Goats' cheese macarons with fig, walnut and black sesame

Savoury goats’ cheese macarons with fig, walnut and black sesame!

by Lili
October 27, 2015
53 comments
Savoury cakes and snacks, Special everyday cakes and treats

Well these are as savoury as a dessert with macaron shells of sugar, ground almonds and egg white can be!  They were created in response to a Daring Kitchen macaron challenge.  I’d made Italian meringue macaron shells many times so challenged myself to create an unusual savoury filling.  Tangy goats’ cheese seemed a tasty option but other recipes add honey and fig jam resulting in rather sweet macarons.  So I chose to add no sugar, keeping the goats’ cheese as tangy and savoury as possible then rounding the edge off with ground black sesame seeds.  The unsweetened fig intensifies naturally in flavour as a compote.  Finally, I liked the idea of a crunch in my experimental macarons so added little walnut pieces.  Tada!  Goat’s cheese macarons with fig, walnut and black sesame – an amazing collage of textures and flavours!  But they’re all optional and you can leave them out or play with quantities.  Even plain goats’ cheese is simply delicious.  I can see these as a savoury canapés at a party or special dinner with intrigued guests raising impressed eyebrows.  Or on a plate waiting to go into my stomach… 🙂

Goats' cheese macarons with fig, walnut and black sesame

Goats’ cheese macarons with fig, walnut and black sesame

RECIPE

These strangely delicious tangy-sweet-smooth-crunchy macarons are a home-kitchen invention!  Your contribution to goats’ cheese macarons research would be greatly appreciated If you could also test them and let me know which filling combinations work best for you.

Macaron shells (40 shell halves to make 20 macarons)

Macaron shellsUse macaron shells hanging around your freezer or make them.  You can follow my Italian meringue macaron shells recipe (my preferred more stable method) or the French meringue macaron shells recipe.  Allow the shells to cool completely before filling.

Fig Compote and other options

Chop 1 or 2 figs into very small pieces and heat gently in a covered heavy-based pan for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Your fig compote should be soft and the flavour more intense.  Pour into a bowl and let your compote cool in the fridge.

Options:  instead of figs you could try using apricots. pears, blackberries or raspberries, all of which can pair well with goats’ cheese.

Goats’ cheese cream Making goats' cheese macarons 1

  • 150g/9 tablespoons goats’ cheese – I used a creamy supermarket kind, le Président which was rindless (just the middle part) and not very strong
  • 45g/3 tablespoons mascarpone (or some other creamy cheese)
  • 1 and a half teaspoons/3g ground black sesame seeds, to taste (optional)

Beat the ingredients together with a plastic or wooden spoon until creamy.  The ingredients and quantities you choose depend on the taste and texture of your goats’ cheese (with stronger goats’ cheese you’d need to increase the mascarpone).  The mascarpone makes it creamier but you can also have only goats’ cheese, add some other kind of cheese or omit the black sesame.  Taste your filling as you go along to see what you prefer and test some out in a macaron or two!  🙂

Assembling

Use a disposable piping bag and plain medium-sized nozzle (no.8) to make a ring of goats’ cheese cream on half your macaron shells.  Then add a quarter to half a teaspoon of fig compote in the middle of each ring.  Sprinkle a few small walnut pieces on them then top with the remaining shells.

Making goats' cheese macarons 2 After the first few I started placing the walnuts more towards the centre to have a more even white edge.  Billy the goat insisted on posing with his favourite meh-eh-ehmacaron.  Yes, just when you thought I’d stopped being so batty!  🙂

Goats' cheese macarons with fig, walnut and black sesame

Storing, testing and sharing

These macarons won’t keep very long and should be eaten within 2 days.  By day 3 you can still eat them but the shell will be softer.  You could keep the prepared goats’ cheese cream separate and fill when required.

I hope you’re intrigued by these ‘savoury’ macarons and might try some out.  I also highly recommend, as do my friends and family, my mojito macarons.

I’m just going to thank Rachael from pizzarossa and Korena from Korena in the Kitchen for motivating me to make macarons again with their Daring Kitchen challenge, where you can see lots of other macarons!  I’m also sharing these tasty little bites with Perfecting Patisserie@bakingqueen74, Recipe of the Week@aMummyToo, Tasty Tuesdays@HonestMum and Simply Eggcellent@BelleauKitchen.  Check out all their lovely recipes!  And please help yourselves to a little goats’ cheese macaron with fig, walnut and black sesame seed.

Goats' cheese macarons with fig, walnut and black sesame seeds

Goats’ cheese macarons with fig, walnut and black sesame seeds

Have a lovely sweet-savoury week dear reader!  Muak muak – a kiss on each cheek.  Au revoir… and see you soon!  Happy baking and eating!  🙂 x

P.S.  That Eiffel tower has just reminded me I’m going to Paris mid-November on a special cake mission… more news coming soon!  🙂

 

 

 

 

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Baking on Sundays with my French mum was a lovely part of my childhood. Later I experimented with baking books or internet recipes and did the pâtisserie course at Le Cordon Bleu Paris. Still trying out new recipes and inventing cakes with influences from all around the world, including some healthier ones. Yes, love cakes!!! Hope you'll love them too and have fun baking. :)

53 thoughts on “Savoury goats’ cheese macarons with fig, walnut and black sesame!”

    • Lili's avatar
      Lili says:

      Thanks so much Julie! Yes, it’s a very simple but lovely filling… And I am really looking forward to Paris and all the patisseries of course 🙂

      Like

    • Lili's avatar
      Lili says:

      Thanks so much Suzanne! I’m happy you like them! 🙂 I was pleased how the flavours turned out, especially with them not being so sweet… 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Lili's avatar
      Lili says:

      Thank you Korena! Me too!! But the filling is very easy to rustle up if you ever fancy trying some… 🙂 And thanks again for your Daring Kitchen challenge, without which these wouldn’t exist!! 🙂

      Like

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