Have you ever been to a surprise wedding before? This was my first time baking for one and being the maid of honour at the same time. Two weeks ago, my bestie threw an amazing wedding party which surprised all of the guests in attendance. It was a warm overcast summer day which made it the most ideal weather anyone could have wished for an August wedding in Vancouver.
Below are some photos from the day and the instructions on how to assemble this Big Cherry Blossom Macaron Cake I prepared for the event. Before you get started, make sure you take a look at the instructional video and download the big macaron cake template at the bottom.
♥ INGREDIENTS & TOOLS♥
Makes 4 Big Macaron Shells of 3 ¾ inch in size (template is below)
♥ CAKE BATTER INGREDIENTS:
- 65 grams almond flour
- 65 grams icing sugar
- 45 grams castor sugar
- 50 grams aged egg whites
- ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
- Pink Gel Colour (3 drops of Mauve from Americolor)
Use my Best French Macaron Recipe to bake mcaron shells
Use this tutorial for specific instructions on How to Bake BIG Macaron shells.
♥ EXTRA TOOLS & SUPPLIES (besides ones needed for regular macaron making):
- Fondant or Gumpaste
- Rolling Pin
- Cornstarch to dust the rolling pin and rolling surface
- Veining Tool or toothpick
- Ball Tool
- Silver Lustre Dust
- Clear alcohol or clear extract
- Brush for applying alcohol
- Toothpicks
- Aluminum Foil
- Piping tip Wilton 4B
♥ SWISS BUTTERCREAM
- 65 gr egg whites
- 130 gr granulated sugar
- 195 gr butter
- pinch of salt
- vanilla extract
Swiss Buttercream Instructions
- Bring a small pot of water to a boil.
- Place egg whites, salt and sugar into a heat proof bowl. Stainless steel is light and safe.
- Whisk the whites & sugar mix over the boiling water.
- Pay attention to whisking the mixture when it starts getting hot, you don't want to cook the eggs.
- Whisk the mixture until the temperature reaches 160F. This temperature is generally accepted to be able to kill salmonella in eggs.
- Pour the mixture into the Kitchenaid mixer and
whisk on low with the balloon whisk, then turn it up to medium. - Once the mixture is stiff and the bottom of the bowl is cool to the touch, stop mixer. Change the whisk attachment to the paddle attachment.
- Add butter a little bit at a time while mixing with the paddle attachment at medium speed.
- Add vanilla extract
- The mixture might look curdled or separated for a while but keep mixing. It will all come together.
- Buttercream can be kept at room temperature until use within the same day.
whisk on low with the balloon whisk, then turn it up to medium.
MACARON ASSEMBLY TIMELINE:
♥ 26 hours before serving
- Bake big macaron shells with my Best French Macaron Recipe
- Big Macaron Template Click Here
- Make Swiss Buttercream
♥ 24 hours before serving
- Pipe buttercream with Wilton 4B tip (see video below) on the 3 layers. Leave the top of the cake undecorated.
- Cover cake and let it mature in the fridge for 24 hours. This will allow the shells to mature and a chilled cake will allow for easier decorating.
- Work on gumpaste flowers and let it dry for 24 hours. You will need 16-18 flowers assembled on toothpicks and 6 without toothpicks to be placed on the top of the cake.
♥ 1 hour before or right before serving if you have the time
Ideally, gumpaste flowers should not be kept in the fridge for long periods of time due to humidity.
- Insert gumpaste flowers that are on toothpicks into the cake from the sides.
- Pipe buttercream onto the top of the cake
- Gently add the 6 remaining flowers on top of the buttercream
♥ HOW TO USE BIG MACARON SHELL TEMPLATE ♥
Start piping from the centre marked X. Dispense enough batter for it to reach the inner black edge. After you've piped all 3 shells, tap the tray firmly against the counter to remove air pockets. The batter should spread up to the outer edge of the black circle.
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