Kiiroitori Chick Macaron

It's almost the end of our school holidays, school is reopening again next week. The four weeks flew past so fast, I've to get used to waking up early again, we've been sleeping and waking up late the past month.


Sharing another macaron creation I came up with, decorated them as Kiiroitori, Rilakkuma's chick friend.


This time, instead of using icing to pipe on the details, I experimented with using macaron batter. I prefer this method much better, and have subsequently made a few more character macarons using this method, will update them on the blog next time.


I filled the macarons with lemon buttercream, love the tangy lemon buttercream, helps to balance out the sweetness of the macarons.

KIIROITORI CHICK MACARON RECIPE
Ingredients:
80g ground almond
160g icing sugar
60g egg white, separated for 24 hours in advance
a little Wilton yellow gel colouring
a little Wilton orange gel colouring

Buttercream:
60g egg white
110g butter, room temperature
110g fine castor sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp lemon zest

Method:

1. Sieve 80g icing sugar together with ground almond twice. Alternatively, you can also use a food processor to pulse them till fine before sieving them once. Set aside.


2. Beat egg white on low/medium speed until foamy, sieve 80g icing sugar in 3 batches, change to high speed and beat till soft peak form. You can turn up the speed and continue to beat till stiff peak, if you prefer a thicker macaron. Add in a little yellow gel colouring using a toothpick, mix to combine.

3. Add step 2 icing sugar/almond mixture into egg white in 2 batches, folding well to combine.

4. Scoop out 3 tbsp of batter and colour them with a little orange colouring using a toothpick. Fill batter in a piping bag.

5. Scoop yellow batter into pipping bag with nozzle tip #1A attached. Pipe small circles on a non-stick baking sheet. Use a toothpick to prick the air bubbles. 

6. Pipe out mouth using orange batter. Dry the macarons shells for 30 minutes under room temperature.

7. Preheat oven to 150 degrees celcius. Bake macarons at middle rack for around 12-15 minutes. Once the feet appears (they should do so before 5 minutes) , place an oven rack above the tray of macarons and continue baking till 12-15 minutes is up. (this is to prevent the top of the macarons from browning) When baking is complete, do not remove the macarons from the tray, allow them to cool for a while before removing. 
8. To make the buttercream filling, first, grate yellow part of lemon to get lemon zest. Set aside.

9. Combine egg whites and sugar in a mixing bowl. Whisk over a gentle simmering hot water bath, till all the sugar have melted. Remove from heat.

10. Place on mixer and whisk on high till stiff peaks are formed.

11. Turn down the speed and add in the butter gradually, mix well.

12. Mix in lemon zest and lemon juice. Fill in pipping bag, refrigerate around 15 minutes before pipping onto your macarons. 
13. Draw Kiiroitori's details using black food markers. 
 

 Note:

• The measurements for the ingredients is crucial. It is also important to whisk the egg whites and fold in the sugar/almond mixture correctly.
• The need to use aged egg whites is debatable, but you should at least use egg whites at room temperature. I usually separate them the night before, leave in a bowl covered with cling wrap at room temperature.
• Please ensure equipments are dry when beating egg whites, else you will have problem beating them till stiff peak.
• It is necessary to leave the batter to rest for at least half an hour before baking, this is for the macarons to form a shell on top.
• It's important to use a non-stick baking sheet, I usually bake mine on silpat mats.
• Macarons taste better the following day, so if you can wait, keep in fridge and eat them the next day.

Where to get same item used in today's post: