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Nut Free Raspberry Truffle Macarons on a white plate with truffled raspberries
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Nut Free Raspberry Truffle Macarons

These Nut Free Raspberry Truffle Macarons have a raspberry buttercream filling with a chocolate ganache center. They are gluten free French macarons with the flavors of a raspberry truffle.
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 30 minutes
Dry Time 40 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 10 minutes
Servings 24 cookies (approx.)
Author Meghan

Equipment

  • 1 small wire whisk
  • 1 small wire strainer
  • 1 digital kitchen scale
  • 2 macarons mats optional
  • 2 half baking sheets
  • disposable piping bags
  • Piping bag holder optional
  • medium round tip such as #12
  • 1 food dedicated paint palette optional
  • 1 disposable transfer pipette
  • 1 food-safe paintbrush

Ingredients

For the Raspberry Buttercream:

  • 1 cup raspberries fresh or frozen
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 pound powdered sugar
  • 16 tablespoon butter at room temperature
  • 1 dash table salt

For the Ganache:

  • 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate coarsely chopped
  • ½ cup heavy cream

For the Macaron Shells:

  • 126 grams oat flour
  • 126 grams powdered sugar
  • 100 grams egg whites see note
  • ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 90 grams granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract see note
  • pink and white food coloring gel

Decorations (optional):

  • pink edible glitter or luster dust
  • clear alcohol such as Everclear or vodka

Instructions

Make the Raspberry Puree:

  • Add the raspberries and lemon juice to a saucepan over medium heat.
    frozen raspberries in a saucepan with a small silicone spatula
  • After the mixture heats up for a few minutes, mash the raspberries then allow it to simmer for about 10 minutes so it reduces and thickens.
    raspberry puree cooking in a saucepan
  • Strain the mixture into a bowl through a fine mesh sieve, and discard any solids. Cover the raspberry mixture and chill until cold, about 2 hours.
    strained raspberry puree in a bowl with a small purple silicone spatula

Prepare the Macaron Batter:

  • Place a macaron mat on each of 2 baking sheets. You can also use parchment paper with 1-inch circles drawn on underneath. Set these aside.
  • Place a medium round tip, like a #12, in a disposable piping bag with a plastic tip coupler to keep it in place. Twist the bag just above the tip and secure with a small binder clip. Fold over the top of the bag and place it in a tall glass or in a piping bag holder so it will be easy to fill with the batter. Set this aside.
    empty piping bag held open with a bag holder next to pans with macaron mats
  • Sift together the oat flour and the powdered sugar in a medium-sized bowl, then whisk to combine them completely. Set this bowl aside.
    sifted powdered sugar and oat flour in a bowl mixed together
  • Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on medium-high until frothy. Add the cream of tartar, then slowly add the granulated sugar, one spoonful at a time, with the mixer still running.
  • Once soft peaks form, add the vanilla extract and food coloring gel and continue to beat the mixture until the meringue forms stiff peaks. Remove the bowl from the mixer.
    stiff peak meringue on a wire whisk attachment of a stand mixer
  • Using a silicone spatula, carefully fold ⅓ of the flour/powdered sugar mixture into the meringue. Then, add the remaining ⅔ of the flour mixture and continue folding until just before reaching the figure 8 stage. See note.
    dry ingredients being folded into meringue to make macarons
  • Once the batter is the proper consistency, transfer it to the prepared piping bag.
    macaron batter in a piping bag being held open by a piping bag holder
  • Remove the small clip to allow the batter to flow into the piping tip. Pipe 1-inch circles of batter onto the first macaron mat.
    light pink macaron batter piped in circles on a macaron mat
  • Slam the tray down hard on the counter or a table several times to force any air bubbles to the surface. If desired, take a toothpick or scribe tool and pop large bubbles then smooth out the hole left after the bubble pops.
  • Pipe the batter onto the second macaron mat. You will not fill the entire mat.
  • Allow the batter to dry at room temperature for 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300°F and make the buttercream and ganache.

Make the Raspberry Buttercream:

  • Cream the room temperature butter with the salt for a few minutes on medium speed with an electric or stand mixer. If you are using unsalted butter, you may want to use more salt.
  • Gradually beat in the powdered sugar while mixing on low speed.
    buttercream in a mixing bowl and a wire whisk attachment
  • Add the raspberry reduction 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired color and consistency are reached. Cover the bowl until ready to fill macarons.
    a bowl of raspberry buttercream

Make the Ganache:

  • Place the chocolate in the top of a double boiler and melt above simmering water (or use microwave to melt, being careful to heat on 50% power and for short amounts of time, stirring often). The chocolate should be just melted and only warm, not hot.
    chocolate melted in a glass bowl with a small silicone spatula
  • Bring the cream just to a boil in a small saucepan. As soon as it boils, remove from heat and pour the hot cream over the chocolate.
    heated cream poured on top of melted chocolate in a glass bowl with a green rubber spatula
  • Stir very gently with a rubber spatula until the mixture is smooth and shiny.
    chocolate ganache in a glass bowl with a small silicone spatula
  • Allow the ganache to cool at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until it is a pipable consistency.

Bake the Macaron Shells:

  • Bake the macaron shells for 12-15 minutes, rotating the pan once about 7 minutes into the bake. Only bake one pan at at time.
    light pink macaron shells baked on a macaron mat
  • Allow the shells to cool completely on the mats before removing them. To remove more easily, push up on the mat from underneath to help them pop off. If you have trouble with them sticking, that may mean they are underbaked. Some of the shells in the center of the tray may have a little bit of sticking. Very carefully use a stiff metal spatula to pry them off the mat, taking care not to rip the shell.
    light pink macaron shells on a mat from the side to show the feet and the height
  • The cooled shells can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer, or you can fill them immediately.

Paint the Shells (optional):

  • Mix edible pink luster dust and edible pink glitter in the well of a food dedicated paint palette with clear alcohol, such as Everclear or vodka.
    a macaron shell in the center of a paint palette with pink luster dust suspension in one of the wells
  • Dip the paintbrush into the liquid and then quickly brush across the surface and sides of the macaron shells. Sprinkle the shells with edible pink glitter for extra sparkle, if desired.
    a macaron shell on a paint palette with food grade paintbrush and luster dust suspension

Assemble the Macarons:

  • Because the macarons will be sandwiched, pair up the shells by size. You want the top and bottom of the sandwich cookie to match as closely as possible.
  • Add the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a medium round tip, like a #12. Add the ganache to a piping bag with the tip cut off.
    macaron shells paired up on a baking sheet next to piping bags of raspberry buttercream and ganache
  • Pipe the buttercream as a border around the flat side of each of the bottom shells.
    raspberry buttercream piped as a dam on the bottom shells of macaron pairs
  • Fill the center with ganache.
    a single macaron with a raspberry buttercream dam and chocolate ganache center before being sandwiched together
  • Pick up the top shell by the edges and carefully place on top, pressing down very gently to adhere. Repeat with all macarons.
  • You will have leftover raspberry buttercream and ganache. The ganache can be piped into washed raspberries.

Notes

I highly recommend weighing the ingredients listed in grams with a digital kitchen scale. French macarons are notoriously finicky and require precise measurements.
Use cracked whole eggs, not store bought egg whites. 100 grams of egg whites is the equivalent of the whites from about 3⅓ large eggs.
Clear vanilla extract can be used in place of traditional vanilla extract if you want a lighter batter that is easier to tint with food coloring. You could also use a different flavor of extract if you prefer, such as almond extract or imitation almond extract to keep the macarons nut free.
"Macaronage," the process of folding the dry ingredients into the meringue, is the trickiest step of macaron making. The batter will be too thick if you under mix it or too thin if you over mix it. I refer you to two resources with visuals as to when the batter is ready to be piped: America's Test Kitchen and Le Cordon Bleu.
1 pound of powdered sugar is about 4 cups.
Extra ganache can be used to make Chocolate Truffle Raspberries
Store the cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a few days to allow them to mature and improve in texture. If refrigerated, allow the cookies to come to near room temperature before serving so the buttercream can soften. Unfilled shells or assembled macarons can be frozen.
Source: Raspberry buttercream recipe from Preppy Kitchen
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