Filled with sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting, these stunning red velvet macarons are made to impress! Learn how to achieve that perfect deep red color and texture!
Table of Contents
- Why you’ll love red velvet macarons:
- Is this macaron recipe for you?
- Key Ingredients Note:
- How to make red velvet macarons:
- 1. Sift the dry ingredients
- 2. Make the meringue
- 3. Mix the macaron batter (aka Macaronage)
- 4. Pipe and bake the macaron shells
- 5. Make cream cheese filling
- 6. Fill the macaron shells
- 7. Mature the macarons
- The Secret to Vibrant Red Color:
- How to store macarons:
- Red Velvet Macarons Recipe
Why you’ll love red velvet macarons:
Red velvet macarons are, hands down, one of my absolute favorite macaron flavors, right after pistachio macarons and lemon macs.
Not only does it have the most gorgeous color, but the flavor is so, so good!
The sweet n’ tangy cream cheese filling, crisp and pleasantly chewy shells with slight hint of cocoa and vanilla. I couldn’t ask for anything better!
Is this macaron recipe for you?
Now, if you’re new to making macarons and you’re determined to get the “perfect” look, this may not be the best recipe to start your macaron journey.
I highly recommend starting with my plain macarons for beginners. It has all the nitty-gritty details, explanation of techniques for success and video tutorial.
This red velvet macaron recipe is slightly advanced because of added cocoa powder and significant amount of food coloring.
Check out my entire MACARON ARCHIVE full of helpful resources for beginner macaron bakers!
Key Ingredients Note:
Measure the macaron ingredients in grams with a kitchen scale. This intentional step leaves no wiggle room for error, maximizing your success!
- Egg whites – Quality egg whites lead to stable meringue, which is the foundation of perfect macarons. Choose fresh eggs, carefully separate the whites and yolk, and weigh the amount precisely. I’ve also had success with carton egg whites. Be sure to check the labels and avoid the ones that’s says “not for meringue”.
- Almond flour – Choose super-fine almond flour to with light beige color and fluffy texture. Avoid oily, yellow and/or coarse almond flour. This almond flour is my go-to.
- Powdered sugar – I don’t recommend making your own powder sugar, because commercial powdered sugar has cornstarch in it. And it helps with texture of the cookies.
- Granulated sugar – It’s important to use fine granulated sugar for meringue, as it dissolves quicker. You can also use caster sugar, aka baker’s sugar.
- Cocoa powder adds a hint of chocolate flavor and deepens the red color of the macarons. You can use either natural or Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Cream of tartar is optional and can be omitted. However, it helps to stabilize egg whites and create sturdier meringue. It’s just an extra insurance!
- Red gel food coloring is absolutely necessary to achieve that vibrant red color.
How to make red velvet macarons:
We’re making French meringue macarons, which is my go-to method and it’s the easiest method of all.
1. Sift the dry ingredients
Sift almond flour, powdered sugar and cocoa powder 3 times. This’s important, because not only are we mixing the ingredients, but we’re also aerating them for fluffier cookies.
TIME-SAVING TIP: If you have a stand mixer, sift the dry ingredients while the meringue is whipping.
2. Make the meringue
French meringue is the easiest, because we simply whisk egg whites with sugar until stiff peaks. Now, while it seems super easy, there’re a few things to keep in mind.
Combine egg whites, granulated sugar, salt and cream of tartar, if using, in a large bowl. And beat the mixture on medium speed until soft peaks form.
Add red food coloring and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. You want to see a nice defined ridges as pictured below.
meringue tip
Slow and consistent speed is key to achieving the sturdiest meringue when it comes to French method. The exact time depends on each mixer. Don’t rush this process. It can take up to 40 minutes to reach stiff peaks!
2023 UPDATE: In the last year, I’ve changed my French meringue technique to combining the egg whites, sugar, salt and cream of tartar from the start instead of adding sugar slowly into lightly whipped egg whites. I found this meringue method works better for macarons.
3. Mix the macaron batter (aka Macaronage)
Add dry ingredients into the meringue and fold the batter until it reaches the perfect consistency, which means the batter is thick, yet runny enough to slowly flow off the spatula into a ribbon.
how to check the batter consistency
1. Scoop some batter on your spatula and then drop the batter into a ribbon into the bowl.
2. Slightly tilt the bowl and count to 10.
3. If the edges of the ribbon melt back into the batter in 10 seconds, the batter is ready!
4. Pipe and bake the macaron shells
Transfer the batter into a piping bag, fitted with a round tip. (I use Wilton 12 tip.) Pipe the shells on 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
Rest the macarons for 15 minutes. And bake one baking sheet at a time for about 18 minutes at 300°F.
FREE macaron template
I made a perfect template for you. Subscribe to my e-mail list and download this custom macaron template for FREE. (This template is perfect for my recipe and super easy to use!)
5. Make cream cheese filling
Make cream cheese filling while the macaron shells are cooling. I use my simple frosting recipe as it works perfectly for macarons as well.
6. Fill the macaron shells
Remove the macaron shells from the baking surface once they are completely cooled. Then pair them by size and fill them with cream cheese frosting.
7. Mature the macarons
I know, you want to dive right in. But these macarons are best when served after maturing them for at least 8 hours in the fridge after filling.
During this process, filling seeps into the shells, softening and flavoring the macarons perfectly.
how long to mature the macarons
Typically, macarons are matured for at least 24 hours, but since cream cheese frosting is wetter filling, 8 hours is sufficient for maturing.
The Secret to Vibrant Red Color:
Red food coloring alone yields lighter, pinkish red macaron shells no matter how much coloring you add.
The secret to achieving intense red macarons is using the combination of cocoa powder and red food coloring.
choose the right food coloring
Only use gel food coloring for macarons, as liquid food coloring may throw the wet to dry ingredients ratio off.
How to store macarons:
- Plain macaron shells can be store in a dry, airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days. Or frozen for up to 3 months.
- Assembled macarons should be refrigerated in a dry, airtight container for up to 3 days. Or freeze them for up to 1 month. If there’s any moisture in the container, it will transfer to the macarons and make them soggy.
- Remove the macarons from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving. Macarons are best at room temperature!
- Don’t store these delicate cookies in bags. They are more likely to crack or break this way.
macaron storage container
These clamshell plastic container is not airtight. You can store macarons in this container, but place it in a freezer bag before refrigerating or freezing.
Red Velvet Macarons
Ingredients
For macaron shells:
- 100 g super fine almond flour Note 1
- 65 g powdered sugar Note 2
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder Note 3
- 70 g egg whites at room temperature Note 4
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar Note 5
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 75 g fine granulated sugar Note 6
- 1 teaspoons red gel food coloring Note 7
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For cream cheese filling:
- ¼ cup (55 g) cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup (56 g) unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
Instructions
To make macaron shells:
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, or teflon sheet, or silicone mat.
- To prepare dry ingredients, sift together almond flour, powdered sugar and cocoa powder twice. Note: If you have up to 2 tablespoons of chunky dry ingredients left in the sifter, you don't have to replace it. Simply discard those chunky bits.
- To make meringue, in a clean mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, combine egg whites, granulated sugar, cream of tartar and salt and beat the mixture on medium speed until soft peaks form. (I set it to speed 4 on my KitchenAid stand mixer. It takes 30-40 minutes to whip the meringue, but it's well worth it for nice and full shells.)
- When the meringue reaches soft peaks stage, add red gel food coloring and vanilla extract.
- Continue beating the egg whites on the same medium low speed until hard peaks form. Visual cues: Meringue should ball up inside the whisk, and when you lift the whisk, the meringue should hold a pointy end and have sharp ribs.
- To make batter, sift almond flour mixture into the meringue. Using a silicone spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the meringue until fully incorporated. Then continue to fold the batter until it’s runny enough to draw a figure eight. To test, take a small amount of batter and drop it into the bowl. If the small peaks dissolve into the batter on its own in about 10 seconds, the batter is ready. If not, fold couple more times and test again. Be careful not to over-fold the batter. (TIP: Making french macarons is all about the technique. This is one of the most crucial step. Let me try to describe the folding motion as best as I can: run the spatula clockwise from the bottom, up around the sides and cut the batter in half. If you’re beginner macaron-baker, I suggest to count every fold. It takes roughly about 50 folds to reach the proper consistency. After 50 folds, start testing the batter, and continue testing after every couple folds.)
- To pipe macaron shells, transfer the batter into a pastry bag, fitted with a round tip. (I used this Wilton 12 tip.)
- Hold the pastry bag at straight 90° angle and pipe about 1.5-inch rounds about an inch apart on prepared baking sheets. (TIP 2: Download my free macaron template. Simply pipe the batter to fill inner circle.)
- Tap the baking sheets firmly on the counter (or using your hand) a few times to get rid of any air bubbles. You can also use a toothpick to burst some large air bubbles. This step ensures smooth tops.
- Let the macarons rest on the counter for 15 minutes before baking.
- To bake, working one baking sheet at a time, place one tray with macarons on the middle rack. (TIP: To prevent browning, place an empty baking sheet on top rack to shield the heat.) Bake for about 15-18 minutes. It’ll take longer for larger macarons. To test for doneness, touch a macaron lightly and try to move it. If it slides and wobbles, bake a minute or so longer. The cooked macarons should be firm to touch and the base shouldn’t move. (TIP: It’s always better to slightly over-bake macarons than under-bake them!)
- Cool macarons complete and then remove the shells from the parchment paper. (TIP: Don't remove the shells while warm, you may risk breaking the shells, or the bottom might get stuck to the baking surface.)
To make the filling:
- While macarons bake, prepare the cream cheese filling. In a mixing bowl with whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and salt and beat until well combined.
- Transfer the filling into a pastry bag fitted with a round piping tip. (I used Wilton 10 piping tip.)
To assemble:
- Pair the macaron shells by size and arrange them on a wire rack. Line them up so that bottom shells are upside down.
- Pipe a dollop of filling on bottom shells. Place the top shell over the filling and press lightly so the filling spreads till the edges.
- Store the filled macarons in an airtight container in the fridge for at least 8 hours to mature, which allows the filling to soften and flavor the shells.
- To serve, bring the macarons out about 30 minutes prior to serving.
Tips & Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on June 27, 2016.
Thank you so much for this recipe. I love baking but had never made macaroons before. I tried this recipe and the result was close to perfect. I am motivated to try more flavors now.
I want to try these so badly, but I’m so afraid to fail! I’ve never made macarons before. I love making desserts and these look beautiful! I’m a bit intimidated about weighing instead of measuring. Also about the oven temperature.
Hi! I was just wondering what I could’ve done wrong when making these. The batter for me came out sort of grainy and it was very thick. I used the right amount of egg white and I used bob’s red mill almond flour. Any help would be appreciated!
Me too, thick and grainy, stirring like the video but never got to lava stage. Not sure how to improve the consistency.
Love this website and all the pictures/videos.
Hi, Coburn. I was able to recreate thick batter issue couple of weeks ago, when I used 2 smaller eggs, which yielded about 63gr of egg whites. To confirm my suspicion, will you let me know how many grams of egg whites you used? Thank you for helping me find the resolution for this issue!!
they were medium eggs so I’m thinking you are correct. I will try again with larger eggs. I do not have a scale to measure grams
they still taste terrific so I will definitely try again soon and let you know
thank you!!
Ok, thanks for your input. That helps a lot. I highly recommend measuring all the ingredients by weight to make macarons. You’ll get way better success that way. Good luck!
worked fine even though I substituted gel food colouring for liquid food colouring, and the heavy cream for milk. I’m sure that if I had all the proper ingredients this recipe would have worked perfectly. 5 stars.
Yay, so happy your macarons turned out great. Thank you for your feedback, Jessie!
Hi there- I made these tonight and they’re in the oven now. The batter worked wonderfully and they’re looking good. Just one issue – I only had enough batter for 20 shells or 10 completed cookies. I did my measurements by volume (not weight), but I cant imagine that accounts for an additional 15 cookies?? any idea what could have happened?
Hey Sarah. Sorry for delay in my response. Interesting! How big of macarons did you get? Mine are 1.5-inch rounds.
Could red velvet cake mix be used as a substitute for the cocoa powder to make sure the color is the vibrant red we’re aiming for?
Hi, Rebecca. No, you can’t use cake mix for cocoa powder. I’d suggest using a good quality food coloring.
Hi Shinee, i just tried to make this. I made macarons before i thought this one is perfect for Christmas. I got confused when my batter never got thinner. I folded so many times but somehow it stayed thick. Can you suggest me why? I did everything the recipe called. I measured and sifted everything. And i still tried baking them although i know they would definitely failed. 150C the first 10 min they cracked, developed a bit of feet but soon gone. After 20min still soft and stick to the paper, so over all i baked them for around 40 min & still not crisp shells. If you can help me troubleshoot that would be great. Thank you.
Hi, Mona. I’m sorry to hear you too had trouble with thick batter. I’d love to troubleshoot it with you. Can you tell me if you weighed the egg whites, or did you use 2 egg whites without weighing them? Thanks!
Exact same thing happened to me. Weighed all my ingredients, it stayed super thick and they all cracked in the oven.
Hi, Kimmie. Would you please let me know how many grams of egg whites did you use? I’m trying to get the reason for this issue, and your answer will be very helpful. Thanks!
70g exactly. I weighed it on the food scale.
Ok, that should be good. Thanks for responding, Kimmie. It helps. Would you mind sharing what type of almond flour you used?
hello dear!
what is the replacement of cream of tartar
You can omit cream of tartar, if you don’t have it. It helps stabilize the egg whites though, but no big deal if you miss it.
Where is the recipe? You didn’t include it. The video told me about funfetti macarons, not red velvet!
Recipe card is above the comments. If you had clicked on red “Skip to Recipe” button right at the top (next to the title), it would have taken you straight to the recipe! And FYI, the rating is for those who tried the recipe and rate the final result. Not for those who was unable to find the recipe and to show the frustration!
Would there be an issue to reduce the amount of power sugar in the filling?
Hi, Linna. The sugar helps with consistency of the filling. If you reduce the sugar, the filling might be a bit runnier.
Your recipe says 3/4 cup powdered sugar and it should be 1 and 3/4 cup. That’s why the batter is so thick. It has more almond than sugar.
Hi, Brandy. Actually the measurements are correct. If you put 1 and 3/4 cup of powdered sugar, there’ll be way too much dry ingredients.
No, because comparing your recipe to others it needs more powder sugar. Also you said beat until foamy for the shell part but noticed, making another macaron, that you need to beat them until hard peaks and then add the vanilla.
Hi, Bob. Well, I wouldn’t recommend comparing different recipes and say one is wrong and the other is right. The ratio is the most important. This recipe works for me, and for a lot of other readers. As for the egg whites, you obviously didn’t read the whole directions. We’re beating the egg whites to foamy and then add cream of tartar, AND THEN continue to beat till hard peaks.
Um, no. Comparing a LOT of other recipe your measurements are weird. Also there were quite a few comments about the shell batter coming out too think and not thinning. And YES, I read the instructions, we did do that, and it still didn’t come out right. You admitted in one of the comments that you couldn’t recreate this recipe.
Thank you for your time,
*Mic Drop*
Oh my gosh, you must have misunderstood my comment. I meant I can’t recreate the thick batter issue, not the recipe!! I have a lot of variations of french macarons on my site with the same base recipe, and it works! If you don’t believe me, check out my other macaron recipes, and check out this page where a lot of readers had made beautiful macarons following my recipe. I feel like you’re quick to judge before trying to understand what I wrote. Please feel free to use/follow other macaron recipes you saw on the internet that looks right to you. Thanks for stopping by.