Almond Heart Macarons

These macarons are filled with a rich almond buttercream and decorated with a pretty pink heart.

To make the heart decorations, a few tablespoons of the batter needs to be colored a darker pink. Then, hearts are shaped by piping on a dot and drawing through the center of it with a skewer. The technique is simple but it needs to be done quickly before a skin forms over the top of the macaron.

These macarons would be perfect for Valentine's Day.

Here's how to make them:

Almond Heart Macarons
180g ground almonds, sifted
270g powdered sugar, sifted
150g egg whites, aged 2 to 4 days in the fridge and then brought to room temperature
100g granulated sugar
Pink food coloring

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

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

Whisk the egg whites (at room temperature) to glossy firm peaks adding the granulated sugar gradually in four parts. Add a touch of coloring to make a pretty light pink 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.

Set aside three tablespoons of the filling and tint it with more pink coloring for the darker colored hearts.

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

Working as fast as you can, pipe a small dot of dark pink batter on top of the macarons and draw a line through the center of them to form a heart.

The macarons will look like this as they set.

Leave to set for about 30 minutes or until the top has formed a crust and the macarons are 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 Almond Buttercream.

Almond Buttercream.
3 egg whites
pinch of cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt

Heat the egg whites, sugar and cream of tarter in a double boiler over medium heat, stirring constantly. Heat the mixture until the mixture is very hot to the touch and the egg whites are thick and white.

Transfer the mixture to a stand mixer and beat on high for two to three minutes. Reduce the speed and keep beating until the mixture is cool. Add the butter, a tablespoon at a time and beat until light and creamy. Finally, add the almond and vanilla extracts and the salt.