Pandan Coconut Macarons w/Ginger Filling


The latest MacTweets challenge asked for a combination of fruit and spice in a macaron. I had been thinking of testing out a pandan (screwpine) mac for a while now. I love the smell and flavor of pandan, even though I've never actually seen or tried the leaves, and only purchased the bright green paste at Asian stores.








It's very similar to vanilla but more grassy--that's about the only way I can really describe it. It's commonly grown in Asian countries and very often paired with coconut. It can be made sweet or savory, and I really enjoy a delicious pandan chiffon cake. If you can get your hands on the paste or the leaves, I highly recommend it!
Pandan reminds me of my Thai roommate in college who was the first to introduce me to the paste. This is a very Thai macaron in tribute to her!




Although I'm not a huge fan of coconut in desserts, it tastes so much better to me when combined with pandan. Or it may be more the texture of coconut in desserts that I dislike, I'm not sure...






I made a ginger cream cheese filling that turned out rather delicious. The combination of the three flavors really worked well! I also swapped the almond and the powdered sugar ratio to make it slightly less sweet.

Pandan Coconut Macarons w/Ginger Filling
Makes about 15


2 large egg whites
1 cup almond meal
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp pandan paste
5 tbs granulated sugar
pinch of salt
3 tbs ground coconut


Beat the egg whites with the 5 tbs of granulated sugar and the pinch of salt for about 10 minutes, until it gets glossy and sticky. You should be able to hold the bowl over your head without the egg whites moving an inch!
Sift the almond meal and the powdered sugar and the coconut into the egg white mixture, add the pandan paste, and fold together. Try not to overfold.... scrape around and into the middle of the bowl, slow and steady. The batter should be well incorporated and the consistency of molten lava. If it gets to pancake batter texture, you've over-mixed.


Pour the batter into a piping bag with a round tip. Lay out a baking sheet with a silpat mat or parchment paper. Hold the bag perpendicular to the mat a couple inches above and pipe out circles. Leave space between each to allow the macaron to spread!


Leave the mat out for at least 20 minutes and then bake at 280 degrees F for 16 minutes.
Let cool before taking off the sheets and filling.


Ginger Filling
8 oz cream cheese
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp ginger (add more according to taste)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream


Beat the heavy whipping cream in a bowl till you achieve stiff peaks. In a separate bowl, beat all the other ingredients till well combined. Then fold in the heavy whipping cream till it's all combined.


Comments

  1. How fascinating and intriguing all of these exotic (to me) flavors. And what pretty macarons. I love your adventurous flavor combination and a perfect treat for Mactweets this month! Thrilled you baked these with us! Beautiful! (and great idea to add ground dried coconut to the shells; I want to try this!)

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  2. Wow what fantastic flavors and such pretty green macs. I just bought some pandan extract. You've inspired me to use it.

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  3. Your Thai flavoured macarons look delicious and the colour - just perfect.

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  4. These are gorgeous! I imagine they'd be a little taste of heaven!

    Great blog; happy I found you!

    Mary xo
    Delightful Bitefuls

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  5. they look soo pretty, and surely they will be delicious to make, but i can't read the pandan paste in the recipe..is it just me ???

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  6. Thanks for all the comments!
    @dayana, thanks for noticing! I can't believe I left out the major component in the recipe list!
    I re-edited the post :)

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  7. Speechless, feeling very loved right now. <3

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  8. Wow...they look amazing! I have never tried pandan but may be it is time. Btw, love you site!

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  9. What a beautiful tribute for your friend and what absolutely genius flavours. I love it when we get adventurous with flavours...and these have come out winners! Beautiful macarons and a gorgeous blog! Thank you for joining us at MacTweets Amrita!

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  10. Oh, your macs are so deliciously Asian--some of the flavors I really miss, especially pandan. I bet they taste as good as they look.

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  11. Wow, they're so perfect! This reminds me of the lop-sided macarons we tried to make. oops! tehe

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  12. These look great!
    I need to make a NUT-FREE version. Can i
    substitute the almond meal with dried-dessicated coconut (If I grind these really fine)?

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  13. That may actually work!
    or, someone posted a nut-free version here: http://honestcooking.com/2011/06/22/nut-free-macaron-recipe/

    Let me know if only coconuts work too though, I'm intrigued!

    :)

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