Vegan Vanilla & Jasmine Macarons

It's half term and my kids want to bake.  They decide that macarons are what we must make, but I've never attempted a vegan version of this somewhat tricky delicacy .... until now! I know that people all over the place are making gorgeous macarons without eggs and they are meant to be absolutely delicious - so here we go.

To those of you who are regular bakers it will probably come as no surprise that the secret ingredient in these vegan macarons is aquafaba – the vegan chickpea water that replaces egg whites in meringues, pavlovas and vegan chocolate mousse.  My kids are a little grossed out by this ... but quite frankly its a whole lot nicer than an egg (in my opinion).

Vegan Vanilla and Jasmine Macarons
Makes 28-30 macarons

Ingredients
For The Shells:
350g aquafaba – from 2 x 400g tins of chickpeas in water (not salted water)
180g icing sugar
180g ground almonds
100ml strong brewed jasmine tea
180g golden caster sugar
Seeds ½ vanilla pod, scraped
 - if you want to create a more interestingly colour macaron then you can add gel food colour and gold petal dust, optional

For Vegan Vanilla Buttercream:
100g vegan butter 
250g icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

You will also need:
5 x (13in x 9in) baking trays lined with silicone greaseproof paper
Piping bags
1cm round piping nozzle
Sugar thermometer
Stand mixer with whisk attachment

Method

1. Take two 400g tins chickpeas and pour the liquids into a bowl on a weighing scale. Weigh out 350g.
2. Pour the mixture into a pan and simmer until the liquids have reduced to 150g. Pour into a bowl and cover with clingfilm. Allow to cool, and then place in the fridge overnight.
3. The next day, sift the ground almonds and icing sugar into a bowl. Add 60g of the chilled chickpea liquids and stir to combine.
4. Pour the rest of the chickpea liquids into a clean, grease-free stand mixer. Turn the mixer on to medium speed. It will start getting foamy.
5. Pour the jasmine tea into a pan and add the caster sugar. Boil until the mixture registers 115C on a sugar thermometer.
6. Turn the mixer on high speed and carefully but quickly pour the sugar syrup into the whipped aquafaba.
7. Add the vanilla and beat the mixture for 10 minutes. It won’t be massively voluminous but it’ll become thick, glossy and rather like marshmallow fluff. After 10 minutes, you should have a mixture that resembles a bird’s beak on the whisk when it’s pulled up.
8. Add the almond mixture to the meringue and use a spatula to incorporate fully. Use a spatula to make sure it’s well mixed, pressing it against the sides of the bowl and folding, 20 times or so. The batter should look like light and airy molten lava, dropping off the spatula and becoming one with the mixture within 10-15 seconds. 
9. Fill a piping bag fitted with a 1cm round tip with the macaron batter. Add any colours you might want to use.
10. Take your pre-lined trays and pipe the macarons from straight above, not on a slant. If your batter is the correct consistency, you’ll see it spread slightly and smooth out within 30 seconds or so for each round.
11. Once all your macarons are piped, give each tray a firm but steady bang on the countertop.
12. Allow the macarons to air-dry in a cool place for about 2 hours.
13. Pre-heat the oven to 150C.  To make the vegan buttercream, beat all the ingredients together until light and fluffy.
14. Once the tops of the macarons are touch-dry, bake the macarons, one tray at a time. Once the tray is in the oven (middle rack), turn the temperature right down to 115C. Set the oven timer to cook for 25 minutes. During the time they’re in the oven, pay to your oven’s hotspots and turning the tray if you need to (after the first five minutes if you do).
15. Remove the tray from the oven and allow to cool. Repeat the baking process for each tray.  While the last tray is in the oven, remove the ganache from the fridge and whip it until fluffy and light. Add vanilla if you like.
16. Once the macarons have cooled fully, gently peel them away from the greaseproof paper.  Match the macarons up by shell size. Pipe the ganache or vegan buttercream onto one half and gently press the two shells together for the perfect macaron sandwich. Decorate as you wish.
17. They taste better the next day. Line an airtight container with kitchen paper and arrange the macarons in a single layer. Put the lid on and refrigerate overnight.