Delicate and fluffy macaron-like sponge cake with buttercream
Extremely soft and light structure just melts in your mouth. With super milky buttercream filling, these are like mini sponge cake with a bit more of a crumbly structure. The idea is like lady finger but not dry, like macaron but not cruchy not as sweet.
Japanese bouchee mini 🇯🇵
I have no idea what the origin of this dessert is, but this Taiwanese dessert is the same as the Japanese bouchee and I am pretty sure that’s how it got to Taiwan. It has nothing to do with macaron and we call it Taiwanese macaron simply because macaron was popular in Taiwan for a while and it’s marketed this way to attract more customers. It also has the name “little western dessert” because it is well… little and western.
Highlights
- Bites of soft and airy sponge cake with milky buttercream filling
- Reduced sugar content, sweet but not too sweet
- Super cute and perfect for sharing
Taiwanese Macaron
Taiwanese macaron is mini sponge cake with creamy buttercream fillling shaped like a macaron. Crumbly edge with incredibly light interior and silky cream. A delicate and delightful sweet treat perfect for sharing.
Equipment
- 1 electric hand mixer or a hand blender with whisk attachment
- 1 sift
- 2 piping bags
- 1 big sheet tray
Ingredients
Shell
- 1 Whole Egg
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 30 g Sugar
- 60 g Cake Flour Weizenmehl 405
- some Powder Sugar for dusting on the top
Buttercream
- 60 g Softened Butter room temp
- 15 g Powder Sugar
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/2 Tbsp Condensed Milk optional
Instructions
Shell
- Take the butter out of the fridge if you haven't. Preheat the oven at 190 °C and have a piping bag ready and open in a cup.
- Line the sheet tray with baking paper or silicon baking mat.
- Combine 1 Whole Egg, 1 Egg Yolk, and 30 g Sugar in a small mixing bowl and use a hand mixer to beat the mixture until pale, fluffy, and not too liquity. The batter should hold its shape for at least 3 seconds after drawing an “8” on it
- Sift in 60 g Cake Flour and GENTLY fold the batter to mix in the flour with a spatula until just combined. It may look slightly uneven but it's normal.
- Pour the batter to the piping bag, cut off the tip of the bag, and pipe the batter into 3-4 cm circles on the baking. The amount of batter should be enough for around 30 shells
- Dust a layer of some Powder Sugar on top of the circles with a sift. (The picture is when I made a bear shape batch but just skip the ears if you want regular macarons)
- Bake for 7-10 mins in the preheated oven. Watch closely and take the tray out as soon as the top gets a hint of brownish-orange hue. Trust the look not the time. It gets too dry easily if staying in the oven for too long.
- Peel the shell off the paper carefully.
Buttercream
- Mix 60 g Softened Butter, 15 g Powder Sugar, 1/4 tsp Salt, and 1/2 Tbsp Condensed Milk together and beat with a hand mixer until light, very pale and glossy and scoop it to a piping bag.Mix first so it's easier to incorporate the powerder sugar and it doesn't fly everywhere when you start beating.
Assemble
- Match the shells of similar size to pairs.
- Pipe the buttercream on one shell and cover with the other.
- Enjoy! Or store in the fridge for 3-5 days, and take it out 10 minutes before serving for the buttercream to soften.
Notes
I recommend using a silicon baking mat for this recipe because it makes the peeling so much easier, but regular baking paper will do just fine.
You can also freeze the macarons for 2 weeks or so and defrost before serving. It will taste just as good.