Sweet and fragrant fig and cardamom macarons, an elegant and sophisticated treat for the eyes as well as the tastebuds.
We infuse the almond paste with ground cardamom seeds and I like to use a food colouring to mimic the beautiful deep earthy purple colour of the figs. A vibrantly coloured sweet fig puree forms the filling of this cardamom macaron recipe, it's flavour heighted by a squeeze of lemon juice and pinch of icing sugar.
I'm a huge fan of making homemade macarons, as you can tell by the growing list of macaron flavours I have on Rosanna ETC. I'm always searching for something a bit more unusual, flavour combinations with an edge, and this is fast becoming one of my favourites. I made a fig pavlova with cardamom cream a few weeks ago and ever since then have pondered other ways to use this flavour combination, and here we are.
Is this your first time making macarons? I make them with Italian meringue as it gives them more stability. If you're in need of an in-depth guide, check out my master post on making Italian macarons with Italian meringue before cracking on with these. Otherwise...read on...
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Ingredients
- Egg whites
- Granulated sugar/caster sugar
- Icing sugar/confectioners sugar
- Ground almonds
- Water
- Cardamom pods (or ground cardamom seeds)
- Lemon
- Figs
- Powdered food colouring - to achieve the same colour as a fig you will need what is often called aubergine or eggplant. Be sure to use powdered food colouring for macarons, not liquid or gel colour.
See the recipe card for quantities.
These fig and cardamom macarons might seem fiddly but they are well worth it. There are several important steps to making macarons, so take care with following each correctly as a wrong turn can have big consequences.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 145 degrees Celsius / 295 Fahrenheit.
Prepare and weigh out the ingredients, separating the egg whites.
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.
Using a small knife, split open the cardamom pods and remove the seeds. Grind them in a pestle and mortar and then sieve to discard the hard outer shell of the seeds.
Add the ground cardamom seeds into the almond flour and sugar mixture, along with a heaped teaspoon of food colouring for an intense colour.
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.
Macaronage
Make the almond paste by mixing the remaining egg white with the ground almond/powdered sugar mixture until it is fully incorporated.
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.
Bake the macarons for 17 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Make the fig puree by blending the figs until fully liquidised and then pushing the puree through a sieve. Add a splash of water if needed to help loosen it.
Add the icing sugar and lemon juice and then put the fig puree in a saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil and reduce until thickened.
Chill completely in the fridge.
Fill your cardamom macaron shells by piping or spreading some of the fig puree onto one shell and sandwiching it with another.
Hint: These fig and cardamom macarons taste better after a few hours or overnight so that the macaron shells can go slightly chewy.
Wine pairing
Pairing wine with cardamom is challenging as it is such a strong and fragrant flavour. An intense sweet wine works well with fig and cardamom macarons, like a Vin Santo.
Substitutions and variations
Here are a few ways to adapt this recipe to suit you.
- Cardamom - try a pinch of cinnamon instead
- Cream filling - fold the fig puree into whipped cream.
- Fruit - try apricot instead of fig.
These chocolate cinnamon macarons are also a favourite of mine if you're looking for others to try...
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.
- Pestle and mortar - to grind the cardamom seeds to a fine powder.
- 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. .
- 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.
- 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 fig and cardamom macarons in an airtight container and consume within 4-5 days.
The cardamom macaron shells will freeze, use within a month. Defrost thoroughly before filling.
Top tip
You can adjust the level of cardamom to suit you. It is a strong flavour and a little goes a long way, from a hint of fragrance to a really aromatic hit of flavour.
Recipe Card
Fig And Cardamom Macarons
Equipment
- 1 Weighing scales
- 1 Sieve Blender/food processor
- 1 Small saucepan
- 1 Jam or sugar thermometer
- 1 electric whisk or stand mixer
- 2 Large bowls, preferably glass
- 1 Metal or wooden mixing spoon
- 1 Silicon mixing spoon or spatula
- 3 Large baking sheets/trays
- 3 Silicon baking mat or baking parchment paper
- 2 piping bags
- 1 pestle and mortar
Ingredients
Almond paste
- 185 grams Powdered sugar (icing sugar or confectioners sugar)
- 185 grams Ground almonds
- 63 grams Egg whites
- 4 tablespoon Cardamom pods
- 1 teaspoon Powdered food colouring
Italian meringue
- 185 grams Granulated sugar
- 100 ml Water
- 63 grams Egg whites
Fig Puree filling
- 6 Figs
- 2 tablespoon Icing sugar
- ½ Lemon (juiced) (heavy cream)
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.
- Sieve the ground almonds and powdered sugar and then blend together until they are a very fine consistency and completely combined.
- Using a small knife, split open the cardamom pods and remove the seeds. Grind them in a pestle and mortar and then push through a sieve.
- Mix the ground cardamom seeds into the ground almonds and powdered sugar.
- Add the powdered food colouring and thoroughly combine.
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.
Almond paste
- Make the almond paste by mixing the remaining egg white with the ground almond/powdered sugar/cardamom mixture until it is fully incorporated.
Macaronage
- 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 the cardamom macarons straight away for 17 minutes, then remove them 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.
Fig puree filling
- Blend the figs in a food processor or liquidiser. Add a splash of water if needed to loosen it.
- Push the fig puree through a sieve, and add the lemon juice and powdered sugar.
- Place the fig puree in a saucepan and reduce over medium heat until thickened. Chill in the fridge.
Filling macarons
- Spread or pipe a circle of fig puree onto the cardamom macaron shell. Sandwich together with another macaron shell and serve.
Video
Nutrition
FAQ
You can eat cardamom seeds, but you cannot eat cardamom husks, or the outer pod. The whole pod is often used in cooking to give flavour to a dish.
Cardamom has a strong, warm andvery aromatic flavour that is similar in some ways to cinnamon, or cloves but with citrusy undertones.
Figs are in season betweem May and November so can be enjoyed across several seasons.
Food safety
- Take special care when working with boiling sugar syrup.
- Never leave boiling sugar unattended
- Wash utensils thoroughly after handling raw eggs.
Shelby says
This is such a delicious blend of flavors!
Jess says
These are beautiful and so tasty
Andrea says
the flavor of these macarons turned out amazing! so so good!
Natalie says
OMG, look at this color! My daughter will be so happy to make these cardamom macarons with me. Thanks!
Katie says
These are so incredibly delicious! I can't get over how beautifully they turned out either!
Nancy says
What a beautiful flavour combo ! I love these macarons !