The month’s Mac Tweets challenged us to create the perfect macaron inspired by a movie. The first movie that came to mind is a family favorite that we have watched over and over again for years. And even though I know all the jokes, they still make me laugh.
Princess Bride is “a classic fairy tale, with swordplay, giants, an evil prince, a beautiful princess, and yes, some kissing.” I don’t mind the kissing parts so much. In fact, who wouldn’t want a kiss like Princess Buttercup and Wesley’s kiss at the end of the story. “Since the invention of the kiss there have been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind.” Awwwwww
So in honor of Princess Buttercup and her happily ever after, I created a pretty yellow Buttercup macaron. I used the adapted Ottolenghi recipe for the macaron shells with a generous pinch of cardamom added to the powdered sugar and almond flour mixture. They’re filled with a mango cream cheese filling.
While searching for a Mango filling recipe, I stumbled upon a fabulous blog that I hadn’t visited before, Vanilla Garlic, and his Mango Lime Cupcakes with Neufchâtel Cheese Frosting. Since I had Neufchâtel Cheese in the fridge, I decided to add mango to his frosting recipe to create a pretty yellow filling for my macs. And since the recipe made more frosting than I needed for my macs, I thought I might as well give the cupcake recipe a try at the same time.
Neufchâtel Cheese is softer than Cream Cheese due to its lower fat and higher moisture content. I almost always use it instead of regular cream cheese. But with the additional moisture from the mango, I had a really hard time getting my filling to firm up. In the end, my frosting was a bit too soft, even though I added plenty of additional powdered sugar.
But it really didn’t matter much because these sinfully delicious cupcakes were scrumptious even without icing. Garrett describes them as intensely rich, moist, and dense, and they definitely are. Sort of like a citrus flavored pound cake. Since it’s so dense the cupcake center will sink, but Garret says, “don’t worry about the sinking because the mango has so much moisture it can’t really be helped. A small smear of frosting helps the presentation.”
So give these cupcakes a try and while you’re at it “have fun storming the castle!”
Sue Sparks, Munchkin Munchies, is the winner of my $75 Novice Giveaway. Congratulations! Sue and I are fellow Daring Bakers and have been visiting each others blogs for a long while now. Be sure at stop by and congratulation her. Have fun shopping Sue!
alana
what a lovely pairing! yum!
Fahrenheit 350°
Gorgeous! You are a master! I need to get some parchment paper, my macs keep sticking and the bottoms get stuck, even on non stick liners… very sad. Always trying to overcome some obstacle with these macs!
Daydreamer Desserts
Your macarons turned out gorgeous they fit the movie perfectly! Well done… 🙂
Cecilia
Love your buttercup macarons! And mango, I can image these were delicious!
Laura
They are soooo beautiful! And the cupcakes are really cute, too!
Seattle Pastry Girl
Barbara,
These are just too pretty to eat! Fabulous job on the challenge. They look as tender and sweet as the kiss !
Sandy
bake in paris
The mango cream cheese filling for the buttercup macarons seems like the most suitable filling to bring out the flavor of this beautiful creation! And the cupcakes are to die for 🙂
Sawwadee from bangkok,
Kris
Lora
Gorgeous and adorable! I loved the book and the movie did not disappoint – a rarity for me. I also love Vanilla Garlic. The cupcakes are divine!
Bonnie
You are really on top of things this month. I haven't even thought about McTweets yet. These Macs are lovely. I love the addition of cardamom.
lisaiscooking
Your buttercup macs are lovely! And, the mango filling sounds delicious.
Gera @ Sweets Foods Blog
Lovely macs and mango cupcakes I can say this post is pure sweetness!!
Cheers,
Gera
pigpigscorner
aww they are gorgeous!