Guava Macarons

February 14: Valentine’s Day

Those who are gaga for guava will love getting guava macarons as a gift for Valentine’s Day. The tropical fruit is Islander’s favorite flavor for cakes (specifically, DeeLite Bakery’s guava chiffon cake) and she indulges in drinking its nectar whenever she is in Hawaii. There is a guava tree in the back yard of her childhood home on Oahu where her parents still live, and she and her brother have visited the Guava Kai Plantation on Kauai (before its unfortunate closure).

Her hubby, Highlander, also enjoys eating Hawaiian guava jelly and jam on his breakfast breads—and now as a filling between macarons. So in lieu of the usual chocolates as a sweet treat for her Valentine, Islander made guava macarons in a passionate pink color and filled them with guava jam. These guava macarons were made with aloha (love) for Valentine’s Day!

Recipe

For the guava macarons (Italian meringue method)

• 1 cup almond flour/meal
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 egg whites (fresh, unpasteurized and aged overnight at room temperature)
• 1 cup sugar, granulated white
• ½ cup water
• rose pink, red and orange food coloring (we used Wilton brand’s concentrated gel icing colors)
• guava drink powder mix

Directions

Sift the almond flour/meal with the powdered sugar. Grind in a food processor in batches to remove any lumps (optional). Whip the egg whites until peaks form. Make a simple syrup to stabilize the egg whites by boiling the sugar and water together until it reaches a temperature of 245 degrees F on a candy thermometer (or until it reaches a soft ball stage). Pour into the egg whites and whip again until stiff and glossy.

Fold in the almond flour/meal-sugar mix until the consistency “flows like magma.” Tint the macaronage with pink, red and orange food coloring until a desired shade of “guava pink” color is reached. Pipe one-inch discs on a parchment paper on top of an insulated baking sheet.

Lightly sprinkle the tops with the crystals from the guava drink powder mix. Let the discs air dry to develop a thin skin for at least 30 minutes. Bake in a preheated oven at 300 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes. Watch the “feet” develop, but be careful not to brown or burn the macarons. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Peel off the macarons from the parchment paper. Sort by size and match pairs.

Spread guava jam as a filling. Refrigerate the macarons to set. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Notes

• Aloha ke Akua (God is love)!
• Mahalo nui loa (thank you very much) to Islander’s parents for the guava jam and to sistah Nan N. for the guava drink powder mix.
• Guava, like pineapple, was introduced to Hawaii from Latin America. There are various types of guava cultivated in the tropics.
• Guava macarons are our entry into the MacAttack #16 challenge on the MacTweets website. Happy Valentine’s Day to the MacTweets ‘ohana (family)!