MANGO MACARONS

If you haven't come across aquafaba yet, then it's time to get in the know. I found out about it a few months ago while searching for a vegan meringue recipe and I've been fascinated by it ever since.

Aquafaba refers to the brine you get in a can of chickpeas (and as I've discovered, the brine from butter beans work quite well too). This unassuming liquid can be used as an egg replacer in a host of vegan recipes, most notably for meringue. For a visual on how this works, you can check out my short YouTube video below on how to make vegan meringue.

As for this particular recipe, the meringue is used as the base for the macaron batter. For the filling, I've gone for a raw, sugar-free mango cashew cream that can be whipped up in a matter of seconds. It's a fun alternative to the usual ganache or buttercream filling. Hope you like it, give it a try and experiment with other flavours.

*Note: Best to consume on the same day as the macarons soak up the moisture from the mango-cashew cream overnight!

Ingredients

For the macarons:

- liquid from 1 can of chickpeas

- 1 cup icing sugar

- 1 tsp cream of tartar

- 1 tsp vanilla

- 3/4 cup ground almonds

- chopped mango

For the mango cashew cream filling:

- 1/2 cup ground cashews

- 1 cup soaked cashews

- 1 ripe mango

To make the macarons, whisk the chickpea brine, cream of tartar, icing sugar and vanilla on high speed for 10-15 minutes until solid peaks form (watch the YouTube tutorial video).

Add the ground almonds and beat the mixture with a spoon until well combined...don't worry too much about losing air bubbles. You want a glossy, smooth batter.

Transfer the mixture into a piping bag and pipe flat rounds that are roughly the same size onto a tray lined with baking paper. 

Top half the macaron rounds with a little chopped mango and extra chopped almonds.

Leave the macarons in a warm place and allow them to dry out slightly for 3-4 hours (or overnight if possible).

Bake in the oven at 100°C for 20-25 minutes. Leave them to cool completely before peeling them off the baking paper.

To make the filling, blend the ground cashews, soaked cashews and ripe mango until you have a thick, creamy consistency. Place in the freezer for about 1 hour to allow it to thicken some more.

Sandwich the macarons together with generous amounts of the mango cashew filling. Done!