French S’mores Macarons
S’mores are the archetypal American summer dessert – graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows are de rigueur for every event at which a firepit might be found, from camping to backyard barbeques, and have been since the mid 1920’s. Over the years, the S’mores flavor combination has made its way into every dessert imaginable – brownies, cookies, ice cream, cream puffs, cakes, pies, and I’m sure the list goes on. So, I decided, why not macarons?
This macaron recipe has S’mores flavor worked into every element. The shells have a lightly crisp exterior that hints at the texture provided by the graham crackers in classic S’mores and the graham flavor comes from replacing a small amount of the almond meal with finely ground graham crackers (as it is a pretty small amount of graham crackers, I actually found that a mortar and pestle worked best for achieving a very fine powder). There is a touch of cocoa and a hefty dollop of vanilla in the shells as well – the result is that, even without the fillings, the macaron shells will give you S’mores vibes.
In an effort to make sure that the graham flavor is strongly present, I also infused the heavy cream for the ganache with graham crackers (its more or less the same idea as “cereal milk” – the longer you let the graham crackers steep in the cream, the more graham flavor will be present in the ganache). I used semisweet chocolate here and I really wouldn’t recommend going any darker – if you do, the chocolate will completely overwhelm the graham flavor from the infused cream.
Finally, the center of the macaron filling is a gooey and very vanilla forward, homemade marshmallow cream. This is actually the same marshmallow cream I used in my French Chocolate (Hot Cocoa) Macarons. It works just as well here, bringing not only the requisite marshmallow flavor but the gooey textural element that is so essential to a good S’more.
French S’mores Macarons
Equipment
- pastry bags (up to 3)
- pastry tip (1/2 inch round)
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- whisk
- electric mixer (hand or stand)
- mixing bowls (large)
- spatula
- bowl (small, microwave/heat safe)
- saucepan (small)
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- measuring spoons
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Ingredients
Macaron shells:
- 180 g powdered sugar
- 120 g almond meal
- 30 g graham cracker crumbs very fine
- 6 g cocoa powder
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 100 g large egg whites from 2-3 large eggs
- 60 g baker’s sugar
- 5 g dehydrated egg white powder
- 10 ml vanilla bean paste
Graham Ganache Filling:
- 180 ml heavy cream
- 30 g graham crackers coarsely crushed
- 16 ml light corn syrup
- 130 g semisweet chocolate chopped
Marshmallow Filling:
- 100 g sugar
- 100 ml corn syrup
- 60 ml water
- ¼ tsp salt
- 80 g egg whites from about 2 large eggs
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar
- ½ sheet silver leaf gelatin bloomed and melted
- 10 ml vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
Instructions
For the macaron shells:
- Have a pastry bag fitted with ½” round tip ready.
- Whisk together the powdered sugar, almond meal, graham cracker crumbs, cocoa, and salt until they are uniform in color. Sift the mixture 3 times, discarding any bits that are too large to pass through the sifter, and set aside.180 g powdered sugar, 120 g almond meal, 6 g cocoa powder, 1 pinch fine salt, 30 g graham cracker crumbs
- In a small bowl whisk together the baker’s sugar and dehydrated egg whites, set aside.60 g baker’s sugar, 5 g dehydrated egg white powder
- In a large bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Continue beating while gradually adding the sugar and dehydrated egg white mixture. Add the vanilla bean paste and beat until the mixture reaches a shaving cream consistency.100 g large egg whites, 10 ml vanilla bean paste
- Carefully fold the dry ingredients into the egg whites in 3 batches. Continue to fold until the batter falls from your spatula in a continuous ribbon and slowly sinks back into itself.
- Scrape the batter into the pastry bag and pipe 1” circles onto the prepared baking sheets. Rap the sheets on the counter firmly a few times, then let sit for about 20 minutes or until a skin forms on the surface and they are no longer tacky to the touch.
- Bake 15 – 20 minutes, cool completely before removing from baking sheets.
For the graham ganache filling:
- Heat the cream and corn syrup until just below boiling. Remove from the heat and add the graham cracker pieces. Allow the mixture to steep for at least an hour and up to overnight. Pass the mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove the bits of graham cracker.180 ml heavy cream, 30 g graham crackers, 16 ml light corn syrup
- Reheat the graham infused cream to a simmer again. Pour it over the chocolate and let sit about a minute. Stir gently until an emulsion forms. Let cool completely before using, the ganache should be a spreadable or pipeable consistency130 g semisweet chocolate
For the marshmallow filling:
- In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, water and salt. Heat mixture to 245°F on a candy thermometer.100 g sugar, 100 ml corn syrup, 60 ml water, 1/4 tsp salt
- While the syrup is heating, combine egg whites and cream of tartar in a medium mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer). Using an electric or stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk on medium speed until soft peaks form.80 g egg whites, 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- With the mixer running slowly drizzle the hot syrup into the egg white mixture. Continue whisking while drizzling in the melted gelatin and finally the vanilla bean paste or extract. Whisk until the mixture is thick, glossy and begins to mound on top of itself like a soft whipped cream. Transfer mixture to a piping bag.1/2 sheet silver leaf gelatin, 10 ml vanilla bean paste
To assemble:
- Transfer the ganache filling to a piping bag. Pipe a thin dam of ganache around the outer edge of the bottoms of half of the macaron shells. Then pipe a small amount of marshmallow cream inside the ganache dam. Sandwich with the remaining half of the macaron shells.
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