Tiramisu Macaron

Tiramisu is pretty hard to beat...that perfect combination of silky, creamy mascarpone with espresso soaked spongy ladyfingers.  How's any dessert to top that?  Well, unless it's tiramisu in a macaron, of course.  Everything is better in a macaron.  Everyone knows that.



In my quest to encase all the glory of tiramisu into a bite-size sandwich cookie,  I needed to encapsulate the signature flavors: espresso, chocolate and mascarpone cheese.  I decided to make two different shells.  One espresso flavored and one chocolate flavored, reminiscent of the espresso-soaked sponge dusted with cocoa powder.  Next, was the vital part:  the filling.  Mascarpone was a must, but it was too stiff and lumpy on its own.  If I added whipping cream, it would be too soft and cause to shells to be soggy.  So I made a small amount of traditional buttercream icing, then mixed it with the mascarpone, which gave me a smooth, silky filling. 

For a more detailed tutorial and pictures on macaron-making, see my previous post here.

Tiramisu Macarons
makes 36 small macarons

For the espresso macaron shells:
150g ground almonds
150g icing sugar
55g egg whites
5g instant espresso powder
5g cocoa powder
+
150g caster sugar
35g mineral water
55g egg whites


For the chocolate macaron shells:
145g ground almonds
145g icing sugar
55g  egg whites
10g dark cocoa powder
+
150g caster sugar
35g mineral water
55g egg whites

For the mascarpone filling:
100g butter, at room temperature
100g icing sugar
200g mascarpone cheese

To finish:
dark chocolate shavings


For the shells.
Sift together the icing sugar and ground almonds.  Stir the espresso powder into the first portion of liquefied egg whites and pour them over the mixture of icing sugar and ground almonds but do not stir.

Bring the water and sugar to boil at 118°C.  When the syrup reaches 115°C, simultaneously start whisking the second portion of liquefied egg whites to soft peaks.  

                

When the sugar reaches 118°C, pour it over the egg whites (while continuously beating on low speed).                          

Whisk and allow the meringue to cool down to 50°C, then fold it into the almond-icing sugar mixture.  (The batter is ready when it becomes glossy and start to resemble a thick pancake batter.)  Spoon the batter into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle.

                         

Pipe rounds of batter about 3.5 cm in diameter, spacing them 2 cm apart on baking trays lined with baking parchment.  Rap the baking trays on the work surface covered with a kitchen cloth. 

Dust the tops with a light dusting of cocoa powder with a small sieve.  Leave the shells to stand for at least 30 minutes until they form a skin. 

          

Preheat the fan oven to 180°C then put the trays in the oven.  Bake for 12 minutes quickly opening and shutting the oven door twice during the cooking time. (Once at the 8 minute mark and once at the 10 minute mark.)  Out of the oven, slide the shells on to the work surface.

Repeat for chocolate shells, sifting the cocoa powder with icing sugar and almonds.  Omit the dusting of cocoa powder.

For the mascarpone filling

Beat softened butter with icing sugar on low speed until smooth and creamy.  Add mascarpone, continue to beat on low speed until smooth. 

Spoon filling into a piping bag fitted with a plain tip. 

Pipe a mound of filling on to all the chocolate shells. 

With a grater and a small block of dark chocolate, grate chocolate shavings on top on the filling. 

Top with the remaining espresso shells.

Allow the macarons 24 hours in the fridge for the flavors to meld and bring back out at the point of serving.