Ginger Macarons with Orange Sugar Buttercream

Ingredients

Ginger Macarons

100 g. egg whites

25 g. white sugar

200 g. powdered sugar

110 g. ground almond meal

1 tsp. ground ginger

dried orange zest (optional)

Directions

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites into a foam, gradually adding the sugar. Continue to beat into a meringue.
Sift together powdered sugar, ginger, and almond meal to remove any clumps. Gently sift into meringue gradually folding in, usually as few strokes as possible. Test a teaspoon of batter by pouring onto a plate. If it flatten slightly, you’re ready. If it remains stiff, give it a few more strokes. Err on the side of under-mixed.
Moving quickly fill a disposable pastry bag with the macaron batter with a ¾ inch wide cut end. Pipe small rounds one inch in diameter and one inch apart, onto the baking sheets. Allow to rest for half an hour. Sprinkle the tops with dried orange zest.
Preheat the oven to 300.
Bake for 15-20 minutes. My experience is that if the macarons are hard to remove from the paper, they need more time to bake. Allow to cool on the pan and then remove. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to fill.

Orange Sugar Buttercream
½ cup butter
½ tsp. vanilla
1 cup confectioner’s sugar1 cup powdered orange sugar (pulse sugar cubes in a food processor)
Whip with a paddle attachment: butter, and vanilla until creamy then whip in the sugars.

Recipe Credit: Cherry Tea Cakes