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macarons shaped like watermelon filled with buttercream

Watermelon Macarons

These Watermelon Macarons are super fun, made into two different shapes. You have the option of making them into circles, or watermelon slices, or maybe both. I also offer the option of two different fillings: Watermelon Ganache, and Watermelon Buttercream.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, French
Keyword macarons, watermelon
Prep Time 3 hours
Cook Time 40 minutes
Resting time 2 hours
Total Time 5 hours 40 minutes
Servings 20 macarons
Calories 98 kcal
Author camila

Ingredients

Macaron Shells

  • 100 grams egg whites 3.5 oz
  • 100 grams granulated sugar 3.5 oz
  • 105 grams almond flour 3.7 oz
  • 105 grams powdered sugar 3.7 oz
  • Food coloring I used green, and watermelon food coloring

Watermelon White Chocolate Ganache

  • 100 grams good quality white chocolate 3.5 oz
  • 35 ml heavy cream (2 tbsp plus 1 tsp)
  • 1 to 2 tsp watermelon syrup

Watermelon Buttercream

  • 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar sifted 187.5 grams, 6.6 oz
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter softened 56 grams, 2 oz
  • 1-2 tsp watermelon syrup
  • 1/2 -1 tbsp milk or water only if necessary

Instructions

Macaron Shells

  1. Before you start, get all of your ingredients ready. Prepare 3 piping bags fitted with 3 tips: 2 should be fitted with a 1/4" diameter, and one with a 1/2" diameter.

  2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mat.
  3. I use a baking mat with the macaron template already in it. You can make your own or print it from the internet, and just place it under silicon mat, or parchment paper. I recommend using a silicon mat.
  4. Measure out all of your ingredients.
  5. Sift powdered sugar and almond flour together.
  6. Set it aside.
  7. Place egg whites and granulated sugar in a heat proof bowl or in a double boiler. Over a pan of simmering water, whisk the whites and sugar until frothy and sugar completely melted. It will take a couple minutes. You can test by touching the mixture between your fingers, and if you feel any sugar granules just keep whisking mixture over the water bath.
  8. Make sure the bottom of the bowl isn’t touching the simmering water.
  9. Also, don’t overheat the sugar syrup, this may cause issues down the line, such as wrinkly macarons.
  10. Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer.
  11. With the whisk attachment, start whisking mixture on low for about 30 seconds, then gradually start increasing speed to medium. Whisk on medium for one to two minutes, until mixture is white and starting to become fluffy. Raise speed to high for a few minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Best way to check this is to keep your eye on the whites. Once they get glossy and you start seeing streaks formed by the whisk, it might be time to stop.
  12. Whisk until stiff peaks have formed. When you pull your whip up, the peak should form a bird’s beak shape, but shouldn’t be falling to the side, the peak should be stiff, forming a slightly curved shape at the top.
  13. Pour sifted powdered sugar and almond flour into stiff whites.
  14. Fold dry ingredients with the meringue until just incorporated. When you can’t see any more streaks of dry ingredients in the batter, separate the batter into three different bowls.
  15. Work with one bowl at a time, and keep the remaining ones covered so they don’t dry out.
  16. Let’s begin by coloring the light green color batter. Add a smidge of green to the batter, and then do the macaronage, folding until the proper consistency. Read below for tips on when to stop folding.
  17. Once you achieve the perfect consistency, transfer the batter to a piping bag with a small round tip, mine had about 1/4” diameter.
  18. Set that bag aside.
  19. Move on to the next color, the darker green which is the watermelon skin. You will need more green food coloring. Add the food coloring and fold the batter until the proper consistency.
  20. Transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a 1/2” diameter piping tip.
  21. Move on to the final batter, the watermelon center. I used Watermelon food coloring. Do the same as before, add the food coloring, and fold until you achieve the perfect consistency. Then transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a 1/4” diameter piping tip.
  22. What is the perfect consistency?

  23. How to know when to stop folding the batter: It’s time to stop folding when the batter is glossy and has a thick and flowing consistency. There are several ways to test this.

  24. First, I pick up some batter with my spatula and try to draw a figure 8 with the batter that is dripping off the spatula. If you can form several 8 figures without the batter breaking up, that’s one indication that it might be ready.
  25. There’s another test you can do. I call it the Teaspoon test.
  26. Grab a teaspoon of batter and spoon onto the parchment paper or silicon mat. Wait a minute to see how it behaves.
  27. If the batter stays stiff, forming a point and doesn’t spread out a bit, I start folding a little bit more, about 3 folds.
  28. Test again.
  29. Once the batter spreads out a bit and starts to look glossy and smooth on top, it’s ready to go.
  30. You don’t want your batter to be too runny either. So be careful not to overmix. It’s always best to undermix and test several times until the proper consistency has been achieved.
  31. The best way I can describe this stage being perfect is when you hold the spatula with batter on top of the bowl and the batter falls off the spatula slowly but effortlessly. The batter will continue to flow off the spatula non-stop, but not too quickly.
  32. Anyway, once all the batters are ready, begin by piping the dark green batter.
  33. Place the piping bag directly 90 degrees over the center of each macaron template. Apply gentle pressure and carefully pipe for about 2 seconds, and then quickly pull the bag up twisting slightly. Pipe a small amount, about 1 teaspoon worth of dark green batter.
  34. Grab the light green batter and pipe directly on the center of the dark green batter, applying gentle pressure for about 2 to 3 seconds. Lift the bag up.
  35. Now time to pipe the inside of the watermelon. Grab the bag with the red batter, and pipe directly over the center of the light green batter, applying gentle pressure for a couple of seconds. Watch the video on this page or on Youtube to watch how this is done, if you are in doubt.
  36. Right after piping the circles, bang the baking sheet against the counter to release any air bubbles. And use a toothpick to pop any air bubbles that remain on the surface.
  37. I made half of my batch into circles, and the other half into watermelon triangles. You can grab the template on this page, print it, and put it under your baking mat or parchment paper.
  38. For the triangles, start by piping the red part. You will need to use very small round tips for all the batters. I recommend using a 1/4” diameter tip for the red part, and a 1/8” diameter tip for the green parts.
  39. Pipe the red part, not all the way to the edges of the triangle, but mostly in the center. Then use a toothpick to spread the batter out to the outline, and smooth it out.
  40. Then pipe a line of light green batter across the top of the watermelon slice, and then pipe a line of dark green batter on top of the light green one. If you are in doubt on how to do this, please refer to the video on my page.
  41. Use a toothpick to smooth out the edges of the watermelon slice.
  42. Once you’ve piped the macarons, bang the trays against the counter a few times each. This will release air bubbles that are in the batter and prevent your macaron shells from cracking.
  43. Use a toothpick to pop any air bubbles in the surface of the shells.
  44. Let the trays sit for a while so the shells will dry out a little bit. I usually leave about 20-40 minutes, depending on how humid the day is. You’ll know they’re ready when you gently touch the surface of a macaron and it seems dry.

  45. Pre-heat the oven to 300ºF.

  46. Bake one tray at a time.
  47. Bake for 5 minutes, rotate tray.
  48. Bake for 5 more minutes. Rotate again.
  49. I bake each tray for about 18 minutes total. Baking time for the triangles might be less since they are smaller than the circles.
  50. When baked, the macarons will have a deeper color and formed feet. If you try to move a macaron, it shouldn’t feel jiggly. If the macaron is still jiggly, keep baking.
  51. Remove from the oven and bake the other tray.
  52. Let the macarons cool down before proceeding with the filling.

  53. After the macarons are cool, I used an Edible Ink Marker to draw the watermelon seeds on the shells.

White Chocolate Ganache

  1. Chop chocolate very finely. Place it in a bowl. Make sure to use very good quality white chocolate. White Chocolate chips or melts won’t work.
  2. Mix the heavy cream with the watermelon syrup. Heat the heavy cream in the microwave at 15 second intervals checking in between, until super super hot, be careful not to boil the heavy cream.
  3. Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate. Let it stand for a minute.
  4. Whisk until completely melted.
  5. If by any chance the chocolate isn’t melting, place the bowl in the microwave for just a few seconds, and continue to whisk in between.
  6. Don’t overheat the chocolate, or it will separate and curdle.
  7. Set the ganache aside and let it come to room temperature. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes before using, until it has piping consistency.
  8. If the ganache has been in the fridge for a while, and it’s too thick and hard to pipe, insert it in the microwave for a few quick seconds, and stir it again. Test for consistency and keep going until you achieve the desired consistency.
  9. To be pipeable, the ganache should be thick, but easy to spread, like a buttercream.
  10. If it happens that the ganache is too thin, you might want to put it in the fridge for a few minutes so it will harden up.

Watermelon Buttercream

  1. Cream the butter at medium speed in the bowl of an electric mixer for about 1 minute. With the mixer off, add all of the powdered sugar, and watermelon syrup.
  2. On low speed, beat the sugar and butter together. Once they are incorporated, turn speed to medium and cream for 1-2 minutes until very fluffy.
  3. At this point you will be able to tell if the buttercream needs the liquid or not. You can add water or milk to make the buttercream smooth and creamy.
  4. Sometimes you may find that the consistency of the buttercream is already perfect and doesn't need any more liquid. If the buttercream seems too stiff, add a tiny bit of milk or water as necessary. If the buttercream seems too runny, add more sifted powdered sugar until you obtain a firm, but smooth and creamy consistency.
  5. Place the buttercream in a piping bag.

To assemble

  1. Use an edible marker to draw the watermelon seeds on top of the shells.
  2. Place the ganache in a piping bag.
  3. Pipe the ganache or the buttercream on a bottom shell. And top with another shell.

Storage

  1. Store these macarons in the fridge for up to 7 days, or in the freezer for 1 to 2 months, in an air tight container.

Recipe Notes

Multicolor batter: Have in mind that when making several colors, the individual batters will have to be folded less time, since you’ve already folded in the beginning, and since the amount is smaller. Please have this in mind to avoid over-mixing during the macaronage stage.

Watermelon syrup: I used Amoretti brand, there are several different brands online to purchase.

White Chocolate Ganache: Make sure you are using very good quality white chocolate. White chocolate chips bought at the store are usually not considered actual white chocolate, because they don’t have the minimum required amount of 20% of cocoa butter. Look for white chocolate with a larger amount than 20% of cocoa butter. I am using chocolate chips by Callebaut, which have 28% cocoa butter.

Watermelon food coloring: I used AmeriColor Watermelon Soft Gel Paste.

Edible marker: This is the edible marker I used.

Buttercream or Ganache: If making both the buttercream and ganache, halve the recipes. The amounts listed above are indicated if you decided to make only one of the fillings. I wanted to give the option since both fillings came out so delicious.

Food coloring: Make sure to use gel food coloring. I usually use Wilton Color Right Performance Food Coloring Set, besides for the watermelon color, which I've used the Americolor listed above.

Scale: Please use a scale when measuring the ingredients for accuracy.

Macaron amount: it will vary greatly depending on how big you pipe the shells, and on how runny or thick the batter is.

Baking time/temperature: Baking time and temperature will vary according to your own oven. I recommend experimenting with your oven to find out the best time, temperature, position of the baking tray.

Oven thermometer: Make sure to have an oven thermometer to bake macarons. It’s one of the most important things about making macarons. Home ovens aren’t accurate at all at telling the temperature, and even a slight 5 degree difference can make or break your whole batch. Use an oven thermometer this one, they are fairly inexpensive and will enhance your baking experience so much.

Tray rotation: Lots of bakers don’t have to rotate the trays 180 degrees in the oven every 5 minutes, but I do have to with my oven, or I will get lopsided macarons. Please adjust this according to your oven.

Storage: These are the containers I use to store my macarons.

Maturation: Allow for the macarons to mature in the fridge overnight before serving.

Nutrition Facts
Watermelon Macarons
Amount Per Serving (1 macaron)
Calories 98
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.