It's a Macaron Cake

The ispahan is a macaron pastry created by the famous French pastry chef, Pierre Herme'. 
This version slightly changes from his 2 layer cake filled with a lychee curd and rose buttercream. 
Today's cake contains 3 layers of macaron filled with 2 layers of a a raspberry lemon curd anda white chocolate cream icing. To make this Macaron Cake you will need to complete three
components first before you can build your cake.

The Macaron

You  must first make your macaron batter for the cake portions. Here, we will be using the French Meringue method.

Lemon Curd

The Lemon Curd is made  during the macaron 'drying' stage.

White Chocolate Cream Icing

White Chocolate Cream Icing iincludes white chocolate, creamy mascarpone cheese and
​heavy cream. 

The Macaron 

Ingredients
Amounts
Almond Flour
2 1/2 cups
All purpose flour
1/3 cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons
Confectioner's sugar
2 3/4 cups
Egg whites, room temperature
6
Granulated sugar
1/2 cup
Red food coloring gel
scant

Instructions

1. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper and trace 6-inch circles on the back. Prepare a large pastry bag tipped with a 1/4' round tip.
2. ​Sift the almond flour, flour and confectioners’ sugar into large mixing bowl. Set aside.
3. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the egg whites and sugar on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, just until stiff peaks form. Add a few drops of food coloring to the meringue and mix again for 30 seconds. 
4. ​Add the meringue to the dry ingredients, folding and mixing thoroughly until the batter reaches ribbon stage.
5. ​Transfer the batter into the prepared pastry bag. Starting from the center of each circle, pipe the batter onto the parchment paper, following your template, forming a flat disk, approximately 1 cm tall. Pipe 1-inch macaron disks onto parchment line baking sheet with any remaining batter.
6. ​Tap the baking pan against a kitchen counter to release any trapped air bubbles. Rest the macarons for at least 1 hour, allowing a thin shell to form on the outside.

Meanwhile

​While the macarons are resting, preheat the oven to 320°F (160°C) and prepare the raspberry lemon curd.

The Raspberry Lemon Curd 

​Ingredients
Amounts
Ingredients
Amounts
Lemon juice, fresh & strained
1/3 cup
Salt
pinch
Granulated sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons
Butter, unsalted
1/2 cup
Egg yolks
3
Raspberries, crushed
1/2 cup
Cornstarch
1 tablespoon
Raspberry extract
1/2 teaspoon

Instructions

1. Combine the lemon juice, sugar, egg yolks and salt in a small saucepan.
2. Combine the cornstarch with the water to form a slurry and add that into the saucepan.
​3. Heat the curd over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and begins to bubble, about 7 minutes.
​4. Remove the curd from heat and add the butter, whisking until the butter is melted.
4. Add the crushed raspberries and extract last.
​5.Transfer the curd into a large bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it into the refrigerator to cool.

Time to Bake the Macaron

​Bake the rested macarons one sheet at a time for 18 to 20 minutes.
​Allow them to cool on the parchment paper.

White Chocolate Whipped Icing

Ingredients
Amounts 
Heavy cream, chilled
2 cups
Granulated sugar
2/3 cup
Vanilla extract
1 teaspoon
Mascarpone cheese, softened
8 ounces
White chocolate, melted
1 cup
Fresh raspberries
2 cups

Instructions

1. ​In a large mixing bowl, whisk the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the mascarpone and melted chocolate for a minute until creamy.

3. Add the cheese mixture to the whipped cream and whisk again for 1 to 2 minutes, until stiff peaks form.
​
​4.Transfer the cream into a pastry bag tipped with French star tip.

The Assembly

​To assemble the cake, pipe dollops of cream onto each layer, top with raspberries and add a generous amount of the lemon curd in the center.

Garnish the top with whipped cream, more raspberries. Set the cake into the refrigerator for 1 day, allowing the macarons to mature. When ready to serve, use a sharp serrated knife to slice the cake.