Salted caramel macarons have a flavor burst of sweet caramel with a hint of salt.
Salted caramel macarons are filled with 2 separate fillings. The first filling is salted caramel buttercream which is piped along the outer edge of the macaron.
The center filling is a spoonful of gooey and thick salted caramel sauce.
Salted caramel sauce needs to be made before your macaron shells are made to give it sufficient time to cool down.
You only need a small amount of sauce in the center of the macarons to have a burst of delicious caramel flavor. If you put too much sauce in the center of the macaron, it can run down the sides of the macarons, or leak it’s way through the shell.
Salted Caramel Macaron Filling Recipe
How to make salted caramel filling for macarons
Yield: 40 macarons
Materials
Salted Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup sugar granulated
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup butter unsalted
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp salt
Salted Caramel Buttercream
- 1/3 cup butter unsalted, room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2.5 tbsp salted caramel sauce
- 1 tsp milk
Instructions
Salted Caramel Sauce
- In a medium saucepan, place 1 cup of granulated sugar and 1/2 cup of water over medium heat. Let the sugar completely dissolve by stirring it with a whisk. Cook for 3-5 minutes.
- Add 1/4 cup of butter and let the mixture boil by itself. Do not stir.
- Let the mixture boil on low heat for 15-20 minutes until it becomes a golden-amber color. Let it thicken. Tilt the caramel in the saucepan to see if it's thick and caramelized.
- Remove the pan from heat when it's finished thickening. Add the 1/2 cup of heavy cream very slowly. Let it stream into the saucepan and whisk vigorously. It will bubble and could splash on you. Be sure to stand back as you add it, and wear an oven mitt to protect yourself from potential splashes. Whisk until fully combined.
- Add 1tsp salt and 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract. Let it cool to room temperature.
- Store in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Salted Caramel Buttercream
- In a stand mixer, beat 1/3 cup of room temperature butter using the paddle attachment.
- Add 1 cup of powdered sugar and 2.5 tbsp of salted caramel sauce to the butter and beat together on low until the powdered sugar is completely incorporated.
- Taste test your buttercream to see how you like the flavor. Add a little more salted caramel sauce if you want it a bit stronger. If you add more caramel sauce, you don't need to add any milk to the buttercream. If you need to thin out your buttercream a little for it to be more malleable for piping, add 1 tsp of milk and beat into the salted caramel buttercream.
Assembly
- Arrange your macaron shells for piping. You'll want to pair up matching sizes of macaron shells so they can easily be sandwiched together to give you a uniform macaron.
- Fit a piping bag with a star nozzle for a bit of design to the buttercream, or you can use a round tip for easy piping. The tip should be at least 1 cm in diameter.
- Add salted caramel buttercream to the piping bag.
- Pipe a ring of buttercream on the outer edge of the macaron. This will help keep the salted caramel sauce tucked inside the macaron.
- Using a small spoon, pour a spoonful of caramel sauce in the center of the macaron.
- Close the macaron by adding a plain macaron shell on top.
- Store macarons in the fridge for up to 3 days, and up to 1 month in the freezer.
