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Birthday Cake Macarons

These birthday cake macarons taste just like a slice of your favorite vanilla cake. They also look just as fun as they taste.

image of birthday cake macarons that are filled with sprinkle birthday cake frosting

Making These Birthday Cake Macarons with the French Method

There are a few different ways macarons are made. French macarons are considered easier to make while the Italian and Swiss methods use a few more steps but are more structurally sound.

French macarons also require less equipment. While I love Italian macarons, I like to keep things simple and used the French method for this recipe.

image of birthday cake macarons stacked on a plate

Equipment You’ll Need to Make These Birthday Cake Macarons

I’ve made quite a few batches of macarons, and they definitely turn out best when the ingredients are weighed, and the macarons are baked on a silpat mat.

These are the tools I like to use when I make these macarons:

Making Birthday Cake Macarons: Step-by-Step Process

While the recipe below is quite detailed, I find visual cues to be super helpful!

Below are some photos and a video tutorial of the process to help guide you through this recipe for French birthday cake macarons.

Step #1: Prep the Ingredients and Equipment

After weighing your ingredients, wipe down your mixing bowl and whisk attachment with a bit of vinegar or lemon juice to remove any residual grease.

This helps the meringue whip up better!

image of an egg white being separated into a container to make french macarons

Step #2: Make the French Meringue

Next, it’s time to make the French meringue!

Whisk the room temperature egg whites on a medium-low speed until the surface is covered in small bubbles.

image of egg whites that have been whipped to make small bubbles on the top before adding in the sugar to make french meringue

Add in a pinch of cream of tartar and continue to mix until the whisk begins to leave tracks.

Gradually add the granulated sugar and mix on a medium speed for 30 seconds. Increase the mixing speed to a medium high speed.

Mix until stiff peaks form like in the photo below. Keep a close eye on your mixer to avoid over mixing the meringue.

image of meringue that's shiny and has reached stiff peak stage for making macarons

Step #3: Sift and Fold the Dry Ingredients into the Meringue

Sift the superfine almond flour and powdered sugar into the meringue, then add in a squirt of pink gel food coloring.

image of dry ingredients being sifted into meringue to make macaron batter

Fold the ingredients together with a rubber spatula.

Use a circular motion that sweeps around the edge of the bowl and then pull through the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is getting mixed together.

Fold until a thick ribbon of batter runs off the spatula when it is lifted.

You should be able to draw a few figure 8’s with the batter running off your spatula in a continuous stream once it is the right consistency.

image of pink french macaron batter being mixed to make birthday cake
 macarons

Step #4: Pipe the Macaron Shells

Fill a large piping bag with the macaron batter and pipe 1 1/4-inch rounds onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart.

Firmly bang or drop your pans on the counter a few times to bring any trapped air bubbles to the surface and pop them with a toothpick. This can help you avoid hollow or cracked shells.

Top the piped macaron shells with nonpareil sprinkles while they’re still wet.

image of birthday cake macaron shells that have been topped with nonpareil sprinkles

Step #5: Rest the Piped Macarons

Next let the macarons rest for 30 minutes until they form a skin.

They should be mostly dry to the touch and look matte once they’re ready to be baked. While the shells rest preheat the oven.

image of birthday cake macaron shells that have been topped with nonpareil sprinkles and have rested before being baked

Step #6: Bake the Macarons

Bake one tray of macarons at a time and place the tray in the middle rack of your oven.

Bake time can vary based on the size of macarons you pipe and your oven, so adjust the bake time as needed.

Let the macarons cool fully on the pan then gently remove them from the silpat mat.

image of birthday cake macarons stacked on a plate

Step #7: Assembling These Birthday Cake Macarons

The final step is to pair up the macaron shells and pipe a small dab of sprinkle buttercream on one macaron shell. Gently top it with a second shell.

Then place the finished macarons in the fridge to mature overnight and bring them to room temperature the next day then enjoy!

image of a bitten into birthday cake macaron

Troubleshooting Birthday Cake Macarons

While I’d love to think everyone’s first batch of these birthday cake macarons will turn out perfectly, my own experience has taught me that’s not how things usually go.

Macarons are incredibly temperamental, and it might take a few tries to get them just right. If you run into any issues, check out my macaron troubleshooting guide!

Choosing The Right Filling for Your Birthday Cake Macarons

Almost all the flavor in a macaron comes from its filling. The shell gives the macarons an incredible texture, but the filling is what determines its flavor.

image of birthday cake sprinkle frosting ready to be used to fill birthday cake macarons

I have a big sweet tooth, so I like to add a bit of almond extract and some nonpareil sprinkles to my cream cheese buttercream.

It might sound like an odd combination but I promise once you mix in the sprinkles, it tastes just like a delicious birthday cake.

If you don’t want your macarons to be super sweet, I recommend using a 1/4 batch of my hybrid buttercream or Swiss meringue frosting as your frosting base.

You can also add sprinkles to my white chocolate ganache macaron filling.

Recipe Yield

This recipe makes about 36 macaron shells, which can be used to make 18 macarons. You can double or triple this recipe to make more macarons if needed.

The yield and bake time will also vary based on the size of macarons you pipe. I pipe my shells with a diameter of about 1 1/4 inches.

image of birthday cake macarons stacked on a plate

Tips for Making the Best Birthday Cake Macarons

  • Wipe your mixing bowl and whisk with lemon juice or vinegar to remove any traces of grease before making your meringue. It will help your egg whites whip up better!
  • Separate your own eggs and age them if possible. Do not use egg whites from a carton.
  • Measure your ingredients in grams with a kitchen scale! You really need to be precise with this recipe and your macarons will turn out best if the ingredients are weighed.
  • Carefully read through the directions before making these macarons. There are quite a few steps and it’s good to know your game plan before you start!
  • Use a macaron mat or print out a template to help you pipe consistently sized macarons.
  • Let your macarons mature! Letting them rest overnight while they are filled softens them (in a good way) and allows the flavors to develop.
  • If your first batch of macarons doesn’t turn out, please check out my macaron troubleshooting guide.
image of birthday cake macarons stacked on a plate

Making These Birthday Cake Macarons in Advance & Storage Tips

  • You need to let French macarons mature for a few hours or overnight in the fridge before eating them. This gives them their best texture and taste.
  • Store filled macarons at room temperature for up to 2 days in an airtight container.
  • Refrigerate filled macarons for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
  • Freeze filled macarons for up to a month in an airtight container.
  • Unfilled macaron shells can be frozen for up to a month in an airtight container.
  • Make your filling ahead of time too or save any leftover filling! It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a month.

Let Me Know What You Think!

If you try this recipe for birthday cake macarons, I’d love to hear what you think of it! Please leave a rating and comment below.

Tag me @chelsweets and use #chelsweets on social media so that I can see your amazing creations!

Other Recipes You Might Like:

Yield: 18 macarons

Birthday Cake Macarons

image of birthday cake macarons stacked on a plate

Learn how to make these adorable birthday cake macarons! They're filled with homemade buttercream and are absolutely delicious!

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 17 minutes
Additional Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 7 minutes

Ingredients

Birthday Cake Macarons

Sprinkle Birthday Cake Buttercream Frosting

  • 28g unsalted butter, room temperature (2 Tbsp)
  • 28g cup cream cheese, room temperature (2 Tbsp)
  • 4g vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (1 tsp)
  • 2g almond extract (1/2 tsp)
  • 1g salt (1/8 tsp)
  • 125g powdered sugar (1 cup)
  • 10g heavy cream (2 tsp)
  • 12g nonpareil sprinkles (1 Tbsp)

Equipment

Instructions

Birthday Cake Macarons

  1. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon mats. Set aside.
  2. Pour 55g of aged egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk and mix on a medium speed until the surface of the egg whites is covered in small bubbles. Add in a pinch of cream of tartar and continue to mix until it reaches the soft peak stage.
  3. Add 55g of granulated sugar into the eggs and mix on a medium speed for 30 seconds. Increase the mixing speed to a medium high speed. Keep mixing until stiff, glossy peaks form.
  4. Sift 70g superfine almond flour and 63g powdered sugar into the meringue and add a squirt of pink gel food coloring.
  5. Fold until a thick ribbon of batter runs off the spatula when it is lifted. You should be able to draw a couple figure 8's with the batter running off your spatula when it is the right consistency. If the stream of batter breaks before you're able to this, you may need to stir it a bit more.
  6. Pour the batter into a large piping bag fit with a medium-sized round piping tip and pipe 1 1/4 inch rounds on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart.
  7. Bang the pans firmly on the counter a few times to release air bubbles, then pop any remaining air bubbles that come to the surface with a toothpick.
  8. Sprinkle nonpareil sprinkles over the piped macarons while they're still wet.
  9. Let the macarons rest for 30 minutes, or until they develop a skin. The macarons should look matte once the skin has formed. While the macarons rest, preheat the oven to 315 F / 157 C.
  10. Bake one tray of macarons at a time on the middle rack of your oven for 15-18 minutes and rotate the the pan halfway through.
  11. Remove from oven and let the macarons cool on the pan (about 15 minutes), then gently remove them from the silpat mat.

Sprinkle Buttercream Frosting

  1. Beat 28g room-temperature butter and 28g room-temperature cream cheese on a medium speed for 1-2 minutes with a whisk attachment until smooth.
  2. Mix in 4g vanilla extract, 2g almond extract and 1g salt on a low speed.
  3. Slowly add in 125g of powdered sugar. Half way through add 10g of heavy cream or milk to make the frosting easier to mix.
  4. Mix on low for a couple minutes until the ingredients are fully incorporated and the desired consistency is reached
  5. If the frosting is too thick, add in additional heavy cream or milk (1 tsp at a time). If the frosting is too thin, add in more powdered sugar (1 Tbsp at a time).
  6. Once the frosting is the right consistency, fold in 1 Tbsp nonpareil sprinkles.
  7. Place in a piping bag with a round tip and set aside.

Assembling These Birthday Cake Macarons

  1. Pair up the macaron shells then pipe a thick dollop of buttercream frosting of your choice around one macaron shell. Gently press a second shell on top of the frosting to create a sandwich.
  2. Place the finished macarons in an airtight container and chill in the fridge overnight, then let them warm to room temperature and enjoy!

Notes

Recipe Yield:

This recipe makes about 36 macaron shells, which can be used to make 18 macarons. You can double or triple this recipe to make more macarons if needed.

The yield and bake time can vary based on how large you pipe your shells. I piped these shells with a diameter of about 1 and 1/4 inches, so they're a tiny bit smaller than a standard macaron.

Tips for Making the Best Birthday Cake Macarons

  • Measure your ingredients in grams with a kitchen scale! You really need to be precise with this recipe. Your macarons will turn out best if the ingredients are weighed.
  • Separate your own eggs and age them if possible! Do not use egg whites from a carton.
  • Carefully read through the directions before making these macarons. There are quite a few steps and it's good to know your game plan before you start!
  • Use gel food coloring to color these macarons. If you try to use liquid food coloring it can throw off the consistency of the batter.
  • Use a macaron mat or print out a template to help you pipe consistently sized macarons.
  • Let your macarons mature in the fridge overnight! Letting them rest overnight while they are filled softens them (in a good way) and allows the flavors to develop.
  • If your first batch of macarons doesn't turn out, please check out my macaron troubleshooting guide for help!

Making These Birthday Cake Macarons in Advance & Storage Tips

  • French macarons need to mature overnight (or ideally 24 hours) in the fridge before being eaten! They taste best 24 hours after being made.
  • Filled macarons can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days in an airtight container.
  • Macarons can be refrigerated for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
  • Filled macarons can be frozen for up to a month, but the length can vary based on the filling.
  • Unfilled macaron shells can be frozen for up to a month in an airtight container.
  • Your filling can be made ahead of time too or save any leftover filling! It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to a month.

Nutrition Information

Yield

18

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 132Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 26mgSodium 40mgCarbohydrates 17gFiber 1gSugar 15gProtein 3g

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Reenam

Saturday 3rd of June 2023

Hi Chelsey!

Thank you so much for this recipe! I had been struggling with making them, I tried both, Italian and French method and nothing seemed to work until I stumbled upon your instagram page and this recipe this morning, tried the recipe this evening, and it gives me immense joy to share with you that my macarons turned out perfect!

Thank you again, you have helped me tremendously and I can't wait to try the rest of your recipes!

Lots of love from Toronto! <3

Chelsweets

Sunday 4th of June 2023

Hi Reenam,

Aw I'm so happy to hear that!! Macarons can be so challenging, and the feeling of finally getting a batch right is just the best :) Congratulations!!

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