Macaroons Fillings

Green Tea Buttercream

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar( 100 g)
1 tablespoon matcha
2 large egg whites
3/4 cups unsalted butter (at room temperature)(171 g)

Directions:
1. Mix the sugar and matcha in a small bowl.
2. Whisk the sugar and matcha into the egg whites in a bowl over a pan of simmering water until the mixture is hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. (The sugar should be dissolved and the mixture should look like shiny marshmallow cream.)
3. Remove the bowl from the heat and beat until the cream is cool, about 5 minutes.
4. Beat in the butter one stick at a time.
5. Beat the mixture until it thickens and becomes smooth, about 5-20 minutes.


Makes about 36 sandwich cookies.

Vanilla Buttercream Filling
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 vanilla bean (or 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)
1 tbsp milk
1 1/2 – 2 cups confectioners’ sugar

In a medium bowl, beat the butter until soft. Scrape in half of a vanilla bean (or add vanilla extract) and add milk and confectioners’ sugar. Beat until frosting is light and creamy. If it is too thick, add a small amount of milk to thin it out.
The filling should be easy to pipe and slightly softer than you would use to frost a cake.

White chocolate and raspberry ganache
50 ml pouring cream
100 gm white chocolate
45 gm raspberries, coarsely chopped

Mint macaroons:
What you need:
30 half macaroons, coloured green
crème pâtissière (confectioner's custard) made with 2 egg yolks
a handful of fresh mint leaves
4 drops of green colouring

Make a classic confectioner's custard, but add mint leaves (cut small with scissors) to the milk before heating it, and add the 4 drops of green colouring to cream, just before cooking.
You will then have a mint crème pâtissière (confectioner's custard).

Fill macaroons with this cream when it is completely cold.

Blackcurrant macaroons:
You will need:
30 half macaroons, coloured purple (red + blue)
50 g jam sugar
100 g blackcurrant purée

Mix 50 g jam sugar with 100 g of blackcurrant purée, put in a pan on high heat, and bring to the boil.
Boil while stirring continuously for 3 minutes, then leave to cool and thicken.



Apricot macaroons:
You will need:
30 half macaroons, coloured orange
50 g jam sugar
100 g apricot purée
2 dried apricots (optional)

Mix 50 g jam sugar with with 100 g of apricot purée, put in a pan over high heat, and bring to the boil.
Boil while stirring continuously for 3 minutes, then leave to cool and thicken.

If you'd like the filling to have a bit more texture, add dried apricots, chopped very small.
Fill macaroons, before the mixture became too stiff.

Chocolate macaroons:
You will need:
30 half macaroons, coloured red (see below)
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
20 cl cream
150 g chocolate cut in small pieces
15 g butter

Make the macaroons as usual, but include 1 teaspoon cocoa powder in the almond-sugar mix, and add a drop of red colouring to egg whites before beating them (brown colour of cocoa will then be deeper).
Bring 20 cl cream to the boil.
Add 150 g chocolate, cut in small pieces.
Off the heat, stir to melt chocolate thoroughly.
Add 15 g butter, and continue stirring to melt it.
Leave to cool.

LEMON MOUSSE FILLING:
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/8 cup powder sugar
Juice of 1 fresh lemon
Grated zest of 1 lemon (optional)
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin

DIRECTIONS:
Sprinkle the gelatin over lemon juice. Let it bloom for about 2-3 minutes. Then, add the heavy cream and beat at high speed until soft peak forms. Add the sugar and lemon zest and beat more until stiff peak forms. Transfer the mousse to a piping bag fit fit a round tip on top. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before use. The mousse will get thicker but still be easy to pipe in the cookies.

Assemble:
Once the cookies are totally cooled, match them up by
size. Pipe in the chilled lemon mousse. Sandwich together with the remaining cookie, pushing the filling to the edges. Put in the refrigerator over night before you eat so that the mousse is absorbed into the cookie shell.