Neapolitan Macaron Cake

For the macarons:

• First things first! Wipe down the mixing bowl and whisk attachment with vinegar to remove any built up residue. This will ensure that the egg whites whisk up properly!
• Prep and measure all of the ingredients using a kitchen scale.
• Prep a piping bag with a round tip. I use Wilton tip 10.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Combine measured almond meal & powdered sugar together in a bowl. Sift one time to remove any lumps, discarding of them, then mix together to break up clumps.
• Make a well in the center of the dry mix and pour the 41 grams of measured egg whites into the center of the dry mixture. Fold together until blended then add gel food coloring and mix well until fully incorporated. The finished mix will be paste-like. Set aside.
• For the sugar syrup:
• To make the sugar syrup, heat granulated sugar and water in a pot on medium heat with a candy thermometer attached to the side. **Be careful to make sure the thermometer is not touching the bottom of the pot**.
• Once the thermometer’s temperature reaches approximately 200 degrees F, place the 45 grams of measured egg whites in the stand mixer and whisk on medium speed, to soft peaks.
• Add a drop of lemon juice or dash of cream of tartar to stabilize, THEN continue whisking.
• If the egg whites are at soft peaks before the syrup reaches 248 F, turn the mixer down to low speed to keep the egg whites moving.
• Watch the sugar syrup closely!
• As soon as the sugar syrup reaches 248 degrees F, remove from heat.
• Quickly increase mixer speed to medium and begin slowly pouring the sugar syrup down the side of your mixing bowl into the meringue until thoroughly combined.
• THEN increase the mixing speed to high and whisk sugar and meringue together until glossy and stiff peaks form and the meringue has cooled. (The meringue should keep its form.)
• Gently transfer finished meringue into the almond/powdered sugar mixture in thirds, making sure that it’s fully incorporated before adding the additional 3rd of meringue.
• Continue to fold the batter in a circular motion, going around the edges of the bowl, then once through the center. Repeat these steps until smooth and thick ribbons of batter run off the spatula.
• **Be careful not to over-mix**
• You want the batter to be slightly thick, but not so thin that it does not hold the ribbon shape. Err on the side of caution.
• Transfer batter to the prepped piping bag(s).
• Pipe four to five 5 inch rounds about 3 inches apart on the lined baking sheet.
• Be sure to hold the piping bag about 1/2 inch directly above the baking sheet when piping the rounds. For this size of macaron
• Reserve the second baking sheet for smaller macarons to use the leftover batter.
• *Tap the macarons on the counter three times to release air bubbles.
• *Pop any air bubbles that might’ve come to the surface, using a scribe or even a toothpick!
• Before placing the macs in the oven, allow them to rest until a proper skin has formed on the outside of the shell. This can take anywhere from 20-30 minutes. For the large shells I recommend 30 minutes total, depending on humidity. Test by touching the center of the piped macs with a clean finger. They should be dry to touch with no batter coming off on fingers.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
• Once dry to touch, place the macarons in the middle rack of the oven.
• Feet will form halfway through the baking process.
• Bake for 15-18 minutes.
• You can open the oven after the first 15 minutes to test the shells. Wiggle gently from side to side to see if they need more time. A fully baked macaron should be sturdy when tested.
• Once fully baked, remove from oven and allow 15-20 minutes to cool before attempting to remove the shells from the silpat/parchment paper.
• Once macarons are completely cool, gently remove from parchment paper/silpat.
• Repeat same steps to bake the remaining macaron batter. You can fill up the second baking sheet with smaller macaron shells or make extra 5″ shells for a second cake.
• 
• Once completely cooled, they’re ready to assemble.

For the Frostings:

Chocolate:

• Mix shortening/butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla alternative milk in a stand mixer until incorporated.
• Transfer filling to piping bag with tip of choice (I used Wilton 4B).

Vanilla:

• Washing mixing bowl, then mix shortening/butter, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla seeds and vanilla in a stand mixer until incorporated.
• Transfer filling to piping bag with tip of choice.

Strawberry:

• Mix shortening/butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a stand mixer until incorporated. 
• Add in the fresh berries and mix on high. The paddle attachment will break down the fresh strawberries turning the frosting pink. Continue mixing until the strawberries are broken down into bits small enough to fit through the piping tip.

Macaron Cake Assembly:

• Decorate the first 5″ macaron shell with chocolate frosting.
  
• Pipe stars of frosting starting at the outside of the macaron, working your way into the center until the entire shell is covered.
• Gently place second macaron shell right on top.
• Pipe second layer with stars of vanilla frosting, again starting at the outside of the macaron and working your way into the center until the entire shell is covered.
• Gently place third macaron shell on top of vanilla frosting.
• Pipe third layer with stars of strawberry frosting, starting around the edge and working your way into the center until the shell is fully covered.
• Gently top with 4th macaron shell.
• Garnish the top shell with frosting in each flavor.
• Chill for at least 12 hours (or at least 2) before serving.
• Carefully slice with a sharp knife when still chilled and serve on small canapé plates.
• Enjoy!