Rosette Macarons

These Rosette macarons are not only gorgeous, they’re delicious with a creamy rose buttercream filling. If you’ve made macarons before this is a great way to expand you skill set and take your macarons to the next level.

Follow the tips below for perfect rosette macarons. This recipe is made with rose water which can be found in most grocery strores, if you have trouble, check out your local Indian or Middle Eastern grocery store or online. Be sure to try out my other shaped Macaron recipes like Donut Macarons and Pumpkin Spice Macarons.

Why you’ll love these macarons:

• Delicious fragrant rose flavor
• So so pretty
• Uses the French method making them super easy
• Uses only a few simple ingredients

Ingredients needed for Rose Shaped Macarons

• Egg whites – at room temperature
• Granulated sugar – also called caster sugar, to get the egg whites to stiff peaks
• Powdered sugar – icing sugar
• Almond flour / Almond meal – it’s best to use almond flour for smooth shells (I used almond meal), if you don’t have access to almond flour you can process the almond meal with the powdered sugar and sift a few times.
• Pink gel food coloring – for a rose color, you could also use red food coloring gel if you like

Ingredients for Rose Buttercream Macaron Filling

• Unsalted softened butter
• Powdered sugar
• Rose water
• Pink gel coloring

Kitchen Tools Needed

• Bowl (glass or metal)
• Stand mixer or electric hand mixer with whisk attachment
• Sifter or food processor (optional)
• Baking paper or silicone mat marked with macaron circles
• Flat baking tray / baking sheet
• Kitchen Scale
• Round piping tip and 1M tip
• Large piping bags
• Rubber spatula

How to make Rosette French Macarons

This recipe uses the French meringue method, full details and ingredient measurements for this Rose Macaron recipe are in the recipe card below.

1: MEASURE INGREDIENTS

Measure the egg whites, granulated sugar, almond meal and powdered sugar. Place your silicone mat or parchment paper on 2 large baking sheets.

2: SIFT WELL OR PROCESS

Sift the almond meal and powdered sugar together. For best results, place the almond meal and powdered sugar into a food processor and process until fine.

3: MAKE A MERINGUE

Whisk the egg whites on a medium speed to start in a large mixing bowl ( or bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment) until it becomes foamy. Change to a high speed and slowly add in the sugar until it is glossy and stiff peaks form. This can take a while of whisking. Once the meringue is stiff, add in the pink food coloring and whisk until the color has been incorporated.

4: MACRONAGE –

Macronage is the step if turning the meringue and dry mixture (almond meal and powdered sugar) into the right texture batter that enables it to pipe and bake well. For rosette macarons the process is slighlty different nad you only fold the ingredients until they have just combined. This creates a thicker consistency batter making it ideal to hold shape when baked. This recipe will require half the batter to be stiff and just combined, as the bases for the rosettes will be standard macarons. However if you’d like to make this easier and want to avoid an extra step you can pipe all your batter into rosettes and have both the bottom and top shell be a rosette shape.

Sift the dry ingredients (almond meal, powdered sugar) into the meringue. Fold gently until the almond flour mixture is fully incorporated into the meringue. Fit a piping bag with a 1M (open rose) tip and fill with half the batter.

For the rest of the batter, scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure all the almond mixture has been incorporated. Continue to mix and fold until the mixture flows like thick ribbons forming a figure 8 with the spatula a few times. It should flow off the spoon easily enough to make a figure 8 a few times without breaking.

5: PIPING THE MACARONS

Use a silicon mat marked with circles or a circle template under parchment paper. Place the tip about 1cm above the centre of the circle, start by gently putting pressure on the bag until the mixture touches the mat. Slowly rotate your hand around the centre until the batter fills up the entire circle. Push the tip close to the batter as you finish so that the last bit of batter leaving the bag flows into the rest of the rosette instead of trailing off with the bag. Pipe

6: REST AND BAKE

Rest the macarons for 30-60 minutes until it skin forms. Rosette macarons can take longer to rest. To test, touch the macaron, if a skin has formed no macaron should come off on your finger. Even if you think a skin has formed, leave it for another 15 or so minutes. It’s harder for the grooves inside the rosette to form a skin and this can cause cracking if they haven’t formed a skin properly.

Bake for 20 minutes at 150C/300F. Oven timing and temperature can take a little practise to get right when making macarons. If your oven has hot spots, turn the macarons every 5 minutes. Remove the macarons from the oven after the time has lapsed, or when you push the macaron shells on their feet and they do not move.

How to make Rose Buttercream Filling

The rose macaron filling is made with butter, pink gel coloring, powdered sugar and rose water. It’s super simple to make. For best results make sure the butter is softened.

Place the butter in a mixing bowl (or bowl of a stand mixer). Beat in a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer until smooth, add in the powdered sugar, pink gel coloring and rose water. Beat well until everything is smooth, creamy and mixed well. If the frosting is too soft, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of powdered sugar or place it in the fridge to firm up. Fill into a piping bag with a small round tip and pipe a little mound into the one side of each flat macaron shell. Place a Rosette shell on top.

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR SUCCESSFUL MACARONS

MACARON EGG WHITES

When making macarons, it is best to use room temperature egg whites. This ensures the egg white will whip well when turning it into meringue. If the eggs are cold, place them in a bowl of hot tap water for 10-15 minutes to allow them to come up to room temperature quickly. If time permits age egg whites for best results. Break egg whites into a bowl and cover lightly with plastic wrap, place in the fridge for 1-2 days before using.

MEASURE THE INGREDIENTS FOR MACARONS FIRST

Since macarons can be temperamental it’s important that the ingredients used are measured correctly. Using a digital scale is the best way to achieve accurate measurements for the ingredients used in macarons. Measure the ingredients before you start as the macaron making process if fairly quick and having everything ready to go makes it a lot easier.

BEST BOWL TO USE FOR MACARONS

Macarons are reliant on the whipping of the meringue, a meringue cannot form if there is any fat present. Make sure you don’t get any egg yolks in your whites. It’s also important that the bowl you use is clean and free from any fat, the best way to prepare the bowl is to give it a wipe down with some vinegar. Use a glass or metal bowl as fat is cleaned off the surface more easily. Plastic bowls can hold onto fat and are not as easily cleaned.

MATS FOR MACARONS

I like to use silicone baking mats for Macarons. I do find them easy to use and macarons are lifted off easily, however before I had purchased these I used parchment/baking paper with no issues.

FOLDING MACARONS / MACARONAGE

For rosette macarons it’s best not to do a full macaronage for anything that needs to be piped to hold shape. Mix the almond flour and powdered sugar until it is just incorporated, the batter should still be thick so it can be piped and hold shape. For shells that will not be piped, follow the macaronage tip below.

The art of folding macarons is referred to as macaronage. This is where a lot can go wrong, it is best to mix your almond meal and confectioners/icing sugar in a gentle folding motion, until the batter flows like lava off the spoon and can form a figure 8 a few times before breaking.

RESTING MACARONS

Rest the macarons after piping. This is an important step in the macaron making process. The resting helps form a skin which then allows the macarons to rise, form feet and have a crisp shell. Depending on the temperature and weather where you are, the macarons may require different lengths of time to rest. Between 15-45 minutes. You can test if the macarons have rested by touching a macaron with the tip of your finger, if some of the macaron mixture sticks, they’ll require a longer time, if nothing sticks then they are well rested.

TEST THE OVEN FOR MACARONS

Macarons can be finicky about temperatures, yes, it’s almost like they have a mind of their own. You may have to test a few times to see what works best with your oven. I’ve found macarons can be baked between 120c – 150c with great results, you just have to extend the cooking time when baking at lower temperatures. For my oven I bake my macarons at 150c/300F for 20 minutes. It’s also a good idea to flip your tray at 5-10 minute intervals if your oven has hot spots.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Why did my macaron rosette not hold shape?

If the batter was too flowy or loose when piping, the rosette pattern won’t be visible. It’s best to mix the batter until it just comes together, it should still be quite thick.

How to store macarons?

Macarons can be stored in the fridge in an air-tight container for a week or in the freezer for 3 months. In fact it is best to store filled macarons the next day. Storing them in the fridge for 1-2 days before eating matures the macarons, allowing the filling and shells to meld together to create a deliciously perfect morsel.

Why are my macarons hollow?

There can be many reasons for this, it’s hard to say. Macarons can be over/under beaten in the macaronage stage. They can be baked too high or too low. It can be a tricky thing to fix, and requires further testing.

Why are my macarons cracked?

This commonly happens if the macarons have not had enough time to rest or the oven temperature is too high. The best way to tell if the macarons have rested enough is to touch it with your finger, if nothing comes off onto your finger, they are rested.

Why are my macarons hard or crunchy?

It’s quite normal for macarons to be hard or crunchy, this sometimes happens if the macarons have been over-baked. There is an easy fix for this one, fill your macarons and let them mature in the fridge for 24 or more hours. This process allows the filling to soften the macaron creating the perfect crumbly melt in your mouth texture.

More Macaron Recipes

• Donut Macarons
• Peanut Butter Macarons
• Passionfruit Macarons
• Pistachio Macarons