Red Velvet Macarons

I love the rich look and taste of these red velvet macarons. The cream cheese filling isn't too sweet and they received high praise from my taste testers.

Enjoy!

Red Velvet Macarons
180g ground almonds, sifted
270g powdered sugar, sifted
10 grams cocoa powder
150g egg whites, aged 2 to 4 days in the fridge and then brought to room temperature
100g granulated sugar
Red food coloring

Line four heavy baking sheets with good quality parchment paper and set aside. Also, set aside two pastry bags for the piping of the macarons.

Sift together your ground almonds with the powdered sugar and cocoa powder and set aside.

Whisk the egg whites (at room temperature) to glossy firm peaks adding the granulated sugar gradually in four parts. Add the food coloring, a few drops at a time until the egg whites are a deep red color.

Incorporate the dry ingredients into the beaten egg whites using a large rubber scraper.  Mix well. 
Fold the mixture with the rubber scraper by pulling down the sides and flipping the mixture over. Do this until you have a smooth mixture that falls like a “ribbon” off the scraper.

Transfer the mixture into the two piping bags. Use rubber bands to close the piping bags. Clip the tip of the bags, one at a time, and pipe small quarter sized rounds, leaving 1-inch of space between each because they spread as they set.

Leave to set for about 30 minutes or until the top has formed a crust and is not sticky to the touch. While they are setting, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. A convection oven is preferable. 

Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for about 12 minutes or until the cookie is firm, matte and doesn't wobble when touched.
Leave on the baking tray until cool then lift them all off the parchment carefully. You may need to use a thin knife to help lift them off.

Sort into pairs and fill with cream cheese filling.

Cream Cheese Filling
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla


Whip butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and whip again.

Use a pastry bag to fill the macarons.