Full-Body Hello Kitty Macarons with Chocolate Ganache and Lemon Curd

I jumped at the chance to make this batch of macarons because I love the challenge of making full-body character macarons especially if the request is for a small quantity :).  Presenting my first attempt at full-body version of Hello Kitty macarons!

I made only 6 of these, along with some other macarons for this round of baking. I made Hello Kitty macarons earlier this year but only the head.

As the basic macaron recipe and steps are the same ones I have been using, I won't type out in detail here but will highlight points to note when making these kitties. You may refer to this post for the basic shell recipe. Omit the strawberry emulco. You may refer to this post on how to pipe macarons with complex shapes as these kitties will require techniques like "trace-and-fill", using toothpick to pull batter for the ears and piping 3D pop-up features.

Points to note:
- Divide the mass into ratio of 3:1:1:1 for white: light pink: dark pink: red. You will have excess dark pink but it is easier to portion the batter this way.
- Use a ratio of 0.55 for weight of Italian meringue: weight of mass.
- As the macarons are rather large (6-7cm), baking time is longer. Place oven rack at lowest position. Begin baking at 135°C for 10 minutes, rotate the tray and bake at 130°C for 6-7 minutes, lower temperature to 120°C and bake for another 8-10 minutes or until the feet appear dry. Check every few minutes towards end of baking time to ensure no browning but macaron shells are cooked through. Macaron shells are thoroughly baked when the feet do not appear wet.
-You definitely need a toothpick to nudge the batter into tight corners.

Just to share some pictures...

Piped shells

Prepare royal icing to create Hello Kitty's ribbon, flower, bow and arrow. Let the royal icing dry completely before gently peeling them off the baking paper. You may dry royal icing in the oven at 60°C with the fan on.

Royal icing decorations

Use black edible marker to draw the face. Attach the royal icing accessories to the macaron shells with a small amount of royal icing.

Completed shells

Fill the shells with chocolate ganache and lemon curd. You may refer to this recipe for lemon curd, replacing lime with lemon. I opted for a firmer ganache than the regular recipe I always use so I will type it out here. The ratio of cream : chocolate is 1:2.

Recipe for chocolate ganache
Ingredients:
100g dark chocolate, chopped
50g whipping cream
10g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Steps:
1. Place butter and chocolate into microwaveable bowl and heat in 10 second bursts at medium-high power, stirring the mixture well after each round of heating until chocolate is melted. Alternatively, you may melt the chocolate and butter using double-boiling method.
2. Heat cream in a small saucepan until it starts to bubble. Pour over melted chocolate.
3. Stir the mixture with a spatula in one direction until smooth. Set aside at room temperature until the ganache firms up until toothpaste-like consistency. About 15-20 minutes.
4. Transfer into piping bag and pipe onto shells. You may store unused ganache in ziplock bags in the freezer or fridge.

Refrigerate for at least 24h before serving to let the flavours mature.

All paçked!

With love,
Phay Shing