Chinese New Years Mandarin Macarons with Mandarin Jasmine Ganache

Instructions

Basic Macaron Shell

1. Set aged egg whites out at room temperature.
2. Pulse almond flour and icing sugar together in a food processor to further break down any large pieces of almond flour.
3. Sift dry ingredients: almond flour, icing sugar. Discard big pieces of almond that can't be sifted.
4. If you are new to making macarons, please read the instructions to my BEST MACARON RECIPE before attempting to follow the rest of the instructions since it is condensed for the advanced macaron baker.
5. With the balloon whisk attached, whip the room temperature egg whites on low-medium speed.
6. Add cream of tartar when it becomes foamy.
7. Turn up the speed to medium.
8. Once the whisk starts to leave tracks in the egg whites, add sugar a little at a time.
9. Turn the speed up to medium-high and whip until firm peaks, stop mixer and add gel food color if desired. Continue whipping on medium-high until stiff peaks. (Note 4)
10. Fold the dry mix and meringue together until the batter becomes a "lava" or honey-like consistency.
11. Transfer batter into a piping bag fitted with a round piping tip. (e.g. Wilton #10)
12. On parchment paper or silicone mats, pipe out round shaped macarons. Free templates available in the subscriber's area.
13. Rap the tray hard on the counter to remove any excess air bubbles. Use a toothpick to pop any remaining bubbles. 
14. Wait until the shells become completely dry before baking. 
15. Bake at 325F for 12-14 minutes. Every oven is different, you may need to adjust your own temperature settings. Please read How to Use Your Home Oven Properly for Baking Macarons if you are unsure.
16. Macarons are done when the foot doesn't push back and the tops don't move when you wiggle it. 
17. Once baked, let cool completely before removing from the baking mat/parchment paper.

Mandarin Jasmine Ganache

1. Zest the mandarin, set aside.
2. Chop up the chocolate into small pieces and place in a heat safe bowl.
3. Heat up the heavy cream in a small sauce pan on low heat, watch it so that it doesn’t over boil.
4. Once it comes to a light simmer, immediately pour it over the chopped chocolate, wait one minute.
5. Gently stir with a spatula until chocolate is fully melted.
6. Add mandarin zest and stir.
7. Add the butter and incorporate.
8. Add jasmine extract when the mixture is no longer hot and incorporate.
9. Place it in the fridge and let it chill to firm up before piping (approximately 1 hour). Check on it every 15-20 minutes to ensure it isn't too firm to pipe. Alternatively, let it firm up at room temperature if time allows. Then transfer to piping bag fitted with a round piping tip.

Small Batch of Edible Glue

1. Combine the dry ingredients in a glass bowl.
2. Spritz the water onto the dry ingredients a little at a time and then blend everything together until you reach a thick consistency. If it's too runny, add more sugar. A spritzer is great for controlling the amount of water you are adding at one time. Use immediately to apply fondant decorations onto mandarin macarons.

Assembly

1. Find 2 matching shells, pipe mandarin chocolate ganache onto one shell.
2. Sprinkle Himalayan sea salt onto the ganache then assemble the other shell.
3. Place in an air-tight container and let chill to set before decorating according to video provided in this post.