Raspberry gin macarons

This is great way to use good quality fruit gins in cooking – as if excused are needed! You could even serve these with a glass of gin and tonic for the ultimate indulgence….

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I love fruit-flavoured gins and often incorporate them in my baking – for example, as a boozy drizzle for a cake or to add to a buttercream. Here, the gin is used to add punch to the chocolate ganache filling, with dried raspberries scattered on top.

I had not made macarons in many months, so a batch was hollering through the cold, foggy nights at me, begging to be made. January might be a dry month for some – in which case, save the recipe for at least February! – but the making of good macarons is for any time.

Mastering macarons for 2022?

If mastering the art of macarons is on your list of things to do this year, look no further than my macaron making post*. It has a step-by-step guide, along with top tips and troubleshooting for making great macarons every time. It is also the recipe I use each time I teach macaron making classes, giving consistently great results.

*The recipe can be found here. If you have never made macarons before or if you have had many macaron disasters, it’s really worth reading it through fully.

Recipe: raspberry gin macarons

Note: I used dried raspberry powder in the shells so that there is a hint of raspberry flavour in the shells themselves. Fruit powders are now widely available online, but if you can’t get hold of the powder, you can leave it out.

Macaron shells:

• standard recipe here plus:
• 8g raspberry powder (about a heaped teaspoon)

Raspberry gin ganache filling:

• 200ml double cream
• 2 tablespoons sieved raspberry purée  (or 3 teaspoons raspberry powder)
• 200g dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
• 50ml raspberry gin – add a splash more if you wish!

To finish (all optional!):

• a little melted chocolate (dark, milk, white, ruby….)
• a few dried raspberry pieces

(1) Make the macaron mixture: if colouring them, add a little colouring powder/gel of choice. If using raspberry powder, add it to the egg white and sugar as you make the meringue.

(2) Once the macarons mixture has been piped and rested, bake them and leave to cool on the trays for at least an hour.

(3) For the raspberry and gin ganache filling: heat the cream until it comes to the boil. Remove from the heat and leave for about 10 minutes to cool down a little. Stir in the gin.

(4) Put the chocolate in a bowl and pour the warm cream over it. Leave for a few minutes and then gently stir to melt the chocolate and give a glossy mixture. Stir in the raspberry purée. Cover and leave to cool fully and firm up a bit or until it is at spreadable or pipeable consistency.

(5) Spoon or pipe a little of the filling on half of the baked macaron shells. Place the remaining macaron shells on top and lightly pat down or twist a little.

(6) Drizzle or pipe over melted chocolate and scatter over over a few dried raspberry pieces (this will stick to the chocolate before it sets). If you prefer, you can do the chocolate piping before assembling the macarons – just leave them to set before sandwiching the macarons together.

(7) Pleace in an airtight container and refrigerate – ideally overnight to “mature”, when they will develop a delicious chew to them. You can also freeze them fully assembled.