Li Hing Mango Macarons
Shortly after we moved to Hawaii, I noticed all sorts of dried fruits and candies coated in li hing powder. It’s such a popular treat here that I just had to incorporate that into a recipe. Thus, li hing mango macarons were born!
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Li Hing Mango Macarons
Since dried mango is a popular item to be covered in li hing powder, I figured li hing mango macarons would be fun. To capture the flavors, I went with a plain macaron shell, mango ganache, and a li hing mango coulis filling.
For more flavor, you could absolutely add this mango flavor to your shells. I’ve used the mango one to flavor a donut glaze, and I’ve put the coconut one into Almond Joy macarons. I decided to experiment and dust some of my piped macarons with li hing powder before baking. Unfortunately, this caused volcanoes, so don’t do that.
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.
What Is Li Hing Powder?
Li hing powder is super duper popular here in Hawaii. It is a red powder made from dried plums, salt, and sweeteners. It has a sweet, salty, tangy flavor that pairs well with fruits and candies.
You can find bags of li hing powder in just about every grocery store in Hawaii. However, if you don’t live here, you’ll have to check out your options on Amazon.
Mango Ganache
This white chocolate ganache is made with pureed mangos to give it a fresh, fruity flavor. I made the puree by simply chopping up a fresh mango and blitzing it in my mini food processor until it was smooth. You could also thaw/ warm up frozen mangos and process them if fresh mangos are hard to find.
You will have more than enough mango ganache for all of your macarons with this recipe. The ganache does set pretty firm. If you find it too stiff before you start piping, just microwave the bowl for 5 seconds to loosen it up.
Related Reading: Mookies Recipe
Li Hing Mango Coulis
Since I had some leftover mango puree from the ganache, I used that in my mango coulis filling. I chose to thicken it with gelatin instead of cornstarch in order to preserve the clear, crisp color of the mango. Honestly though, the mixture gets quite thick, so you could probably skip the gelatin if you wanted too. It just will be softer and runnier.
I decided to add the li hing powder ¼ teaspoon at a time, and to only half of my mango coulis. This way I had a backup if I didn’t like the result. My li hing powder was very sweet, so be careful not to add too much or it will overpower the mango flavor.
Or Skip It
Finding li hing powder in the stores here is supes easy. My bag cost less than $1. If you can’t get your hands on it easily, do not sweat it. Simply skip that single ingredient and you’ll still end up with delicious mango macarons.
Watch Me Bake
Making macarons is hard stuff. So if you’re new to them, watching recipe videos can really help. Here’s the step by step recipe tutorial for these yummy li hing mango macarons!
As you can see, 99% of my wonky shells were the li hing dusted ones. In fact, none of the shells that I dusted turned out okay. And that’s why I never dust the whole batch with a new ingredient. You never know how they’ll react.
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
Enjoy!
Whip up a batch of li hing mango macarons and enjoy a little taste of island life! The crisp macaron shells give way to a soft mango ganache and tangy li hing mango coulis filling. Dust with more li hing powder for maximum flavor impact.
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Li Hing Mango Macarons
Ingredients
Mango Ganache
- 230 g white chocolate finely chopped
- 75 g pureed mango
- 30 g heavy cream
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 Tbsp corn syrup
LI Hing Mango Coulis
- ½ tsp unflavored gelatin
- ½ Tbsp cold water
- 200 g mango cubed or pureed*
- 35 g sugar
- ½ Tbsp lemon juice
- ½- 1 tsp li hing powder plus extra for topping
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 Autumn Gold Master Elite powder color smidgen
- 1/32 tsp Pumpkin Master Elite powder color smidgen
Instructions
Mango Ganache
- Place the finely chopped white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds on 50% power. Set aside.
- Place the mango puree in a small saucepan and bring to a light boil over medium heat. Whisk in the heavy cream and bring the mixture to a bare simmer.
- Pour the mango mixture over the white chocolate and let it sit for about 30 seconds. Stir until smooth. Add the butter and corn syrup and stir until smooth, or mostly smooth.
- Use an immersion blender to emulsify the ganache and remove any small lumps. I suggest doing this in a tall blending cup to avoid incorporating any air bubbles.
- Press clingwrap onto the surface of the ganache. Let the ganache cool to room temperature before using. 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.
LI Hing Mango Coulis
- Combine the gelatin and water in a small bowl. Mix well to ensure there are no lumps. Set aside to bloom.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the mango, sugar, and lemon juice. Cook on a medium low heat for several minutes to prevent the sugar from burning. Gradually increase the heat to medium high.
- Bring the mixture just to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium. Stir constantly and continue to simmer for about 10- 15 minutes. The mixture should be thickened, most of the mango should be mush, and it should be glossy.
- Use an immersion blender or food processor to puree the mango mixture until smooth.
- Add the bloomed gelatin to the hot mango sauce. Stir until the gelatin has melted completely. Stir in the li hing powder to taste.
- Store the coulis covered in the fridge until needed. It will set up and be very thick. Before using, just give it a stir. It will pipe well.
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 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 well.
- 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. Decrease the speed slightly (KitchenAid speed 4) and 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 22- 24 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 a smaller bag with li hing mango coulis. Pipe a ring of ganache onto one shell, then fill in the ring with the coulis. Top with the other shell. Repeat with the remaining macaron shells. Brush the macarons with more li hing powder.
- 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 57 shells, which made 28 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.
- For the coulis, you can use any extra mango puree you have from the ganache. Frozen mango also works well. Read the blood post for more info.
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.
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