Dart Monkey Matcha Hojicha Macaron Carousel

"I would like a macaron carousel for my birthday" 

"Ok! Just let me know what character you want." 

That's why I made this dart monkey mini macaron carousel in my elder kid's favourite flavours --- hojicha and matcha! My elder kid is a gamer a Bloons is one of the games he plays. 

I used the swiss meringue method for making the macarons. 

Just to share photos of some of the piped batter and macaron shells... 

Piped batter of the large pieces on carousel frame

Piped batter of Dart monkeys and some darts

Carousel frame made from lightly matcha flavoured shells. 

Dart monkeys! 

The filling for macaron carousel has to be a firm one to prevent unwanted collapse during assembly and I am sharing the recipe in this post. You may replace some white chocolate with butter if you live in a colder climate. 

Matcha/ Hojicha chocolate buttercream

This is a small portion so feel free to upsize it. 

Ingredients:

55g white chocolate, finely chopped or use chips 

5g 100% dark chocolate couverture (may substitute with white chocolate. I use this to temper the sweetness of white chocolate) 

20g unsalted butter

3/4 tbs hojicha or matcha powder

1/4 tsp vanilla extract 

A pinch of salt

Steps:

1. Place everything into heatproof bowl and melt over hot water without the base of the bowl touching the water. Melt the chocolate and butter and stir to mix well. Do not overheat. Alternatively you may use microwave oven to melt in a few rounds at medium-low power in 10 second bursts. 

2. Wait for it to firm up at cool room temperature. Whip it up a little using spatula to lighten texture. 

3. Transfer into piping bag and fill the macaron shells. 

Here's another look at the carousel! 

Assembly of the structure is done using STIFF consistency royal icing.  I get some people report that their carousel frame collapse during assembly but I found out that it is either because icing isn't firm enough or they didnt wait till the icing has set fully before letting the central pillar take the weight of the roof. It is important to make sure that icing has set firm before letting central pillar take the full weight of the roof or removing external supports for assembly especially if you use a soft filling. Sometimes this requires an overnight wait. 

So glad that the birthday kid loved this! 

With lots of love, 

Phay Shing