These Kiwi Macarons have a kiwi design on the macaron shells and are filled with a kiwi white chocolate ganache. Food coloring, creative piping and black sesame seeds make for an impressive kiwi design on these macarons. They can also be made plain, without decoration.
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These kiwi macarons were inspired by my Kiwi Chia Tart design, as well as Pies and Tacos Watermelon Macarons. I have been wanting to make these for awhile and finally gathered the courage after seeing Camila’s piping technique for her watermelon macarons.
When I make macarons, I typically make fruit-centric ones. The first of my fruit macaron recipes to make a splash were my Mango Macarons, then shortly after my Strawberry Macarons were also a hit!
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Why you’ll love this recipe
- The kiwi design is impressive and would make a great addition to a party dessert table!
- This recipe uses fresh kiwi to flavor the filling (with a little help from kiwi flavoring as well).
- The kiwi design is not too difficult, it just takes a bit of time!
- These macarons can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge or freezer until ready to serve.
Ingredients
- Fresh kiwi and kiwi flavoring flavors the ganache filling.
- Almond flour and egg whites provide structure for the macaron shells.
- Lemon juice and kosher salt balance the overall flavor profile.
- The heavy cream and white chocolate add richness to the filling.
- Granulated sugar and powdered sugar sweeten these macarons.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and variations
Here’s how to customize these kiwi macarons to your liking:
- No design — skip the kiwi macaron shell design, just pipe regular macarons in one color.
- Kiwi flavor in shells — add up to 4g of freeze-dried kiwi powder to the macaron batter during the food processor stage
- No black sesame seeds — add the seeds after baking with black royal icing or with chia seeds before baking
- No artificial coloring — omit the food coloring completely for a natural-looking macaron and filling
This recipe has not been tested with any substitutions or variations. If you try any, please let me know how it turned out by commenting below!
How to pipe a kiwi macaron design
Step 1: Pipe the brown macaron batter onto the baking tray.
Step 2: Pipe some of the green macaron batter directly on top of the brown macaron batter.
Step 3: Pipe a small bit of the white/natural macaron batter on top of the green portion. Bang the trays to flatten the macarons and remove air bubbles.
Step 4: Drag a toothpick or metal cake tester to feather the white portion into the green portion. Place black sesame seeds around the white edge to look like kiwi seeds.
Hot tips
- Wipe down all of your bowls and utensils with vinegar to remove any oil residue that could affect the success of your meringue.
- Start with less food coloring and add more as you need it.
- If the sesame seeds are not sticking, use a bit of egg white or water to adhere them. This may incur more drying time. Ensure they are fully dry before baking.
Recipe FAQs
Store macarons in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Let come to room temperature before serving.
Yes, freeze macarons in an airtight container for 3-4 months.
Watch this video for a how-to on piping macaron batter.
You can, but the kiwi flavor may not come through as strongly.
More recipes you’ll love
Lastly, if you make this Kiwi Macarons recipe be sure to leave a comment or give it a rating. I love to see when people make my recipes, so please tag me @youthsweets on Instagram if you post!
📖 Recipe
Kiwi Macarons
Equipment
Ingredients
White chocolate kiwi ganache filling
- 150 g kiwi diced (5 oz, about two large kiwi)
- 30 g granulated sugar (2 tbsp)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 80 g heavy whipping cream (⅓ cup)
- 230 g white chocolate (8 oz) chips or finely chopped bar
- 1 tablespoon kiwi flavoring (I used this one) add more if you like
- few drops green gel food coloring
Kiwi macaron shells
- 150 g almond flour (1 ½ cups)
- 150 g powdered sugar (1 ¼ cups)
- 110 g egg whites divided
- pinch salt
- gel food coloring brown, green
- ½ teaspoon cocoa powder for coloring the brown batter
- 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds for decoration
Sugar syrup
- 150 g granulated sugar (¾ cup)
- 2 ½ tablespoon water (38ml)
Instructions
Prepare the white chocolate kiwi ganache filling
- Combine diced kiwis, sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan and bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Simmer for about 5 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat. Puree.
- Place the kiwi jam, heavy cream and chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Melt, stirring constantly, over a bain-marie (a saucepan with an inch of water, not touching the water to the bowl). Add a few drops of green food coloring and kiwi flavoring. Puree again until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, let cool completely and then refrigerate to cool further before using.
Prepare the macaron shells
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Fit two piping bags with small, plain round piping tips. Fit another piping bag with an even smaller plain round piping tip.
- Combine powdered sugar and almond flour in a food processor. Pulse until combined. Sift into a large bowl, discarding any large bits.
- Pour 55g (half) of the egg whites over the dry ingredients and mix just until it is like a thick paste.
- Place the other 55g (half) egg whites and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Set aside until you prepare the sugar syrup.
- In a small saucepan, combine the 150g granulated sugar with the 2 ½ tablespoon water and place on medium heat. When it reaches 230°F start whipping the egg whites. When the syrup reaches 244°F, remove from heat and pour in a SMALL, SLOW stream into the side of the bowl of the egg whites as they are being beaten. Continue beating until the bowl has cooled slightly, and glossy stiff peaks have formed. This is the meringue.
- Add the meringue over the almond powdered sugar mixture and using a silicone spatula gently fold in JUST until mostly combined. You'll finish the folding (macaronage) after coloring the batter.
Color the batter
- Remove ½ cup of the batter to a small bowl to be the white middles of the kiwis.
- Remove half of the remaining batter to another bowl. Add the cocoa powder and a few drops of brown gel food coloring (I used ChefMaster Buckeye Brown).
- To the remaining batter add a few drops of green food gel coloring. I used a combination of ChefMaster Leaf Green, Neon Brite Green and a small drop of Buckeye Brown to achieve the green olive/kiwi color.
- Work each of the batters separately, folding with a rubber spatula, until it flows like lava in very thick ribbons when the spatula is lifted. It is done when it passes the figure 8 check, meaning you can make a figure 8 with the batter when the spatula is lifted without the flow breaking.
Pipe the macarons
- Transfer the brown and green batters to the prepared piping bags with the small, plain round tips. Transfer the white/natural batter to the prepared piping bag with the smaller, plain round tip.
- Pipe the brown batter first on the prepared baking sheets in circles, evenly spaced one-inch apart. Pipe the green batter on top of each brown circle. Pipe a small white bit in the center of each one.
- Bang the baking sheet a few times firmly on your counter top to flatten the macarons and remove air bubbles. Remaining air bubbles can be popped with a wet toothpick or metal cake tester.
- With the toothpick or metal cake tester, drag lines from the white middle outside to the green part in a radial pattern to look like the middle of a kiwi.
- Working quickly, place black sesame seeds around the outside of the white part to mimic the seeds of a kiwi.
- Pipe the rest of the shells plain (without decoration), if desired, to make the bottoms of the macarons.
- Let the macarons dry at room temperature about 30 minutes, or until skins have formed and they are dry to the touch. Preheat the oven to 300°F.
- Bake for 20-24 minutes. Macarons are done when their tops no longer wiggle on their feet. Remove from the oven and let cool before removing from the baking sheet.
- Transfer the ganache filling to a piping bag and pipe between two shells and repeat until each macaron has been sandwiched together with an accompanying shell.
- Refrigerate for at at least one day before serving. Serve macarons at room temperature.
Notes
- Macarons freeze well and can be made ahead of time.
- Don’t make macarons on a rainy, humid day. The shells will not dry as fast (or at all in some cases).
- Wipe your mixing bowls and utensils with a bit of vinegar to ensure they are oil-free and dry to ensure your eggs whip up into a meringue with no issues.
