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My salted caramel macarons are the perfect mix of salty and sweet. It’s one of my favorite flavors and the filling is hard to resist. The center of each cookie has a ring of white chocolate that holds a delicious, silky caramel sauce.
I start with my Perfect Macaron Recipe and add 8 drops of chocolate brown, 2 drops of orange, and 1 drop of lemon yellow gel food coloring to get a warm caramel color.
The Fillings
Salted caramel on its own can be tricky with macarons because it can be a little too runny. To keep the macarons nice and neat, I like to start by piping a ring of white chocolate ganache. I add one drop of chocolate brown and lemon yellow gel food coloring to the ganache to match the shells and caramel. This forms a perfect base and leaves just the right amount of space in the center for the gooey caramel.
To make the caramel sauce, start by carefully preparing the sugar and water. To prevent the caramel from crystallizing, the sides of the pan get brushed down with a wet pastry brush.
Once the sugar reaches the perfect color, pour the cream in-the mixture will boil rapidly. After the hot steam subsides, whisk the caramel until it is smooth. The last step is adding in the flaky salt. I love to use Maldon salt here-it’s the perfect flavor and texture. Once the caramel cools to room temperature, transfer to a piping bag.
Fill the center of the ganache ring with the caramel sauce and top with the matching macaron shell. I know it’s hard, but if you let the macarons sit for a day or two, something magical happens. The filling and the shells meld together and form the perfect texture!
For all of my baking tips and base recipe, be sure to start out with my Perfect Macarons!
Ingredients
White Chocolate Ganache
- 226 grams white chocolate 2 premium baking bars, chopped into small pieces
- 80 grams heavy cream
- 1 drop chocolate brown and lemon yellow gel food coloring
Salted Caramel
- 300 grams sugar
- 80 grams water
- 180 grams heavy cream
- 2 tsp flaky salt Maldon
Instructions
Make the White Chocolate Ganache
- Finely chop the white chocolate into small pieces and place in a heat-proof bowl.
- Heat the cream in a heavy bottom pan just to a simmer.
- Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and it sit for 4 minutes. Stir until all of the chocolate is melted and the ganache is smooth and creamy. Add one drop of chocolate brown and lemon yellow gel food coloring and stir to combine. Transfer to a piping bag and let cool at room temperature.
Make the Salted Caramel
- In a deep, heavy bottom pan, combine the granulated sugar and water. Stir together to begin to dissolve the sugar, trying not to get too much sugar on the sides of the pan. Run a clean pastry brush along the sides of the pan with bit of water. You want to be sure that there aren’t any granules on the edges while the sugar cooks (this can cause the caramel to crystallize).
- Cook the sugar over medium heat, without stirring or agitating the pan. Watch the sugar carefully as it begins to boil. It will start out clear then turn light amber. At this point, carefully swirl the pan to evenly distribute the sugar and color. In a matter of seconds, it will turn a deep caramel color. Turn the heat to low and carefully pour in the cream. The pan will boil rapidly and there will be a lot of hot steam. Once it starts to settle down, whisk the caramel until it is thick and smooth, one to two minutes.
- Stir in the flaky salt, then transfer the mixture to a heat proof jar to cool. Once the caramel is room temperature, transfer to a piping bag.
Make the Salted Caramel Macarons
- Make a batch of Perfect Macarons, adding 8 drops of chocolate brown, 2 drops of orange, and 1 drop of lemon yellow gel food coloring to the meringue.
- Pair matching shells and pipe a ring of ganache onto the bottom of each cookie.
- Fill the center of the ring with the salted caramel sauce and top with the matching shell.
- Let the macarons rest for 24 hours before enjoying!
Notes
- This caramel recipe makes more than you will need to fill one batch of macarons (50 cookies). This ratio is easy to manage-smaller proportions of sugar will burn much faster. Store the extra caramel sauce in the refrigerator for two weeks.
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