Almond caramel macaron. Edible forget-me-knot flowers...my favorite!

I can honestly tell you that these macarons are a real delight!
Filled with a light and creamy namelaka filling and a smooth runny caramel. If you're asking yourself..."what is namelaka?", well its just the creamiest and lightest ganache like filling you'll ever try.  The term "Namelaka" come from Japan and is literally translated as "ultra creamy".

The flavours of namelaka can vary depending the the type of chocolate you use and if you add nut pastes for example. In this case I opted for a caramel chocolate called Bionda 36% from my favourite brand "Felchlin" in Switzerland. The chocolate has a beautifully balanced caramel flavour and sweetness and is great in combination with nutty flavours. I used an almond paste also made by Felchlin...I could seriously it it out of a bucket its just that good.
But of course you can just add your homemade praline pastes or not use any at all.

As for the caramel. This is my favourite caramel recipe and you'll probably not need another recipe after trying this! Its so versatile and I use it for almost EVERYTHING! Cake filling, praline filling, ice creams, cookies, macarons....or just out of the jar ;)


RECIPE

Macaron shells:

110g egg whites
300g powdered sugar
280g almond powder
20g cocoa powder
300g sugar
70g water
110g egg whites
(food colouring if desired- I prefer to use gels)

Mix the first part of the egg whites with the sieved powdered sugar, cocoa powder and the almond flour. Mix with a rubber spatula until well combined. It will be thick in consistency.
In a small pot bring the sugar and the water to boil and cook till 118°C.
Add the other part of the egg whites into the bowl of your kitchen aid fitted with the whisk attachment. When the sugar sirup reaches about 112°C start whipping the egg whites. Once at 118°C pour in the sugar sirup in a consistent stream into the egg white whipping at high speed. Whip till soft peaks; the meringue will still be quite warm. In 3 parts fold in the egg white into the almond mixture until fully incorporated and smooth and flowy in texture (the surface will flatten in a few seconds)
Fill into a piping bag with a round tip (I like to use 7mm) and pipe even rounds onto your silpat mats.
Bake the macarons right after piping (they don't need to rest with this recipe)
Bake at 120°C for 12 Minutes and then at 105°C for 5 minutes. (You might have to adjust the time according to your oven since this can vary a bit.)

Namelaka:

96g Bionda 36% Couverture (Felchlin)
30g Almond praline paste (Felchlin)
2g gelatine
55g milk
110g cream 35%

Carefully melt the chocolate and the almond paste over a Bain Marie. Soak the gelatine in cold water. In a pot bring the milk to a boil, take off the heat. Add the gelatine until dissolved and add to the melted couverture. Make an emulsion. I like to use a tall 1L container for better emulsion.
Add the cold cream mixing it with a hand blender until smooth and glossy. Make sure to keep the blender at the bottom of your container to avoid many air bubbles.
Cover with plastic wrap and set in the fridge for a few hours or until set. Before using whisk the namelaka in your kitchenmaid until soft and a piping consistency.
Don't mix for too long otherwise it might split.
The rest can also be frozen for another time.

Caramel:

200g granulated sugar
20g honey or trimoline
340g cream 35%
30g butter, cold in cubes
1 vanilla bean, scraped
1g sea salt

In a big pot little by little melt the sugar stirring occasionally until it starts caramelising. I use a spatula for this phase, even a wooden spoon is good. I add it step by step and only add more sugar once its melted to avoid it from clumping too much. Also this way it caramelised more evenly and it is faster, rather than adding everything at once. In another pot add the cream, vanilla and honey and let it heat up to a boil until the caramel is done.
Once you've caramelised all of the sugar and have a light amber color (make sure its not too dark to avoid bitterness) add the boiling cream, vanilla and honey mixture in about 3-4 steps. CAREFUL! This is extremely hot and will boil and splatter a lot so make sure to be watch out. In this phase I exchange for a big whisk to incorporate the ingredients better.
Turn the heat down and let the mixture reduce down a bit for about 20 minutes.
Depending on how much you reduce your caramel you'll have a runnier caramel or a thicker-spreadable consistency.
Sieve the hot caramel into a heat proof bowl and add the cold butter and the sea salt. I like to sieve it just to make sure that I have no remaining clumps. (Careful! still very hot!) Mix everything with a hand blender until smooth and combined. Blending your caramel will make a difference rather than just mixing with a whisk. You'll get a really soft and silky consistency.
Let the caramel cool a bit and fill into your jars or other storage containers.
Keep refrigerated up to 2-3 weeks.


Love and happy baking