Fig And Cardamom Macarons

Sweet and fragrant Fig and Cardamom Macarons; an elegant and sophisticated sweet treat for the eyes as well as the tastebuds.

I'm a huge fan of making homemade macarons, as you can tell by the growing list of macaron flavors I have here on Rosanna ETC. I'm always searching for something a bit more unusual, flavor combinations with an edge, and this is fast becoming one of my favorite unique macaron flavors. I made a fig pavlova with cardamom cream a few weeks ago and, ever since then, have pondered other ways to use this flavor combination, and here we are.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Wine pairing
• Substitutions and variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Top tip
• FAQ
• Recipe Card
• FAQ
• Food safety

Is this your first time making macarons? I make them with Italian meringue as it gives them more stability and it's harder to overmix. 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...

Ingredients

For the cardamom macaron shells

1. Egg whites: Always use room temperature eggs in baking.
2. Granulated sugar/caster sugar: We make a sugar syrup for the Italian meringue, so you can use either fine or regular granulated sugar. Do not use brown sugar or anything with molasses content like Demerera sugar.
3. Water: We dissolved the sugar into water before making the syrup to make sure it melts evenly.
4. Icing sugar/confectioners sugar: The almond paste is made with powdered sugar (icing sugar) blended together with almond flour.
5. Almond flour: Almond flour is best as it has the finest grain, but you can use ground almonds or almond meal, too, if needed.
6. Cardamom pods (or ground cardamom seeds): We infuse the almond paste with ground cardamom seeds to get that unique cardamom taste. If you can, buy ready-ground cardamom, as it does take a while to crack open the pods and grind the seeds up yourself.

For the fig macaron filling

1. Figs: A sweet fig puree forms the filling of this cardamom macaron recipe;
2. Lemon: A touch of lemon juice just lifts the flavor of the fig macarons.
3. Powdered sugar: You may decide you don't need this, but it can help balance the flavors.
4. Powdered food coloring: I like to use food coloring to mimic the beautiful, deep, earthy purple color of the figs. You will need what is often called aubergine or eggplant. Be sure to use high-quality powdered food coloring or gel food coloring for macarons; do not use liquid food coloring.

See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full quantities and step-by-step directions.

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 to follow each one correctly, as a wrong turn can have big consequences. And there are lots of things that can go wrong with macarons! It's why they are one of the more challenging things to bake at home and why they are expensive to buy.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 145 degrees Celsius / 295 Fahrenheit. 
2. Prepare and weigh out the ingredients, separating the egg whites.
3. Blend the ground almonds and powdered sugar together until they are of a very fine consistency and completely combined. Sift the mixture into a large mixing bowl.
4. 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.
5. Add the ground cardamom seeds into the almond flour and sugar mixture, along with a heaped teaspoon of food coloring for more intense color.
6. Make the almond paste by mixing the remaining egg white with the ground almond/powdered sugar and cardamom mixture until it is fully incorporated.

Italian meringue

1. 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. 
2. Once the thermometer starts to climb above 105 degrees Celsius/220 degrees Fahrenheit, whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks.
3. When the sugar syrup reaches a soft boil temperature of 115 degrees Celsius/240 degrees, start whisking the egg whites again to a stiff peak stage and then very slowly pour in the sugar syrup a little at a time. 
4. 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

1. Now mix the Italian meringue into the almond paste in three stages. 
2. Firmly mix in the first third of the Italian meringue with a metal or wooden spoon to loosen up the almond paste and fully combine the two mixtures. 
3. Fold in the remaining two-thirds one at a time using the softer spoon or spatula, being very gentle, so you don't accidentally overmix the batter and make it too slack. The goal macaron batter consistency will let you draw a figure of 8 in it, and it will slowly fade back into the batter. If the shape stays there, it needs another few turns.

Piping macarons

1. 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 centimeter from the tip of the piping bag. 
2. Position the piping bag perpendicular to the tray with the nozzle a few millimeters 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. 
3. Firmly smack the oven sheet down onto the work surface twice to settle the Italian macaron batter and get rid of any air bubbles. You can also use a cocktail stick to pop any others you can see on the macaron surface.
4. Bake macarons 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. Ideally, bake one tray at a time and check the oven temperature between each batch.

Macaron filling

Wine pairing

Pairing wine with fig and cardamom is challenging due to its strong and fragrant flavor. 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 for a creamier result.
• Fruit - Try apricot instead of fig.

These chocolate cinnamon macarons are also a favorite home-baked macaron flavor of mine if you're looking for others to try...

Equipment

• Digital scales to weigh out ingredients are 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 down, which can scramble the eggs! 
• A metal mixing spoon for combining ingredients.
• A silicon mixing spoon or spatula for further, more gentle mixing. 
• Piping bags - to pipe your macarons onto a baking tray and then also to pipe your fillings. 
• Baking sheets/trays - Do not use high-sided cookie sheets, as this builds up too much steam around the macarons.
• Silicon mat or baking parchment paper (but the silicon mats are better and allow for lower waste as they are not single-use).
• Ensure you're baking at the right temperature by using an oven thermometer.

Storage

Store the fig and cardamom macarons in an airtight container and consume within 4-5 days.

The cardamom macaron shells will freeze well so that you can bake them ahead of time and defrost and fill when needed. Layer the macaron shells in between layers of parchment paper in an airtight container. Consume within a month, and defrost thoroughly before filling.

FAQ

Recipe Card

FAQ

Food safety

• Take special care when working with boiling sugar syrup.
• Never leave boiling sugar unattended
• Wash utensils thoroughly after handling raw eggs.