In case you’ve missed it, I’ve been keeping a second blog dedicated exclusively to cookies (click here to visit For the Love of Cookies). Back in July, I wrote a post about Sugarprism, a new product I fell in love with. Michelle, the inventor of Sugarprism hosts a page in Facebook entitled “Painting with Sugarprism“, and I highly recommend that you visit and join if the subject interests you. She is an amazing artist, and offers FREE – you read that right: FREE – tutorials of specific painting techniques. I took her 90 min lesson on watercolor painting of macarons and could not wait to share my babies here. So there you go. I took the class on Sunday, and the post is ready 36 hours later. That’s because I am over the moon with the whole experience! Can you tell?

VEGAN COFFEE GANACHE MACARONS
(adapted from Pies and Tacos)

for shells:
110 grams almond flour
110 grams powdered sugar
75 grams aquafaba
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
66 grams granulated sugar
tiny amount of Americolor GOLD food gel dye

for vegan coffee ganache:
1/3 cup coconut cream
60g semisweet chocolate chips (vegan)
2 tsp espresso powder

Process the almond flour and powdered sugar in a food processor for about 20 seconds total using short pulses. Sift the mixture and reserve.

Place the aquafaba in the bowl of a mixer. Start whipping on low speed and add the cream of tartar. Whip for about 30 seconds, until the aquafaba starts getting white and thick like soup. Raise the speed to medium and continue to whip for another couple of minutes, until you are able to see streaks left by the whisk on the aquafaba. Raise the speed to high, and start to add the granulated sugar, slowly, a bit at a time. Continue to whip until the aquafaba achieves stiff peaks, which can take 10 minutes or more, depending on your mixer. Add the food color close to the end of whipping.

Add the sifted dry ingredients to the whipped aquafaba. Start folding with a spatula slowly. Fold the batter forming a letter J with the spatula. You will fold until the batter is flowing slowly but effortlessly off the spatula.  Transfer the batter to the piping bag. Pipe circles on a baking sheet lined with silicon mat. Slam the trays against the counter to release air bubbles. Let the trays rest for 30-45 minutes until the shells are dry.

Heat the oven to 285ºF. Bake one tray at a time for a total of 20 minutes, or until the macarons tops do not twist independently of the bottom if you try to rotate them.

Make the filling: Heat up the coconut cream until hot. Pour over chocolate chips. Whisk until all chocolate chips have melted, add the espresso powder and whisk until fully smooth. Chill it in the fridge for a few hours. Remove from the fridge about 40 minutes before you wish to fill the macarons. This will help the ganache have the perfect consistency. Assemble shells, fill with ganache, and decorate as desired. Leave in the fridge for 24 hours for perfect consistency.

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Never in a million years I imagined I could paint in real time as the instructor is showing the technique and be very happy with the outcome. Michelle shows exactly how to do it, it’s all in the angle of the brush, the amount of paint, and how you move the brush to get the different styles of petals. You would think that painting macarons would be super time-consuming but once you get the gist of it, it goes fast and it is oh-so-very-Zen…

The vegan coffee ganache surprised me by how much I liked it. Very easy to make, and contrary to regular cream-based ganache, it reaches piping consistency faster in the fridge. I will be trying different versions, not necessarily to couple with vegan shells.

Michelle, I cannot thank you enough for the great tutorial,
I enjoyed each minute!

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FOUR YEARS AGO: Elderflower Macarons

FIVE YEARS AGO: A Duet of Sorbets

SIX YEARS AGO: Sobering Peach Sorbet

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Spiralizer Fun

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Beer-Marinated Grilled Skirt Steak

NINE YEARS AGO:  Secret Recipe Club: Corn Chowda

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