Highway Unicorn Macarons

Macarons

Add half the icing sugar and almond meal into a food processor and process until well combined. Repeat with the other half. This will help get rid of any lumps in the sugar. Alternatively, you may sift the two together. This must be done at least 3 times.
Empty the almond mixture into a large mixing bowl, add the first portion of egg whites and mix until it forms a paste. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
Add the sugar and water into a small saucepan. Give them a very gentle stir to get them mixed together. Bring to a boil on medium high heat, then turndown to a simmer. Add a candy thermometer to the pot to help you measure the temp of the syrup. As the syrup bubbles away it will splatter small bubbles of sugared water on the sides of the pot. Use a pastry brush dabbed in a little water to brush those back into the syrup. This will help prevent the syrup from crystallizing. When the syrup reaches 115C, add the second portion of egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer and start whisking them on medium/high speed to help break them apart and get them a little frothy.
When the syrup reaches 118C, pour it over the egg whites in a slow and steady stream. Whisk to stiff peaks for about 6 min. Add the vanilla extract at about the 3 min point, whisk into the meringue for a couple of minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down, then whisk for an extra couple of minutes. When you can turn the bowl over and the meringue doesn’t fall out, you know you’ve reached stiff peaks.
Grab a spatula full of the meringue and fold it into the almond-sugar mixture, mix until well combined. You want to stop mixing when it is combined well enough that the mixture is smooth.
Separate the mixture into three separate bowls. Add blue food gel to one, purple to the second and pink to the third. Combine each colour until you reach the ribbon stage. It should be thin enough that it drips off the spatula and falls in a ribbon. It should take about 10 seconds for the ribbon to disappear into the rest of the batter. That’s when you know the batter is ready to pipe.
Spoon about 3 tablespoons of each coloured into 3 separate piping bags.Fit another bag with a round tip. Snip off the end of the bags with the batter and place into the bag with the piping bags.
Pipe rounds of batter about 3.5cm (1.38 inches) in diameter, spacing them 2cm apart on (flat) baking trays lined with baking parchment. Sprinkle with sprinkles.
Gently tap the tray on the work surface covered with a kitchen cloth.Leave to stand for at least 30 minutes, until a skin forms on the shells. They shouldn’t be sticky when you touch them. It’s at this point that you can preheat a fan forced oven to 180C (360F)
Bake for 12 minutes. If you feel your oven is causing the macarons to brown on one side (usually the side closest to the fan) turn the tray around about half way through baking. Once they’re baked, let them cool completely.
Fit the end of a piping bag with a Wilton #32 piping tip and frosting in a swirl and place another cookie on top.
Finish off by sprinkling the frosting with coloured sprinkles.

Highway Unicorn Macarons

Ingredients

Macarons

Frosting

Instructions

Frosting

Macarons

Video

Notes

Nutrition