If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably noticed the Bramble Berry office is full of French Macaron fans. We’ve had them as snacks during meetings, been treated to homemade ones by our fabulous Customer Care team member Tina, and served them as treats at the Soap Crafting release Party a few weeks ago. They are sweet little meringue morsels made from just a few simple ingredients, and we knew we had to try them in soap. Our bath treats are made from bath fizzies and foaming bath whip instead of eggs and sugar, but we hope you enjoy them all the same. PS – I know they look more like ice cream cookie sandwiches, but macarons were my inspiration; I promise!
What You’ll Need:
For the bath bombs:
1 cup Citric Acid
2 cups Baking Soda
2 tablespoons melted Shea Butter
4 tablespoons Kaolin Clay
6 mL Mango Mango Fragrance Oil
3 mL Cantaloupe La Bomb Colorant
Two 12-bar Round Silicone Molds
For the frosting:
20 oz. Foaming Bath Whip
5 oz. White Melt and Pour Base
2 mL Almond Cybilla Fragrance Oil
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ONE: Start by pouring the Baking Soda and Citric Acid through a strainer to work out clumps. This will ensure your mixture is nice and smooth and free of clumps. If chunks get left behind, use a spoon to break them up and sift them through the strainer.
TWO: After you’ve mixed the Citric Acid and Baking Soda, add the Kaolin Clay.
THREE: Mix the powders together and then add the Mango Mango Fragrance oil. To fully disperse the fragrance oil, put on some gloves and handmix the powders and oil together.
FOUR: Now add the Cantaloupe La Bomb colorant. We added 3 mL, but the colorant is WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) so you can add a bit more if you’d like a more saturated color. Keep in mind — the more colorant you add, the higher the chance that it will color the bath water.
FIVE: At this point you’ll definitely want to put on some gloves to full incorporate the color into the powders. The colorant will tend to clump together so don’t be afraid to break up the chunks with your fingers. La Bomb colorants are specifically formulated to work in bath bombs, and if you’ve never used them before you should check out this blog post.
SIX: Melt down the Shea Butter in a heat safe container on 20 – 30 second bursts. When the butter is fully melted, add it to the powder mixture and stir.
SEVEN: At this point, the powder should start to clump together. You don’t want it so crumbly that it won’t hold a shape, but you also don’t want it to feel saturated. If you find the mixture is crumbly, spray 2 – 3 pumps of Witch Hazel into the mixture. The Witch Hazel will help the powders stick together without setting off a reaction and making the mixture fizz prematurely. Test the mixture by squeezing a handful — if it holds shape and doesn’t fall apart, it’s good to go!
EIGHT: Once the mixture holds shape, scoop about two tablespoons worth of powder into each cavity of the mold. Press the mixture into the mold firmly, making sure to keep the surface as level as possible. Some of the mixture may creep up the sides of the mold as you press — that’s okay, just try pushing it back down. You can clean up the circles in the next step. Once you’ve filled 20 cavities, let the molds sit in a cool, dry place overnight to allow the bath fizzies to harden up.
NINE: After you’ve left the bath fizzies sit, unmold them very carefully. Because they are relatively thin, they can crack and break easily. The best way to get them out unharmed is to gently fold one row of the mold over on itself so the openings of the cavities meet. Then, gently press the bottom of the three cavities facing you, nudging the bath fizzies out of the mold.
If you find that the bath fizzy edges are rough and jagged from finger prints, use a clean up tool to carve and smooth the edges down.
TEN: Set the fizzies aside. For the frosting, use a heat safe container to melt the White Melt & Pour Base in the microwave on 30 second increments. Once it’s fully melted, combine it in a large bowl with the Foaming Bath Whip.
ELEVEN: Add in the Almond Cybilla Fragrance Oil. Because this fragrance oil can cause discoloration and we want the frosting to stay white, add in an equal amount of Vanilla Color Stabilizer.
TWELVE: Using a hand mixer on a low speed, whip the melted soap base, bath whip and fragrance oil together. After about a minute, turn the speed up to high and whip for another 3 – 5 minutes. Keep a spatula on hand in case the mixture creeps up the side of the bowl. After about 5 – 7 minutes of mixing, the mixture should be able to form stiff peaks. Once it has reached that consistency, it’s ready to use.
THIRTEEN: Cut the triangle tip off a frosting bag and insert a 4B frosting tip. Then, spoon in about a cup of the frosting mixture (Tip: We like using our brand new Square Silicone Spoons!).
FOURTEEN: Frost the bath fizzy by starting in the center and making a circular pattern toward the edge. We piled our frosting fairly high (1.5 – 2 inches) because although the frosting should be stiff, it will fall slightly when you stack another fizzy on top. Here you can get creative! Try stacking another layer of frosting and another fizzy on top for a triple Macaron, or try squeezing the fizzies together so the frosting peeks over the edges. It’s totally up to you!
Your fizzies are ready to use right away. Enjoy!
