Blueberry Cheesecake Macarons

Blueberry cheesecake macarons, the dessert mash-up you never knew you needed. I love cheesecake and I love macarons, so it was only a matter of time before I brought the two together. These blueberry macarons with cheesecake filling even have the cheesecake base mixed into the cream cheese and blueberry puree, so it actually tastes like cheesecake sandwiched between two macaron shells.

Blueberry cheesecake macarons are just one of the many flavours you can create once you've mastered making homemade macarons, and if you are new to this corner of patisserie then be sure to first check out my ultimate guide to making macarons with Italian meringue, which is my preferred method. It gives the macaron batter more stability, which makes it harder to overmix.

Blueberry cheesecake macarons can be enjoyed at any time of year but are best when blueberries are in season and at their most flavourful. If you've been reading my blog for a while you'll know that making homemade macarons is one of my favourite things to bake and I'm always coming up with new macaron flavour ideas.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Blueberry cheesecake filling
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Top tip
• Blueberry Cheesecake Macarons
• Food safety

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you will need to make blueberry cheesecake macarons.

• Egg whites.
• Granulated sugar/caster sugar.
• Icing sugar/confectioners sugar.
• Ground almonds.
• Water.
• Blueberries.
• Cream cheese.
• Digestive biscuits/Graham crackers/Belvita soft bakes.
• Powdered food colouring.

See the recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 145 degrees Celsius / 295 Fahrenheit. 

Prepare and weigh out the ingredients, separating the egg whites from egg yolks if necessary. 

Blend the ground almonds and powdered sugar together until they are of a very fine consistency and completely combined. Sieve the mixture into a large mixing bowl.

Making Italian meringue

Place the water and granulated sugar into a saucepan. Gently warm the water and stir to dissolve the sugar. Once it has dissolved, turn up the heat, stop stirring and place the sugar thermometer into the mixture. 

Once the thermometer starts to climb above 105 degrees Celsius/220 degrees Fahrenheit, whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks.

When the sugar syrup reaches a soft boil temperature of 115 degrees Celsius/240 degrees, start whisking the egg whites again and pour in the sugar syrup a little at a time. 

The Italian meringue will turn a smooth, glossy and opaque white. Continue to whisk once all of the sugar syrup has been added to bring down the heat until you can touch the side of the bowl and it feels warm but not hot. 

Making almond paste

Make the almond paste by mixing the remaining egg white with the ground almond/powdered sugar mixture until it is fully incorporated. If using food colouring, add it at this point. A half teaspoon should be sufficient depending on how intense you want the colour.

Mixing macaron batter

Now mix the Italian meringue into the almond paste in three stages. 

Firmly mix in the first third of the Italian meringue with a metal or wooden spoon to loosen the almond paste and fully combine the two mixtures. 

Fold in the remaining two thirds one at a time using the softer spoon or spatula, being very gentle with the final third to not overmix the batter and make it too slack. 

Piping macarons

Move the macaron batter to a piping bag. Tie a knot in the end and relax the mixture slightly in the bag with your hands for a few seconds. Cut half a centimetre from the tip of the piping bag. 

Position the piping bag perpendicular to the tray with the nozzle a few millimetres above the surface. Squeeze the bag without lifting it up for two or three seconds, then stop squeezing and make a little circle to twist it off. Fill the trays leaving a 2cm gap in between each macaron. 

Firmly smack it down onto the work surface twice to settle the Italian macaron batter and get rid of any air bubbles. 

Bake straight away for 17 minutes, then remove from the oven and allow the macarons to cool on the tray. This is a no-rest macaron recipe, but if you cannot fit all of your macarons in the oven at once, it won't harm the remaining macarons to be out on the worktop for 17 minutes. 

Blueberry cheesecake filling

Blend the blueberries in a food processor or liquidiser. Add a splash of water if needed to loosen it. 

Push the blueberry puree through a sieve, then place in a saucepan and reduce over medium heat until thickened. Chill in the fridge. 

Using a pestle and mortar or food processor, grind the biscuits/cookies to a fine crumb.

Mix the blueberry puree into the cream cheese and stir through the biscuits. 

Spoon the blueberry cheesecake filling into a piping bag and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Pipe the filling onto a macaron shell, and sandwich another on top.

Serve your blueberry cheesecake macarons and enjoy!

Hint: You definitely need a sugar thermometer to make these blueberry cheesecake macarons - making Italian meringue without one is impossible.

Variations

You could try this blueberry cheesecake macaron recipe with other fruits like strawberry or raspberries, let me know if you do by tagging me on Instagram.

Check out my other macaron flavours

• Mango macarons
• Fig and cardamom macarons
• Chocolate cinnamon macarons
• Goat cheese and cranberry savoury macarons

Equipment

• Weighing scales. Digital is best. Baking is a science, after all, so we need precision! I do not recommend using the cup system to make macarons.
• A sieve to ensure that the powdered sugar and almond flour is as fine as possible. 
• A blender/food processor to thoroughly combine the almond flour and powdered sugar. This ensures a completely smooth finish on your macaron shells. 
• A small saucepan to make your sugar syrup
• A jam or sugar thermometer to measure the temperature of the hot sugar syrup. The sugar syrup needs to be at a particular temperature to make Italian meringue and it is impossible to judge without a thermometer. The best thermometers for sugar syrup do not allow the bulb to touch the bottom or sides of the saucepan, thus ensuring you are measuring the temperature of the sugar, and not the pan. 
• An electric whisk or stand mixer to whisk your egg whites into soft peaks before slowly adding the hot sugar syrup. 
• Two large bowls, preferably glass. Try to avoid using a metal mixing bowl for the Italian meringue as it will conduct heat and prevent the mixture from cooling. 
• A metal mixing spoon for combining ingredients more vigorously.
• A silicon mixing spoon or spatula for further, more gentle mixing. 
• Baking sheets/trays - not high-sided ones as this builds up too much steam
• Silicon mat or baking parchment paper (but the silicon mats are better and allow for lower waste as they are not single-use)
• Piping bags - to pipe your macarons onto a baking tray, and then also to pipe your fillings. 

Storage

Store the blueberry cheesecake macarons in the fridge, and consume them within 2-3 days.

You can easily freeze macaron shells in an airtight container, then defrost and fill them whenever you need them.

Food safety

• Take extreme care when working with boiling sugar syrup, and never leave unattended.
• Clean surfaces and utensils thoroughly after handling raw egg whites.