Spumone + Macarons = YUM?

Check out this Flikr photo of a Spumoni Macaroon:
Spumoni Macaron Sandwich (In Italy, spelled Spumone)
I'm off and running to try this flavor combination!

If the taste doesn't live up to the imagery, I will fall back on either pumpkin filling, orange curd or salted caramel.

The foodie in me is dancing with glee. Wheee!

UPDATE: The Spumoni ice cream samples are resting in the freezer. The pumpkin filling samples are resting in the refrigerator.

As for the salted caramel filling I turned to a no-fail foodie blog: Smitten Kitchen - Deep, Dark, Salted Butter Caramel

Test Filling #1: Pumpkin Curd

Just looking at the photo, I can hardly believe I made such a tasty-looking mac in my own kitchen!

The lighting in following two photos isn't nearly as good but show the fillings adequately enough to make my mouth water.

Test Filling #2a: Spumoni - Cherry/Pistachio

Test Filling #2b: Spumoni - Pistachio

Had to stop taking photos for the blog, as I kept eating samples! Sadly the salted caramel samples didn't get made because of health issues.

Do I intend to savor this baking victory? You bet your sweet bippy!

The results are in!

1. Spumoni (Pistachio, then Cherry, then Chocolate)
2. lemon curd (strong lemon flavor, only a hint of pistachio)
3. pumpkin curd (totally overwhelmed the pistachio flavor)

After all is said and done, I'm sure that a pistachio buttercream would top this list. Salted caramel would rank second(if not first). Dark chocolate ganache probably number three.

As for the curds, they have their merits, but are best paired with macs of the same flavor. At least until my mac palate matures.