Orange-Mango Macarons: Tasty with an Outrageous Color Clash

Food coloring and I are having some issues lately. Especially when it comes to macarons.

Not only are those things BRIGHT, but they clash.

This is why I am not an artist like my mom. But do you know what I can do, even if I can’t match colors? I can make up awesome flavor combinations, even for the temperamental macaron. Observe: Orange-Mango Macarons.

Ingredients for Shells (as adapted from Tartlette)

1 2/3 cups powdered sugar

¾ cup almond flour

1 teaspoon dried orange zest

3 egg whites

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Few drops yellow and orange food coloring

The addition of the orange zest to the shells gives them a bit of a citrus kick, so be sure you have that on hand.

Blend the powdered sugar, almond flour, and orange zest in a food processor until very finely ground, set aside. Whip the egg whitess until foamy, then continue whipping while slowly adding the granulated sugar. Finally, add a few drops each of red and yellow food coloring.

Again, color doesn’t have to affect taste. May I suggest eating these with your eyes closed. First, you have to finish them.

Carefully fold the meringues and almond-powdered sugar mixture in fewer than 50 strokes, taking care to scrape the bottom of the bowl on the strokes. Pipe the mixture in rounds about 1 ½” in diameter on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

So pink. So not orange.

Let the piped rounds sit for 45 minutes, bake at 280° F, for 20 minutes.

Again, unintentional color mishap, but perfect feet.

As if those shells weren’t ugly enough, I promptly set out to make some clashing, but tasty, ganache filling.

Orange-Mango Ganache Filling Ingredients

6 ounces chopped white chocolate (Callebaut)

4 ounces mango puree

2 tablespoons heavy cream

2 teaspoons orange oil

Heat the cream, mango puree, and white chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly until well combined; add orange oil.

Orange mango ganache is quite tasty, and carries its own color from the mango puree, so no food coloring was necessary to create an epic clash of colors when filling the macaron shells.

Listen, I’m an engineer with no fashion sense and no artistic skill. And even I can tell that these clash.

Do you know what else I can tell? I can tell that these ugly pink-orange macarons have the perfect blend of orange and mango flavor. So you’ll eat them fast enough that the color will be irrelevant.

How important is color to you when you bake?