I love French Macarons – especially these fresh and delicate mini-mini French Macarons with Lemon!
Macarons always makes me dream myself back to the fantastic macaron boutique Pierre Hermé in Paris – sigh!
If you’d never tried making macarons before, don’t hesitate – try it, and try it now!
You will only be amazed!! (-and don’t worry if they don’t look pro the first time – they taste just as good anyway!)
French Macarons with Lemon
Ingredients: (makes about 20 macarons)
1/4 cup of sugar
3 egg whites
1 cup almond flour
1 2/3 cups of confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons of Lemon Extract
a few drops of Yellow Food Color
– Start by lining up 3-4 baking plates with either Parchment Paper or a Silicone Baking Mat
.
(You can also buy a Macaron template – but it’s actually easier to just put your Silicone Baking Mat
/Parchment Paper
over the Macaron template
and use it for measuring to get them the same sizes)
– in a separate bowl sift almond flour and confectioners. sugar – and put aside.
– Use your stand mixer, and mix the regular sugar with the egg whites, and beat until its fluffy and glossy and can hold a soft peak – it takes a few minutes.
– Add a few drops of Yellow Food color and the Lemon Extract.
– Now quickly fold (about 30 strokes) the almond flour and confectioners’ sugar into the egg whites. Don’t worry about knocking the air out of the meringue. Is a part of the process, to make the batter more runny.
– Test the batter on a baking sheet to see if it flattens immediately or holds a peak. If a peak holds, fold the batter gently a few more times and test again.
– Spoon the batter into a Pastry Bag with a plain Round Tip
and pipe out to small disks about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.
– Firmly tap the baking sheets twice against the counter to release any air bubbles.
– Let the piped cookies stand out at room temperature until they form a “hard skin” on the top and you gently can tap them without leaving marks on them. (about 1,5 hour)
– Bake the Macarons in a preheated oven (285 degree Fahrenheit) for about 16-18 minutes.
– Cool completely before you gently remove them and add the filling.
(The key is that the batter has to flatten like this – and then rest for 1/2-1 hour before you bake them)
LEMON BUTTER FILLING:
3 tablespoons (40 g) of unsalted butter, softened
1 cup of powdered sugar
2 teaspoons of heavy cream
1 tablespoon of Lemon Extract
1 teaspoon of Vanilla Bean Paste
a pinch of salt
Mix all the ingredients and spoon it into a Pastry Bag with a Round Tip
.
Pipe it out in a circle on a macaron and pair up with a matching buddy.
Et Voilà!
Enjoy!
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