Macaron madness

Yes, you read that right ….

Remember when I tried to make macarons for the first time? 

And remember when I said I was going to try and perfect the recipe?

Well the BBB household has been filled with all things egg whites, almond meal and sugar over the past week. Unfortunately my second, third and fourth attempts at making macarons were not so successful. Think flat and cracked….ugh

That was, until the other night.

 

Feeling rather exasperated by the whole thing I was ready to give up. But with 3 final egg whites ageing in the fridge I figured ‘what the hell’. One more attempt cant hurt.

And thankfully, for my baking sanity, they worked! Prepare for photo overload….you have been warned.

Flours were divided…

Ground….

And sifted…

 

Egg whites and sugar were whipped…

 

And a macaronage was made…

 

Macarons were piped…

 

(hehe yes I need to work on my consistency skills….)

Baked…

And filled…

And voila….

macarons brought to life.

Filled with lemon curd butter cream…

 

 

So delicate…

 

  

So tasty…

     

And the signature feature???

Feet!

It was the lemon buttercream, however, that took these macarons from fine to fab!

It had the just the right level of citrus and sweetness…

   

To provide for the perfect bite sized sweet treat.

Sigh – I really don’t see these lasting in our house too long!

I suggest you make a batch of these…

ASAP!

Lemon curd macarons

• 90g egg whites (left in the fridge to age for 2 days, then brought to room temperature)
• 200g icing sugar
• 110g ground almonds
• 30g caster sugar
• 1tsp yellow food colouring
• 2tbs lemon curd
• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 5og butter, softened

1. Process icing sugar and ground almonds in a food processor until fine. Sift twice, and set aside.
2. Whisk egg whites until foamy. Slowly add caster sugar until it forms peaks – the consistency of shaving cream. Stir through food colouring.
3. Add the dry almond mixture, and fold gently to combine. Don’t overmix.
4. Pipe rounds onto a tray lined with baking paper, keeping 2 cm apart.
5. Tap the tray against the bench once to remove air bubbles.
6. Sit for 1 hour, until the rounds form ‘shells’ and feel dry when lightly touched.
7. Preheat oven to 150C. Bake for 14-16 minutes.
8. Remove from oven, allow to cool on tray then transfer to a wire rack.
9. Meanwhile, beat the icing sugar, lemon curd and butter until smooth. Pipe onto a macaron, then top with another.

What about you? Any suggestions for a macaron flavour? Yup I think I am addicted ;)

Happy Baking :)