Pandan Coconut Macaron with Lychee Ganache filling

Happy St. Patrick's Day! This is my first real post. I've been dying to make macarons for awhile but I've been a little scared. But with a 2 month old and a lot of time at home I figured now is the best time to try. Now Macarons aren't Irish I know but I made them green so it's ok. :)

Traditional french macarons are made with almond flour or almond meal. Neither of which I had on hand. But I did have brown rice flour and after a little googling I discovered I could make macarons with rice flour. Huzzah! (perfect for those with nut allergies btw)

The best part of macarons are all the insane and endless flavor combinations. Of course I had to include some Asian flavors. I know I wanted to use Pandan (because it's green!) Pandan is slightly nutty and has an earthy vanilla flavor, it goes well with coconut. I chose a lychee filling because it's delicious and we had a giant can in the pantry.


Pandan Coconut (Rice) Macarons with Lychee Ganache Filling

Ingredients


Macaron shells

• 3/4 C Rice Flour ( I used organic brown rice flour)
• 1 C. Powdered Sugar
• 3/4 C. granulated sugar
• 1/2 Tsp. Pandan paste
• 4 Egg whites
• 1/4 C. shredded coconut
• pinch of salt

1. In a medium bowl sift rice flour and powdered sugar, and coconut- set to the side.

2. In a large bowl whip salt, egg whites and granulated sugar. When I say whip, I mean whip the living shamrock out of it. A good solid ten minutes. Use an electric mixer so your hand doesn't fall off. Three things to look for: Stiff peaks, glossy and white. (Like marshmallow fluff) 

3. Stir in 1/3 of rice flour/sugar mixture into egg whites. Then fold in the rest with a spatula. After partially mixed add the Pandan paste and continue to fold. The mixture should be the consistency of molten lava ( All the macaron recipes I researched said THIS and trust me because one batch I made that did not look lava did not bake correctly so I assume its true!)

4. Preheat Oven to 320 F. (The recipe I worked off of said 325 F but my shells browned a bit so I turned it down and they browned less. haha still working out that kink)  Transfer batter to a pastry bag with a round tip attached. Squeeze out rounds on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Leave enough space in between because they will spread. Tap the baking sheet down two or three times to release air bubbles. Let the shells sit out for 20-30 mins or until a skin forms on the top. Then bake for 15 mins. 

Lychee Cream Ganache

• 4 oz. heavy cream
• 1/4 C. Pink Candy Melts ( I had these on hand but for future use I'd use white chocolate chips)
• 4 tbsp. Lychee syrup

1. In a saucepan boil heavy cream and lychee syrup together, until it thickens a bit.

2.  In a microwave safe bowl heat candy melts for 15 sec and then stir. Repeat til melted.

3. Add cream mixture to candy melts and stir until blended. Then refrigerate for 30 mins.

* The candy melts are extremely sweet and the lychee flavor was not strong enough for me so next time I'll add more syrup and use white choc chips with a tad food coloring for that pink color. Practice makes perfect.

Once the macaron shells are baked. Let them cool completely. Pipe the ganache on one side and then sandwich the cookies! Ta-da!!

* My macarons browned a bit and were a little crunchy so will work on the oven temp but overall good for my first attempt.