Enjoy a burst of refreshing citrus flavor with these lemon macarons. The dough contains lemon zest, and a delicious homemade lemon curd is used to fill these delicate treats. The finished macaron has a perfect balance of tart and sweet, distinctly different from traditional buttercream or ganache fillings.
Ingredients
Makes approximately 25 macarons:
For the macarons:
- 90g almond flour
- 135g powdered sugar
- 75g egg whites
- 45g granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon dried egg whites
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 scoops of Wilton icing color (lemon yellow) using a toothpick
For the lemon curd:
- 1 large egg (56g)
- 60g granulated sugar
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 40g lemon juice
- 90g unsalted butter
- 30g almond flour
Method
For the macarons:
Clean the lemons. Soak them in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, then scrub them with a sponge and neutral detergent. Rinse thoroughly and dry them off with a cloth.
Zest the lemon.
Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar together twice.
Make the meringue by combining granulated sugar and dried egg whites. Beat this mixture with the egg whites, adding half of the sugar at the beginning and the rest after approximately 8 minutes. At this stage, feel free to add food coloring.
Fold sifted flour and the lemon zest into the meringue, popping any air bubbles in the process (a process called macaronage). The dough should fall out as a ribbon when scooped out.
Pipe the dough onto a baking sheet using a round nozzle. Aim to create circles of approximately 3cm in diameter. Leave them in a ventilated place until their surface dries completely.
Preheat the oven to 180°C, then reduce the temperature to 130°C and bake the macarons for 13-15 minutes. They should be baked using high heat at the top and low heat at the bottom to avoid browning.
Allow the macarons to cool completely on the baking sheet before removing.
For the lemon curd:
Clean and zest the second lemon. Then squeeze out 40g of juice.
Cut the unsalted butter into dice-sized pieces.
Combine the whole eggs, unsalted butter, granulated sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small pot. Whisk until well mixed.
Warm the mixture over low heat, stirring continuously until the butter is melted and the mixture starts to thicken.
Filter the mixture through a chinois, then reserve 120g of it.
Combine this with the almond flour in a small pot and gently warm. Place the pot over ice water to cool, stirring until it thickens up enough to be piped.
To assemble:
Pipe the lemon curd onto half of the macaron shells.
Attach the remaining shells to the filled halves, creating a sandwich.
Note: The recipe provides enough batter and filling for two 30x40cm baking trays. If you have a smaller oven, reduce the recipe quantities by 2/3.