Raspberry macaron cake

What could be better than a macaron? A giant macaron, of course.

 

Here's a jolly summery recipe for our not so jolly British summer. It could also be made with strawberries for a celebratory Wimbledon themed dessert, but I love the combination of the sharp raspberries with the chewy almond macaron layers.

Although this dessert looks very impressive it's no harder to make than normal macarons. The method is slightly different to the basic French macaron method I usually use, but as it's a Ladurée recipe I thought it best not to mess with it.

 

 

Things I have learnt from making this macaron cake:

This makes a lot of macron batter, I've included the gram weights of the egg whites so I can make a half or 2/3 quantities, and a smaller finished cake, next time.

 

After piping you can also leave the batter for a few hours if you are not ready to bake it yet.

 

As with regular macarons, this is best if left to 'mature' for a few hours before serving. The cream will soften the macaron layers slightly and create that melty texture that all good macarons have.
 

 

 Raspberry macaron cake: makes a large 8inch (22cm) cake

(adapted from a Sprinklebakes recipe which was adapted from a Ladurée recipe)

 

225g ground almonds

210g icing sugar

5 egg whites (165g) + 1 egg white (35g)

175g caster sugar

Pink or red food colouring

600ml double cream,whipped

400g raspberries

• Line three baking trays with parchment
• Draw an 8 inch circle on the reverse side of each piece of parchment
• Pulse the ground almonds in a food processor until very fine
• Add the icing sugar and pulse briefly to combine
• Whisk the egg whites on a slow speed to a soft peak stage
• Begin adding in the sugar a teaspoon at a time
• Continue beating until a glossy meringue is formed
• Sift the almond and icing sugar mixture over the meringue and fold in
• In a separate bowl beat the single egg white until foamy then add the food colouring a drop or two at a time until the desired shade is reached
• Fold the egg white into the batter to loosen it slightly
• Continue folding the mixture until a ribbon of batter dropped over the surface disappears within 30 second
• Fill a piping bag with the batter and pipe three large circles on the prepared baking trays
• Give each tray 4 or 5 hard taps on the work surface to flatten the macaron layers slightly
• Leave the macaron layers for 30 mins (or up to 3 hours) to form a skin
• Preheat the oven to 160°C and bake for 35 minutes or until the tops look fully cooked (i.e. no darker patches showing on the surface
• Leave on the baking trays until cooled, then peel off the parchment

Assembling the macaron cake:

• Put the whipped cream in a piping bag with a star shaped nozzle
• Arrange the nicest raspberries around the edges of the two lower layers and in the centre of the top layer
• Pipe dots of cream between each raspberry around the edge of the lower layers and surrounding the circle of raspberries on the top layer
• Scatter the remaining raspberries over the two lower layers and pipe the rest of the cream on top
• Carefully stack the layers and place in the fridge for a few hours before serving