paste or guava puree like Goya brand Royal Icing: (Recipe from Wilton Cakes) 4 cups confectioner’s sugar 3 tbsp meringue powder 6 tbsp warm water Colors depending upon what you want to decorate the macaron shells as.
Instructions
* For the mango macaron shells:* Preheat oven to 310 degrees. Line baking sheets with the paper templates, and top with the parchment paper, or you could use silpat. In a bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse 1/2 of the confectioner's sugar with the almond flour and mango powder until a fine powder is formed. Transfer mixture to a mixing bowl and mix in the remaining confectioner’s sugar. Using a drum sieve, sift mixture three times into a large bowl. Set aside. To make the meringue: In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add granulated sugar. Once all the sugar is incorporated and the mixture is thick, scrap down the sides of the bowl, add the vanilla extract, and drop of the color and increase the speed to high, whipping until stiff, firm, glossy peaks form for atleast 5-7 minutes. You can remove and turn the whisk and the meringue should hold. To complete the macaronnage step: Sift the almond flour mixture, one-third at a time, over the egg white mixture, and fold using a large spatula until the mixture is smooth and shiny. Once all the almond flour mixture is incorporated check for the correct consistency, the batter should be firm, have a glossy shine and drip smoothly from the spatula. Make sure that the entire almond mixture is incorporated. Take in the batter with your spatula and press it against the bowl in the same motion to remove the air from the batter. This step is very important. If you overwhip the batter will be too runny so do not overwhip. It should flow like lava, slowly but form ribbons. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag filled with a 1/2 inch plain round tip(#12), and pipe 1 1/3 inch rounds on parchment-lined baking sheets using a template for macarons or use a MACARON SILPAT to help get the round shapes. Gentle tap the bottom of each sheet on work surface to release trapped air OR you could bang the tray against the kitchen counter. Do this step atleast 10 times. If they have a tip, gently pat it down with your wet finger. If there is a bubble, use a toothpick to fill it up. Let stand at room temperature for 30-40 minutes atleast. Check for a slight crust to form on the macaron. The macarons should not stick to your finger when lightly touched. Bake one sheet at a time, rotating halfway through, until macarons are crisp and firm, about 15 minutes. Allow macarons to cool on the baking sheets for 30 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before filling. For the mango-saffron buttercream filling: In a tiny bowl, add the warm heavy cream and add the saffron. Let it sit for a couple minutes. The deep orange hue will be imparted from the saffron. In a stand mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment, add the butter and salt and whip until light and creamy about a minute. Add in the mango powder, mango puree and saffron mixture and whisk at low speed to incorporate. Add the sugar to the whipped butter and mix until the ingredients are well combined and the mixture is smooth about 2 minutes, starting at low speed(so that the sugar does not fly everywhere!) and gradually increasing the speed to high. Use a pastry bag with a star tip or a round tip(depending upon your preference)to fill the buttercream filling and pipe the flat side of the macaron shell on the rim. Use the same sized macaron shell to cover the icing. For the guava-cardamom buttercream filling: In a stand mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment, add the butter and salt and whip until light and creamy about a minute. Add in the guava puree(or paste), vanilla extract and cardamom and whisk at low speed to incorporate. Add the sugar to the whipped butter and mix until the ingredients are well combined and the mixture is smooth about 2 minutes, starting at low speed(so that the sugar does not fly everywhere!) and gradually increasing the speed to high. Use a pastry bag with a star tip or a round tip(depending upon your preference)to fill the buttercream filling and pipe the flat side of the macaron shell on the rim. Use the same sized macaron shell to cover the icing. Royal Icing: In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the confectioner's sugar, meringue powder and water, first on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue mixing the icing until it is light in color and holds a stiff peak, 3 to 5 minutes. Do not overmix the icing. Use the stiff consistency as-is for outlines. Divide the mixture into the different bowls, for different colors. Put the icing in a 12 inch pastry bag with a very tiny pipping tip like 102/103 Wilton tips. Scrap the icing down with a bench scraper. Secure the top tight. Use the pipping bag to decorate the macarons with royal icing. The bags can be kept in the refrigerator for 10 days. Keep the tips well secured, by wrapping in a wet cloth, so as not to dry out the icing. I decorate the shell first with the royal icing. And then put it on top of the second macaron shell. Powered by Zip Recipes 6.1.3.3 http://thejamlab.co/2019/10/18/mango-saffron-henna-macarons/ #Mehendi #DiwaliBox #Guava #Dessert #FoodieGifts
