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Highway Unicorn Macarons

by Nick Makrides
Published: Last Updated on

Highway Unicorn Macarons! Continuing on with my highway unicorn gaga-inspired series, these beautifully colorful macarons are just the perfect addition to any celebration!

Highway Unicorn Macarons

Nick’s favorite thing…

I adore how colorful these macarons are. They kind of look busy and chaotic but also energetic and fun at the same time!

What do Highway Unicorn Macarons taste like?

These are my classic macaron recipe which is really highly rated by you guys. They’re filled with my silky smooth buttercream and flavored with strawberry flavoring.

What are the ingredients I need for Highway Unicorn Macarons?

Almond flour – also known as almond meal. I wouldn’t recommend making your own. Store-bought is best!

Powdered sugar – also known as icing sugar.

Egg whites – make sure you don’t get any egg yolks in the whites when separating them.

Granulated sugar – caster sugar will also work.

Water – this is measured using grams too because you need to be really specific when measuring macaron ingredients.

Vanilla ExtractAlways use good quality vanilla extract when baking, it makes a huge difference. I have a great recipe here for it if you’d like to try your own!

Food gel – I used ‘Chefmaster’ brand food gel.

Assorted sprinkles –  (purple, rainbow and gold star sprinkles)

American Buttercream Frosting – I have a really great recipe for this that you can grab here! It’s great for cupcake, cakes and buttercream decorations!2 drops pink food gel

Strawberry flavouring – or any flavouring you like. The brand I used is called ‘Roberts’

Close up of Highway Unicorn Macarons

My Top Tips!

Prepare before you start:

  1. Trays (lined with baking paper not grease proof paper)
  2. Eggs – separate egg whites from the yolks and allow them to sit in the fridge for a couple hours. These must be measured accurately.
  3. Sift almond and sugar together (if you don’t have a food processor)

Storage: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days (refrigerated or unrefrigerated).

Other Recipes You Might Like!

Highway Unicorn Cake

Make sure to follow me on social media!

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I hope you guys enjoyed this simple but delicious Highway Unicorn Macarons recipe with me. Please comment in the comments section below, or feel free to share with your family and friends on social media.

I’ll see you all on the following recipe. Happy baking!

N x

Pinterest image for Highway Unicorn Macarons

Highway Unicorn Cake

Highway Unicorn Cake

A colorful vanilla and strawberry cake, fit for a unicorn queen! Perfect for a kids celebration or adults alike!

Serves 30

5 from 2 votes
Author: Nick Makrides
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep: 1 hr 30 mins
Cook: 45 mins
Total: 2 hrs 15 mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 122kcal
Author: Nick Makrides

Ingredients

Cake

  • 3 1/2 cups (430 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 cups (265 g) caster sugar
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp fine salt
  • 1/2 cup (125 g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) milk
  • 1/2 cup (125 ml) vegetable oil
  • 2 tbsp Greek yogurt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 drops blue food gel
  • 3 drops pink food gel + 3 drops purple food gel
  • 3 drops pink food gel
  • 3 tsp strawberry flavoring
  • sprinkles of your choice
  • rainbow confetti sprinkles

Gold Drip

  • 2 tsp gold lustre dust
  • 4 tbsp vodka or vanilla extract

Frosting

  • 3 batches Swiss meringue buttercream frosting
  • 3 drops blu food gel
  • 3 drops pink food gel + 3 drops purple food gel
  • 3 drops pink food gel
  • 3 tsp strawberry flavoring

Optional

  • 1/2 batch Highway Unicorn Macarons

Learn How To Make it! [VIDEO]


Instructions

Cake

  • Please note: To make the 6 layered cake you see pictured; you’ll need to double the cake recipe only. All other measurements are enough to fill, crumb coat and finish decorating the cake.
    Preheat a fan-forced oven to 160C (320F) or 180C (356F) for a conventional oven. Spray an 8” cake tin with oil spray and line the bottom with baking paper.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the flour, baking powder, caster sugar and salt. Turn mixer on low speed and allow it to mix for a couple minutes to help everything combine well (alternatively you may do this by sifting the ingredients together). Add the softened butter and mix until it resembles a fine sand like texture.
  • Add the milk, oil, greek yogurt, eggs and strawberry essence into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until no dry ingredients are visible. Scrape down the bowl and mix for another 20 seconds.
  • Separate batter into three separate bowls. Add pink food dye and mix until well combined to one bowl. Repeat with two other bowls. Add pink and purple to make the purple and blue to make the blue. Be careful not to over mix your batter. You just want to fold the colour until well combined.
  • Transfer each colour into a separate piping bag and pipe random blobs of each colour into an 8 inch cake tin. Fill each cake tin just above half way.
  • Bake for 30 min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow the tins to cool for 2 min and then carefully flip the cake tins over on to a cooling rack to cool completely before using.
  • Using a large serrated knife or cake leveler, carefully trim the top off each layer of cake to make even and flat layers. You can make each cake layer however thin or thick you like. I got about 3 useable layers of cake from each of the three cakes. Try to aim to get them all the same height. If you don’t have a cake leveller, an easy way to do this is to find the lowest height of the cake, place a skewer or toothpick next to that point and mark it. As you go around each side of the cake cutting it, use the marked skewer to make sure each cut is at the same height.
  • To prepare crumb coat, add a dab of frosting onto an 8” cake board or serving plate. Add first cake layer. Use a small offset to add a layer of frosting and smoothen out and layer the frosting on each layer before adding the next layer of cake. Add more frosting around the outside to fill the grooves between each layer. This should just be a neat thin layer of frosting which is aimed at trapping any cake crumbs so that random bits of cake crumbs don’t show up on the outside of the cake.
  • Add a fresh layer of frosting using a small offset spatula. Use a cake scraper to smoothen out the frosting around the sides. Then smoothen out the top using a the cake scraper. Chill.
  • Separate two batches of Swiss meringue buttercream into three bowls. Colour each one blue, pink and purple using the same formulas as the batter.
  • Transfer to a piping bag and pipe two layers of frosting starting with the blue at the bottom, followed by the purple. I actually made a lighter purple as well, and then finish with the pink. Use a large cake scraper to go around the cake to smoothen out the frosting. Scrape any excess frosting on top using a sharp knife and use the cake leveller to even out the top. Continue scraping until the cake is smooth on the sides and top. Chill for 1-2 hours.
  • Stick some sprinkles to the bottom of the cake using your hands.
  • Drizzle some chocolate sauce over the sides of the cake and chill again for 1 hour. Mix the gold lustre dust and vodka or vanilla extract together and use a small food safe brush to paint the chocolate drips with the gold. You may need to go over it twice. This takes a while guys. Have patience! Listen toBeyoncé in the background or your favourite podcast!
  • Fit the end of a piping bag with a Wilton 1M tip and frost some high swirls of pink Swiss meringue buttercream frosting. Make em high baby!
  • Add the macarons on top to finish off, this is completely optional! If you want to use the macarons, I’d recommend making them the day you bake the cake. This whole thing is a two day process. Baking and crumb coat and then the decorating. Store the macarons in an air tight container at room temp until you’re ready to use them!

Notes

Notes
Cake can be stored in an airtight container for up to three days.

Nutrition

Calories : 122kcal
Carbonhydrates: 14g
Protein: 2g
Fat: 4g
Saturated Fat: 2g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g
Monounsaturated Fat : 1g
Trans Fat : 1g
Cholesterol: 20mg
Sodium: 93mg
Potassium : 52mg
Fiber: 1g
Sugar : 3g
Vitamin A: 130IU
Vitamin C: 1mg
Calcium: 44mg
Iron: 1mg
Nutrition Disclosure
Gave this recipe a go?Mention @thescranline or tag #thescranline!

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2 comments

Chris July 31, 2022 - 4:30 pm

Hello Nick! You used to have so many recipes of macarons on the old website. They were also in grams and not cups (you had even explained how crucial it is to weigh everything). Was wondering if you could upload all those recipes back? And put them in grams instead of cups? Thank you so much!
My macarons keep cracking in the oven although I leave them enough time to dry 🙁

Reply
Nick Makrides August 1, 2022 - 3:12 am

Hi Chris! I still have those recipes. Unfortunately a good chunk of them won’t be coming to the website. Mostly because of time. My focus is on the new recipes. Feel free to email me and I’ll be happy to send through the recipe you would like!

Reply

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