Mango Passionfruit Cat Macarons

 I was testing out a new flavour combination for both macaron shells and filling in preparation for class material, and decided on a tropical combo of mango and passionfruit. Mangoes are in season now so it's a great time to test this out. And because I love cats, I made these 😊.

I had a hard time deciding which photo to use as the cover photo so I did a poll on Instagram and chose the most popular one as my cover. 

The macaron shells were made using French method but I added freeze-dried mango and passionfruit powders so the shells alone didn't taste too sweet and had a wonderful flavour on its own too! Exactly what I had in mind as my class material has shells that have no filling in a 3D assembly that I am working on. 

Just to share some pictures.... 

Freshly baked macaron shells! These took me over an hour to pipe! 

All the decorated shells! I used black edible marker and royal icing to add in the details. 

Check out the awesome feet! 

I made my own mango compote amd chose slightly sour mangoes for it. My formula for making compote for macaron filling follows this rough formula: add sugar to pureed fruit, about 10-15% by weight of fruit, add a dash of lemon or yuzu juice, add a pinch of salt, and cook over low heat until weight of fruit is reduced to half of original weight. 

Nice and thick mango compote! 

I needed a firm filling as I am testing out for a simple 3D macaron structure that won't soften too much in tropical Singapore. To do that, ganache base is the best as buttercream may not be as firm. You may choose to make passionfruit curd, mango curd, or buttercreams if you wish. 

Firm mango passionfruit ganache

Ingredients:

80g white chocolate, chopped or use chips

20g unsalted butter 

1/8 tsp salt

50g mango compote

4g freeze-dried mango powder*

8g freeze-dried passionfruit powder*

* adjust according to taste. I was going for really tart filling. Add more compote or butter if you want a softer ganache. 

Steps:

1. Melt chocolate, butter and salt together over low heat using microwave or double-boiling. Set aside to firm up to toothpaste consistency. You may chill in fridge for a few minutes to speed it up. 

2. Whip the mixture using a spatula until white and light like buttercream. You may need to repeat chilling and whipping to get to the consistency of buttercream.

3. In another bowl, add freeze-dried fruit powders to mango compote and mix well. 

4. Add one tablespoon of compote at a time to whipped white chocolate mixture and fold it in. 

Whipped white chocolate mixture and mango compote. 

5. Transfer into piping bag and fill the macarons. Store filled macarons in fridge in airtight container for at least 24h before consuming. Before serving, leave the container out at room temperature unopened for 15 to 20min before opening. This is to prevent condensation from forming on the shells 

A close up view of the filling. Look at the bits of fruit! 

I hope these kitties put a smile on your face as it did to me! 

With love, 

Phay Shing