Boursin Plant Based Macarons

A sweet savoury twist on a classic dessert!

Done in 4 hours

Serves 8-10

Dish by Mia Jacobs

Ingredients

For the butternut squash

150gbutternut squash, in 1cm cubes

1garlic clove, minced

1/2 tsppaprika

a splashextra virgin olive oil

to tastesalt and freshly cracked pepper

For the macarons

300gaquafaba (chickpea water)

175ggranulated sugar

175gicing sugar

200gfine almond flour

1/2 tspcream of tartar

1 tspspirulina

1 tspdried, ground sage

These are a real treat, and the perfect thing to wow your guests with any time of year, but especially in the festive season! Now macarons can be tricky so read the instructions carefully and you'll be grand.

Method

Cut up the butternut squash into small cubes and pop into a baking tray. Season and drizzle with oil. Roast for 25-30 minutes at 200 degrees until soft and lightly charred.

Pour the aquafaba and sugar into a saucepan set over a low heat. Simmer the mixture gently for 12-15 minutes until it has reduced to between 325g - 330g, measuring on electronic scales to check for accuracy. Pour the mix into a clean, oil free stand mixer bowl and leave to cool for an hour.⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣Meanwhile, sieve together the crushed sage, almond flour, spirulina, and icing sugar a few times to ensure there are no lumps.

Add the cream of tartar into the aquafaba mixture. Mix on medium speed for about 10 minutes until you get firm peaks. When lifting the whisk out the mixture, the peak should gently and slowly fold over.

Gently pour the dry mixture into the meringue.

Fold the almond mixture and meringue together, fairly gently but with enough pressure that you start to work some of the air out of the mixture. Make sure you scrape from the bottom and sides of the bowl as you mix. The aim is to achieve a consistency that when the spatula is lifted directly upwards out of the you get a slow-moving ribbon of batter.

Line a dark coloured baking tray with a silicon macaron mat or baking paper with uniform circles drawn on. Pour the batter into a piping bag with a round 1cm piping tip and pipe small circles onto the mat or paper. Bang the tray on the surface a few times to remove any air bubbles.⁣⁣⁣

Pre-heat the oven to 120 degrees (convection oven).

⁣⁣Before putting them in the oven, allow the macarons to dry for at least 1 hour until the surface of each macaron becomes⁣⁣⁣ matt and when lightly touched they leave no residue.

Bake for around 40 minutes, they should be risen with bubbly 'feet' around the base. Allow the macarons to cool in the oven for around 15-20 minutes then remove. Gently peel the macarons off the baking paper.

Pipe boursin onto one side of the macaron fill with the butternut and a crispy sage leaf then top with another macaron.

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Mia Jacobs

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Mia is a self-taught cook with an obsession with street food and an absolute hatred for parsnips. Before joining Twisted Green, Mia founded an online vegan cooking school in the midst of the global pandemic and began teaching people all over the world how to cook incredible vegan food from the comfort of their own homes. Her mission was, and still is, to help transform kitchens everywhere from a daunting space to one that’s filled with the irresistible aroma of frying garlic, and some very special plant-based grub. She also believes that crisps and hummus are a gift to humanity.