With year of the tiger coming up (February 22nd) I was inspired to make some tiger character macarons and if you’re inspired to make some you can use this free tiger macaron template as a guide.
This was our families first year celebrating the new year in Japan. The shops and traditions had so many cute tiger themed decorations like this Hello Kitty in a tiger outfit and this rice cake stack with a tiger on it (kagami mochi).
I made (for the first time in since we moved in - 8 months!) some macarons in our kitchen in our base housing apartment. I did a couple of tweaks to my base recipe to accommodate my pantry supplies - someday I’ll share the tricks once I test them a bit more! I believe that’s why this batch came out sooo fluffy and thick.
Tips for using the tiger macaron template:
-Print two sheets of the basic character macarons template and slightly overlap to fit in a half sheet tray (approximatey 13 X 18 inches). -You can do ears on all of them or just the tops. (Use the basic macaron template if you want circles for the backs. Pro Tip: This helps save time and helps stretch your batter).
Tips for Piping Tiger Heads on the Simple Tiger Macaron Template
-Pipe all your base circles first. -Then pipe the ears on; more pressure to widen the ear near the head and then drag away and “flick back” to get a bit of a point. Make sure the ears connect to the main head. -The ears need to be the same thickness/height as the head to help with even baking.
-Add the snouts, make sure your main head has started to form a light skin but isn’t totally dry. If the batter starts to sink into the head, wait a minute or two until it’s a bit more dry. It should be able to form its own mound without sinking in (sinking in is used for “wet-on-wet” technique, like with royal icing). -Be careful, if your main head it too dry the 3-D details could form a second “foot.” Try to keep that in mind as you work.
-Use a scribe to fine tune details. A simple tooth pick will work, or a plastic or metal scribe. Check out our long and standard size scribes for some cute options.
For this first batch I chose to use a two toned macaron batter. I did basic details with different piping tip sizes using the same batter. I added the nose, mouth, eyes, whiskers, and stripes details with dry food coloring mixed with The Color Solution by The Sugar Art (or you can use vodka, everclear, lemon or vanilla extract) and a paintbrush.
My tiger macarons were filled with chocolate orange ganache and the shells had added cinnamon. The flavor reminded me of the smashable chocolate oranges with a twist of Christmas spice. What flavor would you make them?
I‘d love to see what you make with this simple tiger macarons template! Please tag me on Instagram (@rose_macarons) especially if you use it for Year of the Tiger. This basic character template works great for any animal with slightly pointed ears (all cars, some dogs, hamsters). You can even just fill a round shape instead of a pointed shape for bears!
p.s. My son is a big fan of macarons. He was happy to see that I made some after my long hiatus. "Wow, you have cookies, mom?" It was very sweet to hear the excitement in his voice. I'm thinking my next batch will one of my husband's favorite flavors - honey lemon... but we'll see, maybe I'll get inspired by some local Japanese ingredients instead! Honey Yuzu anyone?
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