Peach Heart Vanilla Macarons – Qixi Festival Special

Flavor: Sweet; Technique: Baking; Time: 45 minutes; Difficulty: Moderate.

Cooking Steps for Peach Heart Vanilla Macarons – Qixi Festival Special

First, draw peach hearts on parchment paper. I used a cookie cutter to draw the hearts. You can determine the size, but generally, smaller hearts have a higher success rate. Place another piece of parchment paper on top of the one with the hearts drawn on it, as you will pipe the macarons on top later.

Sift almond flour and powdered sugar together, then mix well. Note that the quantities mentioned are after sifting the almond flour and powdered sugar.

Separate egg whites from yolks. Since we only need egg whites, you can seal and freeze the yolks for later use. Whip the egg whites, gradually adding granulated sugar in three portions. When it reaches about 80% stiffness, add food coloring and continue to whip until stiff peaks form.

The egg whites should be able to stand up in stiff peaks.

Fold one-third of the whipped egg whites into the almond flour and powdered sugar mixture until well combined.

Then add the remaining egg whites and gently fold from bottom to top to avoid deflating the egg whites. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag and pipe out heart-shaped macarons on the parchment paper.

Pipe the batter vertically onto the parchment paper, squeezing out large circular shapes on the wider part of the heart, similar to making round macarons. Then, reduce the pressure as you move downwards to create the narrower part of the heart. You can also use this method to create two halves of the heart.

Regardless of the method, the most important thing is to ensure the batter is evenly thick.

Tap the baking sheet on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles, then let it dry for 10 minutes before baking in a preheated oven at 150 degrees Celsius for about 10-12 minutes.

While they bake, start making the vanilla sauce. Split the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds.

Mix 30g of cream with cornstarch until smooth. Place the vanilla seeds and the remaining vanilla pod in a saucepan with 70g of cream and sugar, then heat gently until it starts to boil. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl.

Combine the cream mixture with the cornstarch mixture, then add chopped white chocolate. Stir until smooth, then add softened butter at room temperature. Seal and refrigerate for at least 3 hours until the vanilla sauce sets.

Pipe the sauce onto one macaron shell, then sandwich with another shell to complete the peach heart macarons.

Finished Peach Heart Vanilla Macarons~

Juju also made slightly larger peach heart macarons using the same method, filling them with whipped cream and raspberries in the middle to create mini macaron cakes~ You can give it a try too!

Completed mini macaron cakes~