Horchata Macarons From Scratch
Horchata macarons pair cinnamon macaron shells with a creamy homemade horchata ganache. These fancy cookies are a delicious blend of cinnamony goodness that you won’t be able to put down!
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Horchata Macarons
I bought a bundle of cinnamon sticks for a great price not too long ago, and I’ve just been dying to use them to make some horchata. But since I’m extra, I decided I’d make a horchata ganache to fill some cinnamon spiced macarons.
Horchata is a popular drink in Latin America, though its origins trace back to Spain. It is generally made by soaking rice and cinnamon, the blended and strained mixture is then mixed with milk and sweetener. I first had this agua fresca when I was studying abroad in Mexico many years ago.
Macaron Resources
- 5 Steps to Prep for Perfect Macarons
- All About Meringue: Covering the Basics
- Fun Ways to Fill Macarons
- Macawrong Brownies or 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
Cinnamon Macaron Shells
Horchata is sometimes also made with almonds or other nuts in the rice and cinnamon mixture. I think that makes it a perfect flavor for some yummy macarons! A bit of cinnamon in the dry ingredients adds just the right amount of flavor that pairs perfectly with the filling.
You could make these shells just about any color, but think bright, bold, or fun! I’ve been wanting to test out all of the pretty Sugar Art colors, and all I had left was French Blue. It ended up being such a pretty shade with only a pinch of the powdered color.
Top Tips for Swiss Meringue
- Wipe your bowl and whisk with a bit of vinegar to remove any residual fat or grease.
- Separate your egg whites one at a time into a small bowl before adding them to your big bowl. This is to prevent any stray yolk from ruining the whole batch!
- Acid (like cream of tartar or lemon juice) or egg white powder can help stabilize your egg whites.
- Whip your eggs at a medium speed for longer to create a more stable meringue and minimize the risk of over whipping.
- Room temperature egg whites will whip up faster, but it’s best to separate the eggs while they’re cold.
Related Reading: Mexican Conchas: My Favorite Pan Dulce
Horchata Ganache
To make this filling, we start off as if we’re making actual horchata. The rice, cinnamon sticks, and water soak in the fridge overnight. The next day, blend it up nice and fine. I used a bullet blender and it worked like a dream.
Strain the mixture and add a bit of cream. The liquid gets heated up, then you make a ganache as normal. Press cling wrap onto the surface, then let it set up on the counter or in the fridge. If you chill your horchata ganache, it must be room temperature before using. Pop it in the microwave for just 5 seconds if it seems a bit cold and stiff.
Macaron Recipe Ratios
If you’ve visited any of my other macaron recipes, you may have noticed that the quantities are all different. That’s because I use a ratio based off of my egg white measurement to create every single recipe. This means I don’t have to try and add or remove tiny amounts of egg whites, that is so frustrating.
The egg white and granulated sugar are always a 1:1 ratio, as in equal amounts. Likewise, the dry ingredients (powdered sugar and almond flour) are also a 1:1 ratio to each other. However, the dry ingredient amount can range from 1:1 to 1:1.05 ratio of egg whites to one dry ingredient.
I’m Sweet But a Psycho
In this recipe, I could have used 113g for the powdered sugar, almond flour, sugar, and egg whites. But I could have gone as far as to use 118g (113 x 1.05) each of the powdered sugar and almond flour. But I like numbers that end in 5, so I rounded down.
As any macaron maker will tell you, precision matters! But also, a few grams is not going to make or break your recipe. You will lose some ingredients in the food processor, and some meringue in your whisk attachment (no matter how well you scrape it). This formula paired with a bit of neuroticism works well for me.
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.
Enjoy!
Horchata macarons are a delicious cookie for anyone who enjoys a refreshing glass of horchata on a nice warm day. The cinnamon macaron shells compliment the horchata ganache filling perfectly. Make sure to pin this recipe on Pinterest so you can make a batch in the future.
Horchata Macarons
Ingredients
Horchata Ganache
- 2 oz uncooked white rice rinsed
- 1/2 cinnamon stick or 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 8 oz water
- 1 oz heavy cream
- 6 oz white chocolate chopped
- 1 Tbsp corn syrup
Cinnamon Macaron Shells
- 115 g powdered sugar
- 115 g almond flour
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 113 g sugar
- 113 g egg whites room temperature
- 1/16 tsp French Blue Master Elite powder color pinch
Instructions
Horchata Ganache
- Combine rice, cinnamon stick (broken into chunks), and water in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Remove the largest chunks of cinnamon, then transfer the mixture to a blender or small food processor. Blend until smooth, about 4 minutes. Strain out the solids using a fine mesh strainer, or a cheesecloth lined strainer.
- Measure out 1 oz of the rice water and combine with the heavy cream. Pour over the white chocolate.
- Microwave the mixture in 30 second intervals on half power, stirring well between bursts. Once smooth, stir in the corn syrup.
- Pour the ganache into a bowl and press cling wrap onto the surface. Cool to room temperature. If not using the same, day you can cover and place in the fridge. Allow the ganache to come to room temperature before using.
Cinnamon 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 290°F.
- Pulse the powdered sugar, almond flour, and cinnamon 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.
- In a clean stand mixer bowl, combine the sugar 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 and whisk on a medium speed (KitchenAid 4) until you have stiff peaks, about 10- 15 minutes.
- 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 23- 25 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 ganache and pipe a dollop onto one shell, then top with the other shell. Repeat with the remaining macaron shells.
- 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 54 shells, which made 27 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.
Colleen
Hi there! I’m Colleen, a novice baker with a passion for learning and improving my bakes… and blunders. On Bakes and Blunders, you can find all sorts of tasty recipes that range in difficulty, but most importantly, I’ll try to explain the reason behind important steps. If you know why a recipe works, you can tweak and adapt it to suit your unique tastes, and you’ll be able to reliably produce some very delicious treats. If you love baking and want to expand and grow your skills, or if you are a casual baker and just need some pointers, my blog is right up your alley! Join me on my baking journey and we’ll learn how to make more impressive recipes together.
4 Comments
Genna Jones
You have 1oz of corn syrup listed as an ingredient, but I can’t find anything in the recipe about using it–am I missing it?
Colleen
It’s 1 Tbsp of corn syrup and you can see it in step 4 of the horchata ganache 😀
gaby
Hi, I have a question- you say to measure out 1 Oz of the horchata and add ot to the cream. Are you saying you only use 1 Oz of the drink, and 2 Oz of total liquid to the 6oz of chocolate? Or are you saying to substitute 1 Oz of the horchata with heavy cream and use the rest of it?
Colleen
The liquid for the ganache is 2 oz total – 1 oz cinnamon rice water + 1 oz cream.