0 Burger Macarons

For months I have been obsessed with the idea of a Parisian macaron (gerbet) that looks like a burger. I finally got around to making some just in time to celebrate the upcoming Father's Day, a day typically associated with the outdoors and firing up the grill, on June 19th. And what is more father- and grill- friendly than burgers?

The macarons that I make always seem to look like little burgers. So instead of fighting my macaron's burger-like quality, I decided to embrace it fully with these whimsical "burger" macarons. I sprinkled some sesame seeds on my macaron shells before baking them so that they would look like burger buns.


For the burger patty, I felt a ganache or buttercream would be too smooth. I wanted something that had the texture of a real burger. So I made a chunky sesame butter by grinding sesame seeds with a bit of oil and salt. I combined that with some melted milk chocolate. I used milk instead of semisweet or bittersweet since its mild chocolate flavor would not overwhelm that of the sesame. I formed the chocolate sesame mixture into patties.




To complete the burger theme I had to come up with a couple garnishes. I didn't want to use colored fondant since that would be just for looks and not flavor. I wanted to use ingredients that would complement the milk chocolate and sesame filling as well as the almond shell. I like the combination of sesame with coconut, so I tinted some dried, shredded coconut with a tiny bit of green food dye. Voila - lettuce! And for those that like a little tomato on their burger, I thinly sliced sour cherries.



I haven't quite gotten the hang of making a good looking macaron shell yet. I keep trying but my shell is not correct. It's always smooth but very tissue thin instead of delicately sturdy. But at least my shells are not wrinkled. And I still haven't eliminated that air pocket under the shell. Oh, and that foot. The ruffled foot is never quite right. It sticks out beyond the border of the shell.

I've been using the French meringue method where the granulated sugar is beaten in with the egg whites. After so many not quite successful attempts using the French meringue method, I think I should explore other ones like the Italian meringue method where a hot sugar syrup is added to the egg whites. All in due time.

But in the meantime, please enjoy the cuteness of my "burger" macarons.

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