Family time, warm temps, beaches and of course, frosty treats! That about sums up our summer so far and with ice cream month still happening, I have another ice cream inspired dessert to share today, complete with the flavors of your favorite ice cream trio! Classic chocolate, vanilla & strawberry, aka neapolitan. But let’s not stop there. Imagine those sweet nostalgic flavors of summer paired with macarons! Yep, I went there and you’ll be so glad I did because this macaron cake is to die for, even though there’s no real ice cream in this treat.
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Neapolitan Macaron Cake
This neapolitan macaron cake, is actually not made with cake at all, but 4 oversized macaron shells. The 5″ shells are baked, piped with frosting and then stacked. Each layer represents 1/3 of the flavor of neapolitan ice cream, starting with chocolate on the bottom. Each shell represents the layer of cake and so on and so forth.
Once the macaron cake is frosted and stacked, it’s placed in the fridge to mature for at least 2 but 12-24 hours preferred.
The wait time on the maturation feels like forever, but doing so allows the shells to soak up all the goodness of the neapolitan frostings, which make it an even more incredible treat to enjoy!
Down to the last crumb!
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Neapolitan Macaron Cake
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French Macarons
Description
Four 5″ chewy macaron shells layered with chocolate, vanilla & strawberry neapolitan frosting. Dairy & Gluten free and a fun treat to try this summer.
Macaron shell recipe adapted from Buchon Bakery.
Ingredients
For the French Macaron Shells:
- 106 grams of almond meal
- 106 grams powdered sugar
- 41 and 45 grams of egg whites divided
- 115 grams of granulated sugar
- 79 grams of water
- dash of cream of tartar or lemon juice for stabilizing
Additional supplies:
Piping bag fitted with wilton round tip 12
3 piping bags fitted with star tips.
For the Chocolate Frosting:
- 1 cups organic shortening or vegan butter (you can also use regular butter)
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- dash of vanilla and a splash of non dairy milk.
For the Vanilla Frosting:
- 1 cups organic shortening or vegan butter (you can also use regular butter)
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- seeds from 1 vanilla bean
- dash of vanilla and a splash of non dairy milk.
For the Strawberry Frosting:
- 1 cups organic shortening or vegan butter (you can also use regular butter)
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- seeds from 1 vanilla bean
- 4 fresh strawberries whole
- dash of vanilla and a splash of non dairy milk.
Instructions
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!
Keywords: baking, macarons, neapolitan, macaron cake, dairy free, gluten free
The first macaron cake I made was last summer for the 4th. The shells are naturally gluten free, so a great alternative to a regular cake, for anyone with food sensitives. Each of the three divine frostings are also vegan, but you’d never know because they all taste so freaking good!
Check out what it looks like when it’s sliced! So many layers of goodness!
The macaron cake although petite in size is full of sweet flavor! The shells are crispy on the outside and chewy in the center. Combined with the decadent frostings it’s a must try for the summer months and a fun play on neapolitan ice cream.
Before I go, I must admit that cutting this macaron cake was a bit challenging. The slices did not come out perfectly clean, but you just might have better luck than me!
Serve the neapolitan macaron cake at a small summer get together with friends. It would also be a sweet summer birthday treat and is sure to be enjoyed by all who try it!
Tip: Cut the cake right when it comes out of the fridge for easier slicing.
Wishing you all a sweet weekend ahead!
This post titled Neapolitan Macaron Cake was seen first on Posh Little Designs. All Rights Reserved. 2019
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