The aroma is enticing
I have mentioned in the past Sydney has loved cherry blossoms since she was a little girl. Living in Colorado there are not a plethora of cherry blossom trees, but we always had a few cherry blossom trees in our yard of each home we owned,we called them Sydney’s tree. Recently Sydney and I were fortuitous to have the opportunity to taste a cherry blossom cake roll. The first thought I had was macarons, cherry blossom macarons. I asked my host where I might purchase cherry blossom flavorings; I was informed Japan. I thought how hard can it be to find cherry blossom extract.. well very. Sydney and I were just about to give up when a friend of mine, from Japan, offered to bring me some back with him (he is a Japanese native). I have waited almost a month, but on Monday, we finally received a wonderful package of not only cherry blossom extract, but pickled cherry blossom, cherry blossom compound, and cherry blossom sugar. I am not quite sure what Sydney and I will create with the pickled cherry blossom, but am thrilled to have the chance to try!
If you are intrigued by these specially flavored macarons please leave me a comment and I will try to send you some cherry blossom flavorings; both Sydney and I believe in “sharing forward” karma!
Cherry Blossom (Sakura) Macarons:
I choice to dust the top with luster dust
Prepare your mise en place.
Tant pour tant mise en place
For a complete step by step tutorial visit: Celebrate Cherry Blossom Season
Prepare the Italian meringue mise en place.
Meringue mise en place
Take the bowl with your tant pour tant (almond mixture) and add the reserved half of egg whites.
Add a third of the meringue to the tant pour tant, give it a quick fold to break some of the air, keep folding till the almond mixture is mixed into the meringue, and then fold another third of the meringue into the batter, continue to vigorously fold till there are no white streaks. Now add the last third of meringue to the batter fold till thick, shiny and ribbons fall from the spatula. Fold the batter carefully until you obtain a batter that falls back on itself and resembles shiny cake batter. There is no magic, I am not going to tell you that the batter should look like magma, I doubt you have ever seen it up close, I know I haven’t!
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto silicone mats lined baking sheets or parchment paper lined baking sheets. A vented jellyroll pan edge free is perfect. Rap the jellyroll pan on the counter to allow air bubbles to be released.
I prefer a matfer tube for piping macarons
Let the macarons to sit out for about 1 hour to make sure the shells are hard. A well-made macaron features a crinkly “foot” on the bottom of each shell. Let the piped batter rest for 30 to 60 minutes, check for a skin to develop and place in the oven.
Voila!
These sound wonderful!
Thank you
OMG! Can I come over, I can be there in 30 minutes! Now I am on a mission to find cherry blossom flavoring to try this for my next cookie exchange! Thanks for sharing.
Sure come over! Let me know if you need help on your quest! Bobbie
Once again you have taken a dessert to a higher level
Jonetta, you alway make my day sweeter with your comments.
Absolutely gorgeous post as always! Those macs look delightful and I can’t imagine how nice their fragrance must be! I’ve never had the pleasure to try anything sakura flavoured but I bet it’s good. 🙂
Now, as much as I would love to ask for a sample of the cherry blossom yumminess from you I think I’ll partake in the karma exercise and point you towards the lovely Stella of Bravetart’s recent post – http://bravetart.com/blog/Enfleurage I suppose in an ironic twist, she just wrote about her futile attempts at replicating a cherry blossom essence. Maybe you can help her out?
Keep up the lovely posts. 😀
xoxo
– Eve
Eve, you’re are too sweet, I would be happy to to help Stella. Could please introduce us? Thank you
Whoa, when I finally work up the guts to make macaroons, I’ll be following your recipe! You’re so thorough and the step-by-step is definitely necessary for a macaroon newby like me! 🙂 Your pictures are gorgeous and I bet these little guys taste great!
Julia, what a sweet compliment. If you have any question don’t hesitate to ask. Bobbie
these look beautiful and delish!. what is cherry blossom compound? I have never heard of it. And is the cherry blossom sugar the same thing? Thanks in advance for your help with this.
Thank you for your sweet word! Cherry blossom sugar is the cherry blossom petals dehydrated with sugar and ground finely, the compound is almost a syrup constancy, and stronger than the extract. Both are fun to experiment in recipes. We just finish a cherry blossom sugar cookie with cherry blossom royal icing!http://bit.ly/K4cNvj
I am gonna try to make these Beautiful Macarons..Where can I find the Cherry Blossom sugar ??
The cherry blossom sugar can only be bought in Japan, a friend from Japan, picks it up for me. The cherry blossom extract/essence is the main cherry blossom flavoring ingredient. I just recently started selling it. Let me know if you would like to try some.
I sent you an email and I don’t know if you got it! But I would dearly love some cherry blossom extract, but more than anything, I have been trying to get my hands on some cherry blossom sugar! If you can send me some (I’ll pay you!) that would be wonderful. I want to make some cherry blossom donuts for my next birthday and it’s proving a real challenge for me. Thanks.
I think I might just be adding these wonderful macarons to my menu as well! Let me know.
Hi! I love this recipe! I hope to try it. I would live to buy some sakura extract and definately some sakura sugar from you!!! I’ve been looking everywhere for it!!!
I can send either a dram sample of the cherry blossom extract or if you want more I can sell you a larger size. The cherry blossom sugar I am unable to sell or give samples. A friend of mine brings the cherry blossom from Japan when he visits home. He was unable to bring the normal amount. I’m in the process of seeing if I can get more, but it will take about a month, in the meantime if you send me your address and let me know if you want a sample or larger of cherry blossom extract. I hope this helps.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe. The macarons look fantastic! I added your recipe to the list of best recipe with sakura flowers and linked it back to your blog:
http://nihon-ichiban.com/2012/07/16/top-recipes-with-pickled-sakura-cherry-blossoms-from-japan/
Can’t wait to see read more of your creations.
Hi! Thanks for your reply and email. I’ll be wanting the larger amount. I also sent my address to you by email. Let me know if you got it!!! Thanks again. I can’t wait to try it!!!!
Hi Bobbie, I came across your blog while looking for sources for sakura. These macarons look beautiful! I’ve never tried making macarons and will definitely try your sakura recipe. I have found the pickled cherry blossoms locally here in California. Is this the same as the cherry blossom compound in the recipe? What is this compound? Or is it sweetened cherry blossom paste? Your help would be appreciated! I am so looking forward to making your gorgeous and tasty mararon!
Helen, I am so pleased you are going to bake the cherry blossom macarons! Pickled Sakura is different from the compound, the compound is thick and sweet; however sweetened cherry blossom paste would substitute just fine.
Hi,
I would like to buy the cherry blossom essence and sugar from you. Could you please let me know if you have them available to sell now and how much. I appreciate very much.
Tanya
I will e-mail you the price and size.
Please let me know if you have any cherry blossom essence for sale and the price. Thank you.
Lee, I do have cherry blossom for sale, what size are you looking for?
Hi Bobbie,
I have not heard from you on the cherry blossom essence and sugar size and price yet. Please email me. I appreciate this very much. Thanks.
Tanya, I tried to e-mail, but the e-mail bounced.
Hi Bobbie,
Sorry. I don’t know why it bounced. Could you please try it again at address: truong.tanya@ymail.com? Many thanks.
No problem, do have an idea of what size you want?I can send a few sizes and their prices.
I would like medium or large size. Do you have salted cherry blossoms? Thanks.
Tanya, I only have cherry blossom essence. I will e-mail you the price.
Oh my god these look so good, I’ve never even attempted to make macarons before, but I might have to give it a try soon.
Jo, Thank you..if have any question please don’t hesitate. Good luck! 🙂
Hi Bobbie,
Sorry to bother you again. Did you send me an email? I was wondering if it was bounced. I’m looking forward to receive your email. Thanks Bobbie.
Hi Tanya, I just e-mailed you.
Wow… Sydney and I have the same fatuation. I have also passed it down to my oldest daughter, the joy of baking and the love of cherry blossoms. We have several stuffed animals with the names Sakura Serafina and Sakura type names! I think toot story is great. Now I too am on the search for cherry blossom flavorings or cherry blossom macarons, whichever I find first! I found you during my macaeon obsession session on Pinterest, but I’m signing up right now for your newsletter. Thanks again for the inspiration.
Thank You:) I sell both sakura essence and cherry blossom macarons.
Hello! I would love to try this recipe but unfortunately I can’t find any Sakura essence 🙁
Please email me about your sizes and prices thanks!
Hi Rannie,I am preparing a few orders for sakura..we accept visa/mastercard. I will e-mail you the prices.
Thank you so much!
My pleasure 🙂
What do you mean by sift the tant pour tant I’m confused on that part
Sift tant pour tant (almond flour mixture) through a sieve into your bowl after you have blitzed it in the food processor.
Hi,
I am interested in buying the cherrry blossom sugar, essence, and paste. Do you ship to canada. email please at kimmeycloutier@gmail.com
Hi!! i was wondering what is the difference between the cherry blossom compound and the extract. i was looking all over and could not find an answer, if you could help me with this i would be extremely happy!! thanks in advance (:
Evelyn I hope this clarifies the cherry blossom compound versus extract. Cherry blossom compound is a delicious and concentrated type of flavor, loaded with real fruit and shelf stable at room temperature, Our compounds are ideal for flavoring cakes, cookies, muffins, cheesecakes, ice cream, or jams. The compounds is thick like a syrup.
Our cherry blossom extract is the most-concentrated type of flavor, The extracts are the essential oils of cherry blossom. Perfect for flavoring cookies, biscotti, chocolate, ice cream, gelato, bread, or just about any culinary creation. The extract is liquid.
Thanks! that really did help a lot!!
Evelyn, Iam so pleased, thank you for letting me know!
Would like to buy some Sakura essence…
Marilyn, I no longer have the small dram size testers, but I do sell sakura at http://shop.bobbiesbakingblog.com/product-category/extracts/
These look wonderful and now I know why macrons are so expensive to buy in France! Unfortunately to difficult to make for my abilities!
oh, my!! I love this, thank you!! I once had a box of mochi (japanese rice cakes) that were sakura flavored with white chocolate filling… they don’t seem to sell these anymore! thank you so much for this recipe, it reminds me so much of the mochi i had…i also have sakura drops, a sakura flavored hard candy, which tastes very subtle yet sweet. i hope to try this and to maybe try to make mochi with cherry blossom essence someday… where did you buy this essence?
I sell it my shop; here is the link: http://shop.bobbiesbakingblog.com/product-category/extracts/