Black Sesame and Orange Jelly Macarons

Macarons are perfectly smooth, delightfully chewy French sandwich cookies that require bakers to adhere to precise measurements and methods. But once you’ve mastered the fundamentals, you can have a lot of fun with flavours and design!

Case in point: these nutty black sesame and orange jelly–filled macarons, which Great Canadian Baking Show judge Kyla Kennaley says are “a great play on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.” For a bit of whimsy, recipe developer Erica Schell used stroopwafels and marzipan to make them look like little moose.

These macaron critters were Erica’s Signature Bake for Nature Week in Season 8 of The Great Canadian Baking Show.

Black Sesame and Orange Jelly Macarons

By Erica Schell

Ingredients

Macarons:

• 155 g almond flour
• 155 g icing sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1½ tsp dried orange zest
• 120 g egg whites (about 4 eggs), divided
• 155 g granulated sugar
• 40 ml water
• ⅛ tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Brown food colouring

Orange Jelly:

• 5 sheets gelatin
• 1 cup orange juice
• ¼ cup orange juice concentrate
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp salt
• Zest of 1 orange

Sesame Ganache:

• 2 cups (300 g) white chocolate callets
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 6 tbsp 35% cream
• 3 tbsp black sesame paste

Decoration:

• 6 store-bought stroopwafels
• 2 tbsp store-bought marzipan
• Black edible-ink pen

Preparation

Macarons:

Cut parchment paper to fit two rimmed baking sheets. On the back side of each piece, trace 12 1½-inch-round circles and six 1-inch-round circles, so you end up with 36 circles.

Sift the almond flour and icing sugar into the bowl of a food processor. Add the salt and dried orange zest, and pulse together for 30 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in 60 grams of egg whites. Cover and set aside.

Combine the granulated sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium-high without stirring. Use a pastry brush dipped in water to gently brush any excess sugar crystals from the sides of the pan. Cook the syrup until a candy thermometer registers 230 F, but do not remove the pan from the heat.

At this point, place the remaining egg whites and cream of tartar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and whip on high until soft peaks form. Once the sugar syrup reaches 245 F, gradually pour it into the egg white mixture with the mixer running on medium-high, being careful not to get too much on the sides of the bowl. Whip until thick, glossy peaks form and the mixture has cooled to room temperature. Add the vanilla and gently mix to combine.

Using a rubber spatula, fold the meringue into the almond flour mixture in three additions along with the brown food colouring, as desired. Continue to stir in long, gentle strokes until the mixture slowly falls from the spatula in ribbons that take about 5 seconds to absorb back into the batter. 

Transfer the batter to a large piping bag fitted with a medium round tip, and pipe onto the traced circles. Next, pipe two small circles onto the bottom edge of 12 of the larger circles to resemble hooves and one circle onto each of the smaller rounds to resemble a snout. (Leave the remaining 12 larger circles untouched). Place the pans in front of a low fan to dry for 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, heat the oven to 300 F.

Bake until the macarons are set and have distinctive “feet,” 16 to 18 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. Turn the oven off and leave the door slightly ajar for 3 minutes, then remove them from the oven to cool completely.

Orange Jelly:

Line the bottom of a 6-inch round cake pan with parchment paper and set aside.

Submerge the gelatin in a bowl of cold water and set aside for 5 minutes to bloom.

Warm the orange juice, orange juice concentrate, lemon juice and salt in a medium saucepan until steaming, then remove from the heat. Gently squeeze the gelatin sheets to remove any excess water and stir them into the orange juice mixture until melted. Stir in the orange zest, pour the mixture into the prepared pan and refrigerate until set. 

Sesame Ganache:

Place the white chocolate and salt in a small heatproof bowl.

In a small saucepan, combine the cream and sesame paste, and heat until just boiling. Pour the mixture over the white chocolate and salt. Let sit for 4 minutes, then stir to melt. Set the ganache aside to cool to room temperature.

Decoration:

Cut each stroopwafel into four equal triangles. Using a paring knife, cut each into an antler shape. Transfer a quarter of the ganache to a piping bag fitted with a small round piping tip, and pipe ganache around the perimeter of each antler.

Transfer the remaining ganache to a piping bag fitted with a medium piping tip and set aside.

Knead brown food colouring into the marzipan to your desired saturation. Divide it into 24 teardrop-shaped ears. Using the edible-ink pen, draw eyes and nostrils onto each of the smaller macarons with snouts. 

Assembly:

Use a ½-inch round cookie cutter to cut the jelly into 12 rounds. 

Take the 12 larger macarons without hooves and turn them over so their flat sides are facing up. Place a jelly round in the centre of each, pipe ganache around the jelly and top with the large rounds with hooves. Pipe a dollop of ganache on top, press two antlers into the ganache and top with a moose head macaron. Gently press marzipan ears onto the side of each moose head.

Makes 12 macarons