Inspiration comes in the strangest places sometimes. I saw this recipe for vegan tiramisu last week and though it was gorgeous, and immediately wanted to make tiramisu macarons. Like most things in my life, it took about 3 days before I was actually able to make the attempt. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to infuse coffee liqueur into the shells, so I would suggest eating these with a shot of Kahlua.
Since today is World Vegan Day, it seemed like a good day to share the recipe. I’m actually going to be bringing these to a work potluck later, and I’m sure they’re going to be well received! Who can resist chocolate, coffee, and buttercream!?
As always, I have Charis at Floral Frosting, to thank for the macaron recipe. You also should take a look at the Vegan Meringue Facebook group for more amazing recipes. If you have trouble with the directions, try reading my troubleshooting guide for a little more in depth description.
Ingredients:
• 100 ml of reduced aquafaba (close to 1/3 cup)
• 1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 100g granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
• 125g almond meal (1 1/4 cup)
• 65g confectioners sugar (1/2 cup)
• 1 tbsp instant coffee powder hydrated with 1-2 tsp vanilla extract
Filling:
• 2 tbsp vegan butter
• 2-3 cups confectioners sugar
• 2 tbsp vegan cream cheese
• 1-2 tsp plant milk
• semisweet chocolate shavings (I like Trader Joe’s brand chocolate chips!)
Directions:
1. Reduce 200 ml of aquafaba in a small pan over medium heat until you have 100ml. (Make sure you’re using liquid measuring cups!) Refrigerate overnight.
2. With a clean bowl and beaters, begin whipping aquafaba until soft peaks form. Add the apple cider vinegar and continue whipping until the mixture can no longer move when you tilt the bowl.
3. Slowly add granulated sugar to your soft peak aquafaba, 1 tablespoon at a time and beat for at least 30 seconds after each addition. When all of the sugar is incorporated, your meringue should be stiff and glossy and hold peaks when you remove the beaters.
Add vanilla extract/coffee infusion and beat to blend.
4. If you have a rougher texture of almond meal, sift it together with the confectioners sugar and grind up any large bits that won’t fit through you sieve in a spice grinder or food processor. If it’s fine enough to pass through a sieve, just sift the two together.
5. Pass half of the almond/confectioners sugar mixture through the sieve into the meringue. Use a flexible spatula to fold the mixture into the meringue. When there are no more large dry clumps, sift in the rest of the almond/confectioners sugar into the meringue and fold it to incorporate.
6. Once all of the almond meal is mixed and there are no large streaks of meringue or dry clumps, begin macaronnage. Push the batter against the side of the bowl to deflate and scoop from underneath. Check every few strokes by letting a piece of batter fall off the spatula onto the remaining batter. If it melds back into the batter within 20 seconds, stop there. If it still holds its shape, give it a few more strokes.
7. Pour batter into a piping bag fitted with a round tip, with a clip above the tip. When you are ready to pipe, remove the clip and twist the open end of the piping bag shut.
8. Pipe batter onto parchment lined baking sheets from a 90° angle. Squeeze from the back of the piping bag and let the batter spread into a circle beneath the tip while holding it straight up and down. Repeat until you run out of batter (depending on how large you pipe it, this could require two trays.)
9. Tap the trays 2-3 times on the counter to loosen any bubbles and smooth out any peaks. Sprinkle cocoa powder on half of the shells.
Let dry for three hours, preferably with a fan blowing on the tops if you are in a humid region. The tops should be nice and dull after an hour or so, but you should be able to tap the top without any tackiness before baking.
10. Preheat oven to just under 215° F. When oven is preheated, place pan on TOP rack of the oven for 30 minutes. Turn oven off after 30 minutes and leave pan in the closed oven for another 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let the pan come to room temperature before removing any shells.
11. While shells are baking, beat vegan butter and cream cheese until fluffy and add confectioners sugar. Use plant milk to thin, if necessary. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Put in a piping bag with a round tip.
12. When the macaron shells are completely cooled, gently peel them off the parchment paper. Pipe buttercream in the center of each shell, sprinkle chocolate shavings on top, and top with a similar sized shell.
13. Refrigerate for 24 hours for the best texture.
Avocados and Ales 
Thanks for the mention! Well chuffed, been following your blog for a while x the macarons look to die for!
Of course! You and Levan are a constant inspiration! You should definitely blog about the jackfruit 😉