• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Tara's Multicultural Table

  • Index
  • International Recipes
  • Travel
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • Policies

Vanilla Bean Macarons with Cream Cheese Filling

10 February, 2014 by Tara 10 Comments

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

A recipe for Vanilla Bean Macarons with Cream Cheese Filling! These vanilla-speckled macarons are topped with rainbow nonpareils and filled with a rich cream cheese frosting. 

Stacked Vanilla Bean Macarons with Cream Cheese Filling

I have always wanted to attempt macarons and finally gained the courage to try! Chad took Evan out for the morning a few Saturdays ago so I would have peace and quiet to work (and also avoid little hands trying to grab one of the many baking sheets I was juggling in my tiny kitchen). These Vanilla Bean Macarons were the perfect place to start! The chewy, delicate vanilla-speckled shells blend perfectly with the smooth and fluffy cream cheese frosting- such a wonderful pairing. 

While updating this recipe, my daughter opted to add a few rainbow nonpareils for a pop of color (she always finds a reason to add some sprinkles). If desired, top the macaron shells immediately after tapping the baking sheet to remove bubbles, but before they have had a chance to dry. 

Piping Vanilla Bean Macarons with Cream Cheese Filling

Macaron Tips

  • I recommend using the metric measurements for the macaron shells for best results, but have also included the US Customary conversions.
  • If possible, bake these on a day with lower humidity. Rain is not your friend here.
  • For the ground almonds, I generally use almond meal/flour. You can also process whole almonds in the food processor. Just make sure the almonds and powdered sugar are very fine to create smooth macaron shells.
  • Aged, room temperature egg whites are best for whipping into stiff peaks.
  • My previous failures have generally been attributed to overmixing- easy to do with overzealous young helpers. You want to gently fold in the beaten egg whites until they are completely combined, but not to the point of being runny. I have seen the resulting texture described as “molten lava” and others have listed an average of 40-65 folds.
  • If you want to make sure every macaron shell is the exact same size, use a silicon macaron mat or make your own by drawing circles using a circular cookie cutter on parchment paper, then flip it over so the drawn part is on the bottom (use white translucent parchment paper so the circles can be seen through the top). When piping, hold the pastry bag and tip completely vertical. 
  • Putting the baking sheets filled with piped macarons under my ceiling fan works well on helping create the shells before baking. They should be dry enough that the tops don’t stick to the finger when lightly touched. Make sure the fan is evenly overhead and not blowing air from the side. This may create uneven and oval macarons.
  • If your oven bakes unevenly, it helps to rotate the sheets halfway through baking.
  • Pipe just enough of the vanilla cream cheese to fill the center. You don’t want the filling seeping out as you bit into them, but you also want to be able to see the frosting.
  • Refrigerate the macarons for about a day to allow the flavors to settle. Quite a few of mine didn’t make it that long. They can be refrigerated for up to a week- again, mine didn’t make it that long. Bring to room temperature about 15-30 minutes before serving for the best texture. 

Looking for more Macaron recipes?

Try my Mummy Macarons, S’mores Macarons, and Green Tea Macarons with Chocolate Ganache.

Vanilla Bean Macarons with Cream Cheese Filling on a baking sheet

Vanilla Bean Macarons with Cream Cheese Filling Recipe

Adapted from Birch Tree Baking and Jo the Tart Queen 

Print Pin
3 from 1 vote

Vanilla Bean Macarons with Cream Cheese Filling

A recipe for Vanilla Bean Macarons with Cream Cheese Filling! These vanilla-speckled macarons are topped with rainbow nonpareils and filled with a rich cream cheese frosting.
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Keyword cookie, cream cheese, dessert, macaron, vanilla, vanilla bean
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Resting Time: 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Servings 24 Macarons

Ingredients

Vanilla Bean Macarons:

  • 100 grams (1 cup) ground almond flour
  • 200 grams (2 cups) powdered sugar
  • Pinch salt
  • 100 grams (~3 large) egg whites room temperature
  • 50 grams (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
  • 1 vanilla bean
  • Rainbow nonpareils optional

Cream Cheese Filling:

  • 300 grams (10.5 ounces) cream cheese room temperature
  • 150 grams (5 ounces) unsalted butter room temperature
  • 250 grams (2 1/4-2 1/2 cups) powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon milk

Instructions

To make the macarons:

  • In a food processor or blender, pulse the almond flour and powdered sugar a few times until fine. Do not over pulse. Sift into a bowl with the salt.
  • In another bowl, beat the egg whites with a hand or stand mixer until frothy. Continue beating while slowly adding the granulated sugar and seeds scraped from the vanilla bean until stiff peaks form.
  • Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the ground almond and powdered sugar mixture until combined, but be careful not to overmix. It should be the consistency of “molten lava” but not runny, about 40-65 folds. Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a 0.4 inch (10 mm) circular tip. On a parchment lined baking sheet, pipe 1 1/2 inch (4 cm) circles at least 2 inches apart. Repeat with remaining baking sheets. If your oven runs hot, place an empty baking sheet under each baking sheet with the macarons to offer some protection against the heat.
  • Firmly tap the baking sheets against the counter to remove excess bubbles. If desired, top with a few rainbow nonpareils. Allow to rest uncovered 30-60 minutes to form a shell.
  • Preheat oven to 300˚F (150˚C).
  • Bake the macarons in preheated oven until the tops become firm, 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool before removing from baking sheet.

To make the filling:

  • In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese on low speed until smooth. Dice the butter and add to the cream cheese. Increase speed to medium and continue to beat until smooth and creamy. Beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. If too thick, slowly drizzle in milk until pipe-able. Transfer the cream cheese filling into a bag fitted with a number 8-10 tip.
  • Pair together the cooled macaron shells that are similar in shape. Pipe the filling onto half of the bottom side of the shells. Top, bottom side towards filling, with remaining shells. Gently twist until the cream cheese filling reaches the edges. Repeat with remaining pairs.
  • For best results, refrigerate for 24 hours before serving.
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

Filed Under: Desserts, European Tagged With: cookie, cream cheese, dessert, europe, European, france, french, macaron, vanilla, vanilla bean

Previous Post: « Russian Mushroom and Potato Soup
Next Post: Kladdkaka (Swedish Chocolate Sticky Cake) »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. lk529

    10 February, 2014 at 9:38 pm

    They look so light and addicting…!

    Reply
    • Tara

      11 February, 2014 at 9:16 pm

      Thanks!

      Reply
  2. Keri

    25 June, 2017 at 2:31 pm

    Does the tanginess of the cream cheese filling pair well with the cookie? I’ve somewhat successfully made macarons, but buttercream is so sweet with the cookies. I’ve been struggling to find an appropriate match

    Reply
    • Tara

      26 June, 2017 at 12:22 pm

      Hi Keri! I personally love the cream cheese filling with the macarons. The tanginess helps cut the sweetness a bit along with adding a creamy texture. Hope you like them too!

      Reply
  3. Jasmine

    6 September, 2020 at 6:59 pm

    Does it work if I use vanilla essence instead of vanilla beans?

    Reply
    • Tara

      6 September, 2020 at 9:18 pm

      Hi Jasmine! Yes, you can, but vanilla extract or paste would work better.

      Reply
  4. Karina Melitonyan

    13 February, 2021 at 7:09 am

    Seems that grams to oz ratio is incorrect … 1 block of cream cheese is 8 oz and it’s 226g… recipe states 300 g of cream cheese – approximately 5.2 oz… burger the same way…

    Reply
    • Tara

      13 February, 2021 at 10:34 am

      Hi Karina! Thanks for the catch! I recently updated and doubled the amount of cream cheese in the recipe and forgot to double the ounces. Fixed now.

      Reply
  5. Apollonia

    19 October, 2021 at 7:31 am

    3 stars
    My filling is really liquidy, even though I completely followed the recipe. I don’t really want to add loads of powdered suger, because it’s already quite sweet. Do you think I could add a bit of gelatine without ruining jt?

    Reply
    • Tara

      19 October, 2021 at 9:06 am

      Hi Apollonia! Was the butter softened at room temperature or melted? You can try putting the bowl in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes at a time and beat again until desired consistency.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

About Me

tarasmctable (1 of 1)

Hello and welcome to Tara's Multicultural Table! Check out the index to find recipes from around the world and learn more about me here.

Subscribe to Tara's Multicultural Table via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,100 other subscribers

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Categories

Amazon

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program and earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Subscribe to Tara's Multicultural Table via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,100 other subscribers

Featured Recipes:

Pastel de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Pastry) pile on a white plate.
A pile of Chocolate Almond Toffee on a marble board.
Date Shake in two milkshake glasses next to dates and walnuts.

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 Tara's Multicultural Table on the Foodie Pro Theme