Cherry Blossom Macarons

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What better way to welcome cherry blossom season than by making a batch of cherry blossom macarons? These pretty pink macaron shells are filled with a cherry blossom ganache, then dipped in white chocolate and topped with sprinkles. Let’s dive into the details!

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Making Macarons

Macarons can be the most frustrating cookie you’ll ever make, but when you whip up a perfect (or nearly perfect) batch, it’s intoxicating. Once you get all the details worked out for your specific kitchen, climate, and oven, you’ll find they become much less stressful to make.

Right now, I’m coming off of a 3 year macaron high and starting back at square 2 (not quite square 1). As a military family, we move every few years. I’m back to figuring out those tiny, pesky details with macarons, but at least it’s a tasty journey.

Top Tips for Macarons

• Pulse your dry ingredients in a food processor and sift out any large chunks.  
• Whip your meringue to stiff peaks.  It’s best to whip at a medium speed for longer.  Keep an eye on it!
• Fold/ macaronage just until the batter flows like lava.  It is best to slightly under mix if you are in doubt.
• If you don’t have a macaron template yet, grab a free one from the Resource Library so that you pipe evenly sized shells.
• Use a toothpick to smooth any nipples and remove any air bubbles on your piped macarons.
• Bake one pan at a time and adjust the temperature and baking time if necessary.

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Cherry Blossom Ganache

Shortly after moving, I somehow stumbled across cherry blossom powder on Amazon. We didn’t even have our stuff yet, but I ordered a pouch of the powder and I’ve been glancing at it for months, so eager to bake with it.

Cherry blossom powder is surprisingly strong. I expected it to be a mild flavor, but only 1 teaspoon in the ganache was enough to give the cherry blossom macarons a huge hit of flavor. It tastes nearly identical to rose, in my opinion.

DIY Colored Sparkling Sugar

After filling my cherry blossom macarons, I was desperate to decorate them somehow. I’d decided on dipping them in white chocolate, but couldn’t figure out what to sprinkle on top. After pulling out all of my pink sprinkles, I realized none of them would work. So I made my own.

I have an obscene amount of white/ uncolored sparkling sugar. In order to make the right shade of pink, I poured some into a small container and added 1 drop of rose pink gel (what I used in the ganache) and shook it up. Then I let them dry on wax paper for a few minutes and I ended up with perfectly pink sugar! 

Related Reading: Horchata Macarons

Macaron Resources

• 5 Steps to Prep for Perfect Macarons
• All About Meringue: Covering the Basics
• Fun Ways to Fill Macarons
• Macawrong Brownies or Mookies to use up any wonky shells
• 4 Yolk Challah (delicious ways to use up extra yolks)
• Basic Tools You Need to Make Macarons
• Macaron Templates + Macaron Prep Checklist (available to subscribers only)
• Easy Ways to Decorate Macarons

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Cherry Blossom Macarons

If you love the taste of florals and sweet white chocolate, these cherry blossom macarons are perfect for you! That ganache is so soft, sweet, and light. On its own, the cherry blossom ganache is a bit forward, but paired with the shells and white chocolate, all the flavors are perfectly balanced.

The pretty pink color of the macarons, contrasted with the white chocolate and pink sprinkles is stunning. Serve these macarons at a spring tea party or pink themed birthday party! If Barbie made macarons, I’m pretty sure they’d look like this.

Enjoy!

I hope you get to enjoy a bite of these cherry blossom macarons soon! Piping that silky smooth ganache onto the macaron shells is almost as satisfying as eating one of them. 

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Cherry Blossom Macarons

Pretty pink macarons filled with cherry blossom ganache, dipped in white chocolate, and topped with pink sprinkles.

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Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword almond, Cookies, Ganache, Gluten Free, Macarons, Meringue, White Chocolate

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Resting Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 32 macarons

Calories 91kcal

Author Colleen

Ingredients

Cherry Blossom Ganache

• 200 g white chocolate chopped
• 90 g heavy cream
• 1 tsp cherry blossom powder
• 1- 5 drops rose pink gel color
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter softened
• 1 Tbsp corn syrup

Macaron Shells

• 135 g powdered sugar
• 135 g almond flour
• 130 g sugar
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 130 g egg whites about 4 eggs room temperature
• 1/32 tsp Lilac Master Elite powder color smidgen
• 5 drops rose pink gel color

Toppings

• 100 g white chocolate melted
• pink sprinkles or sparkling sugar

Instructions

Cherry Blossom Ganache

• Place the finely chopped white chocolate in a small heatproof bowl and microwave for 30 seconds on 50% power. Set aside.
• Heat the cream in a small sauce pan or microwave until it is hot, but not boiling. Stir in the cherry blossom powder and gel color. Pour the hot cream mixture over the white chocolate and let it sit for about 30 seconds.
• Stir the ganache until smooth, or almost smooth. Stir in the butter and corn syrup. Use an immersion blender to create a perfectly smooth, emulsified ganache.
• Press clingwrap onto the surface of the ganache. Let the ganache cool completely before using (about 5 hours). If making in advance, once cool the ganache can be covered and stored in the fridge. Bring the ganache back to room temperature before using.

Macaron Shells

• Prepare 2 baking sheets with silicone mats, teflon, or templates and parchment paper. Fit a piping bag with a round piping tip. Set aside. Preheat oven to 295°F.
• Pulse the almond flour and powdered sugar in a food processor and sift into a bowl. Discard any large chunks. Whisk the dry ingredients and set aside.
• Combine egg whites and powdered color. Set aside. Combine the sugar and cream of tartar. Stir until evenly distributed.
• In a clean stand mixer bowl, combine the sugar mixture and the egg whites. Whisk to combine and place bowl over a double boiler. Heat, whisking regularly, until the sugar dissolves, about 90 seconds. Remove the bowl from the double boiler and carefully dry off the bottom.
• Place the bowl in the stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Gradually increase the speed to medium (KitchenAid speed 6) and whip for 5 minutes. Add gel color and decrease the speed slightly (KitchenAid speed 4). Whip until you have stiff peaks, about 1- 5 minutes longer. Check regularly so that you don't overwhip the meringue.
• Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and begin folding the ingredients together. Once everything is combined, continue folding until the batter flows slowly like lava.
• Pipe macaron shells onto prepared baking sheets. Let the macarons dry until you can lightly brush the tops with your finger (30 mins for me). Bake for 20- 22 minutes, rotating halfway through. Gently poke shell, if it is firm, remove from the oven to cool. If they wiggle, add another minute or two.
• Let the macaron shells cool on the sheet for 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Assemble

• Pair up the macaron shells. Fill a piping bag with the ganache . Pipe a blob of ganache onto one shell, then top with the other shell. Repeat with the remaining macaron shells. Dip in the melted white chocolate and top with sparkling sugar or sprinkles. Let the chocolate set before storing.
• Place in an air tight container in the fridge overnight to let them mature. Remove 30 minutes before serving.

Notes

• I was able to pipe 64 shells, which made 32 macarons. You could have a few more or a few less depending on how large you pipe your shells.
• For maximum color intensity, mix the egg whites and color powder about an hour before beginning the recipe.