Do you love the macarons at Disneyland Paris as much as I do? There is no visit where I do not buy this sweet treat : Mickey macarons.
To make sure you can enjoy Disney food at home, here’s the ultimate macaron recipe. One bite and you fell like you’re in Paris itself.
Admittedly, macarons belong to the royal class of baking and not always succeed these sweet little bastards (as you can also see in my pics). Sometimes the surface is not smooth and has pores, sometimes macarons are more like cookies and not rised up properly but don’t be intimidated. After testing this recipe 6 times for this blog post, I can at least detail all the pitfalls and missteps for you to make it on the first try.
And even if you don’t, they usually taste great anyway.
Ingredients (for about 30 Mickey Macarons)
MACARONS
1 ¾ cups powdered sugar (210 g)
1 cup almond flour (95 g), finely ground
1 teaspoon salt, divided
3 egg whites, at room temperature
¼ cup granulated sugar (50 g)
2 drops pink gel food coloring
VANILLA BUTTERCREAM
1 cup unsalted butter (230 g), 2 sticks, at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar (360 g)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons heavy cream
RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM
150 g raspberries ( frozen or fresh)
150 g egg yolk
1 pinch salt
100 g sugar
250 g soft butter
Preparation Mickey Macarons
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the powdered sugar, almond flour, and ½ teaspoon of salt, and process on low speed, until extra fine. Sift the almond flour mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl. Don’t skip these parts! You need to do this to get this smooth Macaron surface.
In a separate large bowl, beat the egg whites and the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt with an electric hand mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add the granulated sugar until fully incorporated. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form (you should be able to turn the bowl upside down without anything falling out).
Add the food coloring and beat until just combined.
Add about ⅓ of the sifted almond flour mixture at a time to the beaten egg whites and use a spatula to gently fold until combined. After the last addition of almond flour, continue to fold slowly until the batter falls into ribbons and you can make a figure 8 while holding the spatula up.
Transfer the macaron batter into a piping bag fitted with a round tip.
Use our Mickey or our heart shaped Printable Template under the parchment paper to evenly pipe the large Mickey macarons, pipe the face first, then add the ears.
Tap the baking sheet on a flat surface 5 times to release any air bubbles. Don’t skip this part either or the macarons surface will have some pores.
Let the macarons sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour, until dry to the touch.
Baking the Mickey macarons
Preheat the oven to 300˚F (150˚C).
Bake the macarons for 17 minutes, until the feet are well-risen and the macarons don’t stick to the parchment paper.
Transfer the macarons to a wire rack to cool completely before filling.
Make the buttercream: In a large bowl, add the butter and beat with a mixer for 1 minute until light and fluffy. Sift in the powdered sugar and beat until fully incorporated. Add the vanilla and beat to combine. Add the cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat to combine, until desired consistency is reached.
If you want to try the raspberry buttercream: Whisk the egg yolks with the salt and sugar for about 10 minutes over a hot boiling water bath. In the meantime, whisk the butter until very creamy. Take the egg-sugar mixture off the water and chill it for about 10 minutes. Then mix the butter mixture with the egg mixture by the tablespoonful.Take the raspberries and boil them until there is almost no liquid left. Then strain them through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the seeds. Let the raspberry puree cool completely. Mix the raspberry puree into the buttercream.
Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a round tip.
Pipe a dollop of buttercream to one macaron shell. Top it with another macaron shell to create a sandwich. Repeat with remaining macaron shells and buttercream.
Place in an airtight container for 24 hours to “bloom”.