Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Macarons

Pumpkin spice cheesecake macarons with extra flavorful shells infused with holiday spices. Filled with a ring of smooth pumpkin cheesecake buttercream and a dollop of pumpkin spice curd - a classic fall flavor re-imagined in macaron form.

This year I was actually inspired to get on this Fall bandwagon a bit early. Maybe it’s that ever impatient push in our commercialized world to have Halloween themed products out on the shelves before summer BBQ equipment is even put away that had me thinking about pumpkin spice since late August.

How to Make a Sturdy Pumpkin Cheesecake Macaron Filling

I decided early that this year’s fall project would be a recipe for a Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Macaron. Sure, there were a few other recipes out there already with variations of pumpkin, spice and or cheesecake but I wanted to create one that didn’t involve mixing cream cheese with powdered sugar (too sweet).

For this recipe, I've infused the shells with pumpkin spice to give it that extra flavor. Then I followed up with a cheesecake filling with a meringue buttercream instead of American buttercream which contains powdered sugar. A ring of this cheesecake frosting is piped on the outside to create a dam and the inside is filled with a dollop of pumpkin spice curd. This combo is structurally sturdy and tastes delicious!

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Almond flour - I prefer to make my own almond flour via this tutorial but many bakers have used this brand successfully.
• Icing sugar  - also referred to as powdered sugar by some. Note: icing sugar in North America usually contains corn starch as an anti-caking agent.
• Aged egg whites for the macaron shells - measure it before aging.
• Castor sugar - Castor sugar is an extra fine granulated sugar also known as berry sugar. Castor sugar is easily dissolved, making it preferable for meringues. It can be substituted with granulated sugar.
• Ground Cinnamon - Try to get cinnamon and at least one other of the spices, then substitute the remaining missing spices with what you have. Use a mixture for a more multi-dimensional flavor.
• Ground Nutmeg
• Ground ginger
• Ground Cloves 
• Cream of tartar – its used to stabilize the meringue and usually found by the spices in the baking aisle. It can be substituted with lemon juice or vinegar in double the amount. Or left out completely if you cannot find it.
• Cream cheese - use block cream cheese as the tub versions are too soft for this filling.
• Egg whites for the buttercream - make sure this is separated carefully in a clean bowl, taking care not to get any yolks inside. It's hard to whip up egg whites that are compromised with fat or oils.
• Granulated sugar
• Butter - it should be at room temperature. It will clump up and not incorporate into the meringue if it's too cold.
• 100% pumpkin puree - a simple can of store- bought pumpkin puree was used in this recipe. There's a lot of discussion that the pumpkin puree found in canned pumpkins isn't really pumpkins but different types of squash. This is because of the looser restrictions allowed on labelling this product, read more here. If you're a stickler for using real pumpkins, try making your own.
• 1 egg for the puree
• Butter - for the puree

How to Fix a Curdled Cream Cheese Frosting

One of the challenges of working with cream cheese is that it can separate if over beaten. You’ll see that the mixture will become curdled, sweaty and very lumpy. One of the extra steps taken to combat this is to cream and soften the cream cheese ahead of time so that it can be easily incorporated into the buttercream without the need for much more beating.

Now let's just say, despite all your best efforts to prevent the cream cheese frosting from separating, it does. You'll see that the mixture will become broken, sweaty and lumpy. Normally, a broken looking buttercream can usually come back together after beating some more. With the addition of the cream cheese, this doesn't happen. The water separates from the cream cheese and the more you beat it, the worse it gets. Don't throw the mixture away in frustration. I know, it will look so ugly that you might be tempted to.

To fix it, boil a pot of water and once it comes to a boil, hold the mixture (in a heat-proof boil) over the boiling water and let it heat up. Stir it gently to keep it moving. Once it has melted to an almost smooth consistency, immediately remove it off the heat. Let it cool to room temperature. ( I like to put it in the fridge for a few minutes to speed it up.) Beat it on low speed with the paddle attachment on a stand mixer. Now watch as it slowly and miraculously turns from a runny mixture into a thick and fluffy cream cheese frosting!

I hope you enjoyed reading a little bit of the thought and journey that went into creating this recipe. Recipe development for me takes days and multiple test batches because I like to work from scratch, I'm always excited to share the end result with all of you. Print out this recipe, try your hand at it and let me know how it goes.

Thanks so much for reading. If you need another idea for Fall, try my super fluffy Japanese Carrot Spice Cake Roll, Asian Style Pumpkin Cake Roll or 3D Mini Pumpkin Cupcakes. Oh, I've also included a special pumpkin macaron template for you all to download too. See below.

XOXO,
Mimi

Pumpkin Macaron Template

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