food & drink

Lemon Macarons

by Annie

I have to admit, I’m a little bit hesitant on sharing this recipe, because it has such good response from friends and family, I kind of want to keep it as a little secret to myself.

This lemon macaron is extra special because not only does it have a lemon buttercream, it has a dollop of lemon curd in the middle, making a tart surprise in the center.  It is refreshing and has a delightful mouthfeel.

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Lemon Macarons

  • Servings: 30 macarons
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Ingredients

Lemon Macarons

  • 100g egg whites
  • 100g granulated sugar
  • 100g almond flour
  • 100g powdered sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
  • Yellow food coloring (optional)
  • 1/4 cup lemon curd

Lemon Buttercream

  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 Tb lemon juice
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • pinch of salt

Method

Macarons

  1. Preheat oven to 300°F.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Over a double boiler, whisk together egg whites and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is frothy, about 2 minutes.  Transfer this to a stand mixer or a handheld mixer with a whisk attachment and beat on medium-high.  Put in a pinch of salt, cream of tartar.  Beat until stiff peaks, about 3-5 minutes.  If you want to color your macarons, add a little bit of gel food coloring at this point and beat for 5 seconds only.
  3. In a food processor, combine the almond flour and powdered sugar.  Pulse 5x.  Sift the mixture into a bowl,  Discard any remaining chunks that cannot be sifted.
  4. Carefully put the almond flour mixture into the egg white mixture bowl.  Beat on medium-low for 10 seconds.  Use a rubber spatula to fully incorporate the mixture.  Do the figure 8 test by scooping some batter up with your spatula and draw the number 8.  If the batter does not break, it’s done!  Make sure you do not overmix.
  5. Pour macaron mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a round tip.  Pipe out 1 1/2-inch circles on a baking sheet.  Bang the pan on the countertop a couple times to release any air bubbles.  Let it sit out to dry until the top forms a skin, about 20 minutes.  You should be able to touch the top without anything sticking to your finger.  When it’s dry, it’s ready to bake.
  6. Bake for 13-14 minutes on the middle rack, rotating the pan halfway.
  7. While macarons are baking, make lemon buttercream.  Cream together softened butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt.
  8. Find matching pair of macaron shells.  Place them side-by-side and belly up.  Pipe a ring of buttercream along the outer edge of the macaron.  In the middle cavity, place about 1/2 tsp of lemon curd.  Top with macaron shell and press gently.

So tell me ...