#Taste Sustainable Christmas | Banana Peel & Gingerbread Spiced Macaron recipe

“In this series I present the Sustainable Christmas recipes from the Canadian chefs of the Fairmont Hotels across Canada and Internationally”

Banana Peel & Gingerbread Spiced Macaron, Citrus Cranberry Preserve

150g Almond flour (fine sifted)
30g Banana peel flour
260g Confectioners’ sugar, sifted
150g Sugar
210g Egg white (room temp)
Pinch Salt

Gingerbread spiced butter cream

½ Cup Unsalted butter, softened
2 Cups Confectioners’ sugar, sifted
¼ tsp Cinnamon powder
¼ tsp Ginger powder
Pinch Star anise powder
2 tbsp Milk

Citrus Cranberry preserve

2 Cups Cranberry sauce
1 tsp Apple pectin
1 tbsp Sugar
1 Orange zest

1 For the banana peel flour, dehydrate banana peels until crispy, blend, sift and set aside.

2 Blend all dry ingredients in a food processor and then sieve.

3 Whip egg white and sugar on a slow speed until soft peak. (Note: whipping egg whites on slow speed produces a more stable meringue. Aging egg whites for macarons is an important step. Separate the eggs, place the whites in a clean container, cover with plastic wrap with a few holes poked in and leave it in the fridge for a few days before using.)

4 Fold in almond, banana peel flour and sugar mixture, mix until smooth.

5 Pipe the batter on sheet pans lined with parchment. Tap the tray several times to remove air bubbles. Allow to sit for 40-60 minutes so the macarons form a skin.

6 Heat oven to 300°F. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

7 Cream room temperature butter with a hand mixer or the paddle attachment of a standard mixer until smooth and fluffy. Gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar until fully incorporated. Add in finely sifted spices.

8 Pour in milk and beat for an additional 3-4 minutes.

9 Gently heat up leftover cranberry sauce on a low heat. Whisk in pectin, sugar and orange zest and bring it to a boil. Simmer for 2-3 minutes on low heat. Store refrigerated until used.

10 Pipe Gingerbread spiced buttercream onto the back of half the shells and scoop a small amount of cranberry preserve in the center. Form a sandwich and repeat. Macarons should be aged in the fridge for a day for best results. This allows the filling to soften the insides of the shells.

AJ Thalakkat

Executive Pastry Chef – Fairmont Washington D.C., Georgetown, USA

“Leftover cranberry sauce is the perfect filling for macarons, and using banana peels to create flour for macarons helps to make a zero waste Christmas. Happy Holidays!”