17   375
5   181
5   202
0   30
8   184
11   328
13   210
10   450
15   386
4   130

Hot Cross Bun Macarons

IMG_1866

IMG_1659

IMG_1656

When it comes to Easter, while I could happily spend all bank holiday stuffing my face with chocolate eggs, these days what I find even more indulging is settling down with a cuppa and a warm, sticky, Hot Cross Bun toasted straight from the oven.

The rich, spicy smell is so comforting that filling my house with the scent of buns baking is almost a necessity at this time of year. However after much deliberation I decided this year I would try something a little different.

Macarons are one of my favourite things to bake and have become somewhat of a staple since the launch of My Kitchen Drawer Made to Order business, therefore they became an obvious choice for my “something a little different”.

For those of you unfamiliar, Hot Cross Buns are traditional English Easter treats which are baked and eaten on Good Friday to commemorate Jesus who died on the cross: hence the recognisable cross along their tops.

If you like cinnamon, nutmeg, citrus zest, and in the case of these beauties, macarons, then these are most certainly worth indulging in this Easter! They are also perfect as gifts and make a fantastic alternative to the more commonly gifted chocolate eggs.

IMG_1864

IMG_1658


Makes: 12 Macarons 

Preparation time: 1 hour 

Baking time: 10-13 minutes 


Spiced Macaron Shells

70g flaked almonds

140g icing sugar

2 large egg whites, at room temperature

50g caster sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp all-spice

1tsp orange zest

Cinnamon and Brown Sugar filling

50g light Muscovado Sugar

70g unsalted Butter

200g icing sugar

1tsp ground cinnamon


Spiced Macarons Shells

Place the flaked almonds in a food processor and blitz for about a minute until as fine as possible. Add the confectioner sugar, cinnamon, orange zest and allspice then process until combined.

In a super clean bowl pour one egg white and whisk in the tsp of vanilla bean paste. Beat this mixture into the almond icing sugar to make an almond paste. Set aside and cover with a tea towel.

In another super clean bowl whisk your second egg white until it holds soft peaks. Continue to whisk at a medium speed while adding the caster sugar a tablespoon at a time.

Beat on a medium speed for 2 minutes then increase to high for a final 2 minutes until the egg whites are holding stiff, glossy peaks.

Add the almond paste to your meringue mixture then using a spatula slowly fold them together from the bottom up. Continue this motion around 35-40 times until the mixture is fully incorporated and flows like molten lava.

Using a piping bag with a 1cm nozzle, pipe rounds of mixture onto 2 heavy baking trays lined with baking parchment. Tap the trays on the work surface to remove any air bubbles, then leave them to dry for 30 minutes. They will be ready to bake when they are no longer sticky or wet when touched.

Preheat the oven to 140-150 degrees/Gas Mark 2 and bake on the middle shelf for 8 minutes. Open the oven to let out any steam and turn the sheets around then bake for a further 8 minutes until the tops are crisp. Leave them to cool fully before removing from the baking sheet.

To create the iconic cross, melt your white chocolate in a microwave or in a heatproof bowl over a pan of boiling water then transfer it into a heat resistant piping bag (available at Lakeland). Pipe the crosses onto each macaron and leave to set in the fridge for 20 minutes before adding the filling.

Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Filling

Blend together butter, brown sugar and icing sugar to create a smooth buttercream. Add 1 tsp of ground cinnamon and combine then spread the filling over one macaron shell and sandwich together with another.

These will store in an air tight container for a few days if kept in the fridge.

Follow:

16 Comments

  1. May 3, 2019 / 8:43 am

    Awesome! Its actually awesome paragraph, I have
    got much clear idea on the topic of from this article.

  2. May 3, 2019 / 10:13 am

    We are a group of volunteers and opening a brand new scheme in our community.

    Your web site offered us with helpful information to work on. You have performed a formidable activity and our entire group might be thankful to you.

  3. May 5, 2019 / 1:38 am

    Hi there, this weekend is fastidious in support of me,
    since this time i am reading this fantastic educational piece
    of writing here at my residence.

  4. May 5, 2019 / 1:08 pm

    Hi there! I could have sworn I’ve been to this site before but after browsing through some
    of the post I realized it’s new to me. Anyhow, I’m definitely happy I
    found it and I’ll be bookmarking and checking back often!

  5. May 6, 2019 / 9:22 am

    My spouse and I stumbled over here from a different web page and thought I should check things out.
    I like what I see so i am just following you. Look forward to going over your web page yet again.

  6. May 6, 2019 / 9:24 am

    Wow, that’s what I was seeking for, what a information!
    existing here at this website, thanks admin of this web site.

  7. May 6, 2019 / 1:39 pm

    Hi, Neat post. There’s an issue along with your web site in internet explorer, may check this?
    IE nonetheless is the marketplace leader and a huge component of
    other people will leave out your magnificent writing
    because of this problem.

  8. May 7, 2019 / 1:06 pm

    It’s amazing for me to have a site, which is
    helpful in support of my know-how. thanks admin

  9. May 7, 2019 / 9:07 pm

    Hi! I know this is kinda off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are
    you using for this site? I’m getting fed up of WordPress because I’ve had
    issues with hackers and I’m looking at alternatives for another platform.

    I would be fantastic if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.

  10. May 8, 2019 / 6:12 am

    If some one needs expert view on the topic of blogging then i propose him/her to pay a quick visit this blog, Keep up the fastidious work.

  11. May 9, 2019 / 1:54 am

    I am actually grateful to the holder of this web page who has
    shared this wonderful article at at this time.

  12. May 10, 2019 / 10:10 am

    Wow, this article is pleasant, my younger sister is analyzing these kinds of things, thus
    I am going to inform her.

  13. May 10, 2019 / 8:02 pm

    Fantastic beat ! I would like to apprentice even as you amend your website, how can i subscribe
    for a blog web site? The account aided me a appropriate deal.
    I had been tiny bit familiar of this your broadcast provided bright transparent concept

  14. May 11, 2019 / 3:06 am

    Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you
    relied on the video to make your point. You obviously
    know what youre talking about, why throw away your intelligence
    on just posting videos to your weblog when you
    could be giving us something informative to read?

  15. May 11, 2019 / 12:18 pm

    Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog
    and wished to say that I have truly enjoyed browsing your blog
    posts. In any case I will be subscribing to your rss feed and I hope you write again soon!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *