These macarons were the result of my seeing that recipe for sesame chess pie and noting that 1) it would require me to buy sesame seeds and tahini, and 2) it would result in extra egg whites. I figured that I could take advantage of both these facts and make sesame-flavored macarons, which turned out pretty well! I used my standard macaron recipe and technique, sprinkling sesame seeds on top of the batter before baking, but the filling was where the sesame really came out.
The filling is more complicated than a plain ganache– it’s actually a caramel sauce blended with melted chocolate, and then emulsified with butter for a smooth, creamy texture. I got the recipe from Cloudy Kitchen and split it in two so I could try a white chocolate variation on the milk chocolate original, and both turned out quite well (even if it did make a ton of filling– I’ll have to find something else to do with all of the extra!). I would recommend these if you want something a little different and don’t mind multi-step processes!
Sesame Ganache Macarons (from Cloudy Kitchen)
1 batch macaron shells (sprinkle sesame seeds over piped macarons before baking)
- 270g milk chocolate, chopped
- 500g heavy cream
- 250g Tahini
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ tsp salt
- 35g water
- 240g sugar
- 30g light corn syrup or glucose
- 50g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- Set chocolate in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Warm heavy cream with tahini in a saucepan until hot, but not boiling. Stir in vanilla and salt, and set aside.
- In a saucepan, combine water, sugar, and corn syrup over medium-high heat and cook until deep amber.
- Remove from heat and add 1/3 of the cream/tahini mixture (careful, it will bubble up!) and stir until combined. Add remaining cream/tahini in two more installments.
- Pour 1/3 of the caramel sauce over your chopped chocolate and cover the bowl with a plate for about 2 minutes to warm the chocolate. Using an immersion blender, blend the mixture until smooth. Repeat with the rest of the caramel sauce.
- Cool down the sauce to about 95 degrees F (I put mine in the freezer and stirred it every 5 minutes until it cooled down enough), then add the butter and continue to blend until fully incorporated.
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight so it will firm up.
- When ready to pipe into macaron shells, transfer to piping bags and let them sit for about 15-20 minutes to warm up sufficiently to pipe.
- Keep filled macarons in the refrigerator until about 10 minutes before you’re ready to serve, then let come to room temperature for best texture.
It's All Frosting... 