Strawberry, Champagne, and Rose Macarons
What says romance better than strawberries, champagne, and roses? Strawberry, Champagne, and Rose Macarons!! A few months ago, I got this crazy idea to combine all of these flavors into one bite sized dessert. I’m still learning how to make macarons like a pro, but these came out pretty dang tasty.
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Strawberry, Champagne, and Rose Macarons
I knew I wanted these flavors to have a party in my macs, but I just wasn’t sure which flavor would go where. After some very official polls – aka texts to my brothers and husband- we landed on strawberry champagne shells with rose buttercream filling.
Last year, I made this Pink Champagne Cake and it uses actual pink champagne. However, in my research for this cake, I discovered that a lot of recipes use sparkling wine flavor for a concentrated punch of flavor. Perfect!
Where to Buy Your Ingredients
Right off the bat, you’ve got to be thinking, this is great and all, but where the heck am I going to find rose water and sparkling wine flavor? It’s actually easy. I got my bottle of rose water at Wegmans in the Indian food section. The sparkling wine flavor is from Michaels and I used a 50% off coupon to get it cheap.
But… not everyone has access to those stores or your store might have different stock. In that case, hit up Amazon. Neither are crazy expensive. One tip though. Make sure that the rose water is for cooking and not a facial spritz. I mean, you’re winning at life either way, but we’re trying to make buttercream over here, not develop a skin care routine.
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How to Make Macarons Like a Pro
I’m working on this, guys. Cakes, cupcakes, and macarons are becoming my main passions in this baking life I’ve created. Macarons are tough to master. Your first ones will likely be a blunder, but you’ll learn with every batch! And that’s what matters.
If you’re looking for tips from actual macaron professionals, let me help you out. A year ago, I took a macaron class with a professional pastry chef. He had a ton of great tips and I wrote them all down to share with you. After I made my Green Tea Macarons with Ginger Buttercream, I interviewed an accomplished macaron pro to get her take on mastering macs.
Making the Macarons
I have been wanting to make these Strawberry, Champagne, and Rose Macarons for months! They didn’t turn out as great as my last ones, but I’m still thrilled with the final product. Why did it take me so long to get around to them? Two reasons. I was busy and I’m a giant chicken.
Seriously! I so badly want to master macarons, but I’ve realized you can’t do that if you never make them. And if you make them as a beginner, they’re likely to not be perfect. Gasp! Imperfection? Not in my life! Get over it. Make macarons and you’ll figure it out. ← My new personal motto.
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Strawberry and Champagne Macaron Shells
My secret weapon in baking is freeze dried fruit. I’ve used it to make this raspberry frosting, this mango frosting, and beyond! For the shells, I decided to replace some of the powdered sugar with pulverized freeze dried strawberries. Not only does it add natural flavor, it adds a lovely shade of pink. I still added red food gel though.
The sparkling wine flavor is super concentrated. In my opinion, it tastes like candy more than it tastes like sparkling wine, but all of the flavors work together to make one tasty macaron.
Easy Rose Buttercream
Let me be up front. I adore Liz Marek from Sugar Geek Show. And whenever she likes one of my Instagram posts, I squeal and scream like a crazy person. Anywho… Liz has created this amazing frosting called Easy Buttercream. It’s like a shortcut Swiss meringue buttercream. Less sweet, super creamy, but no heating.
I adapted her recipe to make the coffee buttercream in my Mini Opera Cake recipe and thought it would be a perfect fit for my rose buttercream. I decided to use a combination of vanilla and rose water to create a smooth, subtle floral frosting that wouldn’t end up tasting like soap. Guys, I nailed it. And it works perfectly with the strawberry champagne shells!
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Heart Shaped Macarons
To further capitalize on the romantic theme that Strawberry, Champagne, and Rose Macarons reflect, I decided to try my first shaped macarons. I’ve seen accomplished bakers create amazing designs with macaron batter. You can always keep it simple and use the regular macaron template (a FREE one in the Library).
I created a heart shaped template, which you can find in the Resource Library, and got to piping. It took me a few tries before I nailed the technique. Start in the top left, down, up, and back to the center. Sadly, I messed up the tops, more on the later, and then placed candy arrows on top. Those melted and made the hearts explode. Not the look I was going for.
Decorating with Gold Leaf
To get even fancier with these macs, I whipped out my edible gold leaf for the first time. This was one of the Christmas gifts I received (they were also in my ultimate gift guide). First of all, it is the tiniest little packet and the squares of gold leaf are crazy small. Perfect for macarons, not great if you’re trying to cover a whole cake.
Gold leaf is tricky to work with because it’s like trying to transfer gold air from paper onto a macaron. My best tip is to lightly brush some water on the macaron, then use that brush (mostly dry) to lift a chunk and place it on that damp spot. The gold leaf will cling to the moisture very easily.
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Blunders
Macaronage
The first time I made these macs, I had a few minor issues. Less than half of my macarons came out perfect. Kind of a bummer, but I know exactly where I went wrong. First of all, I did not mix my batter enough. When macaron batter is too thick, you end up with thick shells that have unsightly bumps.
Macaronage is the process of folding/ stirring the batter until it hits ribbon stage. Ribbon stage is when you lift up the batter and drizzle it back into the bowl. It should sit on the surface for 5- 10 seconds before sinking back into the rest of the batter. But if you over mix, the batter will run and you’ll have thin, flat macarons.
Water + Macarons = Gremlins
Because I ended up with points on most of my shells (stiff batter), I tamped them down with a damp finger. Just like I’ve seen other bakers do and just as I have done before. Y’all, my finger was way too wet and the shells ended up with pools on top.
As soon as they began to bake, those damp spots turned into giant, ugly bumps. Naturally, I consulted with my personal macaron whisperer, Heather Martin from We Can Bake Macs (find her on Facebook and Instagram). She gave me a lovely nugget of macaron wisdom. “Water + Macarons = Gremlins”. She advised getting rid of those points with a toothpick in the future.
Related Reading: Basic Tools You Need to Make Macarons
Enjoy!
Will you make these Strawberry, Champagne, and Rose Macarons for Valentine’s Day, an anniversary, or just because it’s a Friday? It doesn’t matter because they’re delicious every day of the year! Strawberry and champagne shells taste indulgent when combined with light, floral rose buttercream. Go ahead and grab your FREE macaron templates when you sign up here.
Strawberry, Champagne, and Rose Macarons
Ingredients
Macaron Base
- 212 grams almond flour or any nut flour
- 185 grams powdered sugar
- 27 g freeze dried strawberries
- 82 grams egg whites room temperature room temperature
- ¼ tsp sparkling wine flavor
- ¼ tsp red food gel
Italian Meringue
- 90 grams egg whites room temperature room temperature
- 236 grams granulated sugar
- 90 grams water
Easy Rose Buttercream
- 4 oz pasteurized egg whites
- 16 oz powdered sugar sifted
- 16 oz unsalted butter softened
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp rose water
- ¼ tsp salt (scant)
- Pink food gel
Instructions
Strawberry and Champagne Macarons
- Cut parchment paper to fit your baking sheet or line with silicone mats. Set aside.
- Place the freeze dried strawberries in a food processor and pulse until you have a fine powder. The strawberry powder and powdered sugar should equal 212g.
- Place almond flour, powdered sugar, and strawberry powder in a food processor and pulse to grind as finely as possible.
- Sift the almond flour, powdered sugar, and strawberry powder into a bowl, discarding any large bits, and whisk to combine. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the 82 grams of egg whites, sparkling wine flavor, and red food gel. Stir to completely combine the ingredients. It will be a thick paste. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
- Place the 90 grams of egg whites for the Italian Meringue into the bowl of a standing mixer with a whisk attachment.
- In a small saucepan, combine the granulated sugar and water and place over medium- high heat. DO NOT stir once the sugar begins to boil. Stir just to combine and leave it be after that.
- When the sugar hits 203℉ begin to whip the egg whites in the stand mixer at medium speed to soft peaks. If the egg whites hit soft peaks before the syrup is ready, bump the speed to low.
- Once the syrup hits 245℉, remove from the heat. Bump the mixer's speed down to medium- low and very slowly pour the syrup into the bowl, making sure not to hit the whisk. It's best to aim for the edge of the bowl.
- Increase the speed to medium and whip for about 5- 8 minutes, or until the whites hold stiff, glossy peaks.
- Stir about ⅓ of the meringue into the flour mixture until well combined. You can be a bit rough with this first addition. Now gently fold in the remaining meringue until you reach "ribbon stage". You should be able to lift some batter and drizzle a figure 8 in the bowl before it sinks back into the mixture.
- Transfer the mixture to a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch tip. Holding the bag straight up, pipe circles onto your baking sheet by applying even pressure (don't try to draw a circle). If you are using a template, you want to fill the circles until just shy of the edge. They will spread a bit in the next step. If using the heart template, start in the top left corner, pipe down, then up to the top right, and back to the center.
- Firmly bang baking sheet on the counter several times to even the batter and loosen any air bubbles. Use a toothpick to pop any surface bubbles and even out any bumps.
- Let the macarons sit on the counter for about an hour to form a skin. When you touch the surface it should feel dry.
- About 30 minutes before the macarons are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 305°Once the macarons are dry, bake one sheet at a time for 12- 15 minutes, rotating the sheet every 5 minutes. The macarons are done when they release from the baking sheet easily. Keep an eye on them and adjust the baking temperature and time as needed.
- Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Easy Rose Buttercream
- Place the egg whites and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on high for 5 minutes.
- Add the butter about a tablespoon at a time, mixing well between additions. Once all of the butter has been combined, whisk on high for 8- 10 minutes.
- Switch to a paddle attachment and add the vanilla, rose water, salt, and pink food gel. Beat on medium- low for 3- 5 minutes, or until thoroughly combined. If making a double batch, beat on low for 10 minutes to knock out extra air.
Macaron Assembly
- Pair up the macaron shells by size and fill a piping bag fitted with a round tip.
- Pipe a blob of frosting into the center of a macaron shell, stopping before the frosting reaches the edge. Top with the other macaron shell and press lightly to spread out the buttercream.
- Place the finished macarons in the fridge overnight. Take them out about 15- 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
- To get a deep red in the shells, try adding a single drop of black food gel. I have never tried this, but it is a common tip. Otherwise, the shells will be closer to a deep pink.
- Create an interesting profile by using an open or closed star tip to fill the macarons.
My Favorite Products for this 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.
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