Red Lantern Macarons Honor the Year of the Dragon
By: Leah Rodrigues
Published: January 24, 2012

These rad red lantern macarons from raspberri cupcakes honor the year of the dragon.  The detailed macarons are filled with jackfruit buttercream, a tropical fruit found in Asia and South America.  You are most likely to find jackfruit canned in your local Asain market.  One bite of these red lantern macarons will send an explosion of flavor in your mouth.
Chinese Lantern Macarons with Jackfruit Buttercream
(makes approximately 10-12 macarons)
	100g aged egg whites (you can use fresh eggs too, just make sure they are room temperature. I always use fresh these days, and zap it in the microwave on defrost for 10 seconds)
	110g almond meal, at room temperature and well sifted
	200g icing sugar
	50g caster sugar
Optional: 1 tsp powdered egg whites (available from The Essential Ingredient), helps to stabilise egg whites but is not necessary
	To decorate: red and yellow food colouring (powdered or gel), gold string
 For the jackfruit buttercream:
	2 egg whites
	1/2 cup caster (superfine) sugar
	150g unsalted butter
	1/2 cup canned jackfruit puree (about 3-4 pieces of canned jackfruit) + 1/4-1/3 cup jackfruit sugar syrup from can to taste
	Note: if you don't like jackfruit or it is unavailable, you can replace with canned lychee, fresh mango or even durian if you're feeling adventurous
(If you're new to making Swiss meringue buttercream, these wonderful tutorials from two of my favourite bloggers will help)
For full recipe instructions, click here.