To coincide with Pride Week, I decided to make these fun macarons to celebrate and show my support. This is a fun and easy technique that looks way more complicated than it really is. If you're not a macaron fan, you can use this for any whipped topping or butter cream.

Rainbow Macarons (recipe makes 200 macaron shells)

Italian Meringue Method: 

65g. Water

250g. Sugar

90g. Egg whites; room temperature

250g. Almond powder

250g. Icing sugar

90g. Egg whites; room temperature

Food coloring gel (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple)

Directions:

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, bring sugar (250g) and water (65g.) to a boil. Allow to cook until it reaches 115’C (softball stage) on a candy thermometer. In the bowl of a stand mixer, begin beating the egg whites (90g) at moderate speed, slowly pour boiling syrup.  Increase speed to moderately fast and beat until cool and the egg whites form stiff, shining, upstanding peaks.

2. Combine almond flour (250g.) and powdered sugar (250g.) in a food processor, pulsing until ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. Sift into a large bowl and set aside. When the meringue is just about ready, mix in egg whites (second 90g.). This will create a ‘polenta-like’ mixture.

3. Fold the meringue into the wet almond mixture. Stop folding when the mixture is evenly combined and the viscosity of lava or molasses.

Preparing piping bag:

Fit a disposable piping bag with a straight, round tip. Using a dry paint brush, carefully paint lines using the color food gel that go the length of the piping bag. Start with red, and moving in a clockwise direction follow up with orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.

4. Carefully place macaron batter into the piping bag. When piped, the macarons hold a peak for about a second or two, and then they gradually find their round shape and flatten off.

5. Rest macarons until they appear dull and are no longer tacky to touch. Bake at 275’F for 10 minutes. Allow the macarons to cool before transferring to cooling rack.

6. Once completely cool, fill with ganache, butter cream, or another filling. Macarons are best enjoyed 24 hours after filling. This allows the shells to set and the filling to rehydrate centres.

 Madalina Paul is the blogger behind Duhlicious, a food blog dedicated to creating and sharing unique and original recipes for great tasting food and featuring tutorials, food news, and culinary adventures.