It’s spring, the air is full of scents and the gardens are full of color… It’s Macaron time.
Today I propose you the Lemon Macarons that have a very fresh taste and are really delicious. The recipe I used is the one from Ladurèe, which calls for French meringue.
The main difference between French and Italian meringue is that the first one calls for the egg whites to be whipped with granulated sugar, while the second one calls for the egg whites to be whipped with a syrup of water and cooked sugar. As a final result, in general, macarons made with Italian meringue are “smoother” than those with French meringue. I assure you that both are delicious in taste!
Ingredients (about 40-50 macarons of 3.5 cm in diameter).
- 275 g almond flour
- 250 g icing sugar
- 6 egg whites (aged 24-48 hours) + half an egg white
- 210 g granulated sugar
Ingredients for the lemon cream (it’s abundant, you can also make half or use it to make a delicious strawberry tart)
- 200 ml filtered lemon juice
- 3 eggs
- 6 egg yolks
- 110 g butter
- 75 g granulated sugar
- 125 g white chocolate
Lemon cream:
Prepare the lemon cream the day before, so it has time to cool. Heat the lemon juice over low heat. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and egg yolks with the sugar until frothy. Pour them onto the hot lemon juice and mix well. Return to the heat (very low heat) stirring gently until the cream thickens, continuing to stir for another 3-4 minutes.
Off the heat, add the chopped butter and white chocolate and mix well until the mixture is smooth.
Let it cool and put it in a piping bag and let it cool well for at least 2-3 hours (even better to do it the day before).
Macaron Biscuit:
Prepare the macaron pans in advance by drawing the 3.5 cm circles well spaced on a sheet of paper to place under the baking paper. Then fix the baking paper with a little macaron mixture so that it does not move.
In the kitchen mixer, activate the blades and mix the almond flour and the icing sugar at maximum speed in short pulses until they are perfectly mixed. Sift the mixture with a fine mesh steel sieve and remove any larger pieces.
Whip the six egg whites in the planetary mixer until stiff.
When they are well whipped, white and fluffy, add a third of the sugar and continue whipping to dissolve and incorporate the sugar well. At this point add another third of the sugar and beat for another minute, finally add the last third and whip for another minute. With a soft spatula gently incorporate the sifted flour and almond mixture into the whipped egg whites.
Add a few drops of food coloring and mix quickly to make the color uniform. Add the half egg white previously beaten in a bowl and mix so as to slightly deflate the mixture so that it softens slightly. If you let it drip from the spatula it should drip but be consistent.
Preheat the oven to 150°C.
Form your macarons with the piping bag (nozzle 10) on the previously prepared baking sheets. Tap the baking sheet lightly on the kitchen counter, to remove the “tip”.
Let the macarons rest for about an hour minutes (they should form a film in contact with the air so that if you touch them they do not stick), this time is important to avoid cracking (see the final video of Angelica disperata). Bake and cook for about 15 minutes until a light crust has formed and you will see the “collar” forming at the base of the macarons. Do not keep them in the oven too long, they must not color at all.
Remove the baking trays and remove the baking paper and let the macarons cool on a cold surface (marble or kitchen counter). Remove the macarons only when they are cold.
Assembly:
arrange the macarons upside down on a plate and press lightly in the center to make a very small hollow to insert the filling well. Take the lemon cream from the refrigerator and cut the tip of the piping bag (about 0.5 cm diameter) and fill with a small amount of cream, keeping the cream as central as possible (not on the edges) and do this for half of the biscuits.
A questo punto sovrapponete su ciascuna la seconda metà ruotandola leggermente in modo da fa arrivare il ripieno quasi fino al bordo esterno. Il ripieno dovrebbe essere poco meno di mezzo cm. Mettete i macarons su un piatto o in un contenitore ermetico e fateli raffreddare in frigo per almeno 12 ore prima di consumarli. Potete conservarli in frigo per 2-3 giorni oppure congelarli e farli scongelare in frigo per la prima occasione di festa.
Non sono bellissimi e buonissimi? poteranno il colori e i profumi dell’estate, un dolcetto fresco e delicato! Buona Primavera e Buoni Macarons!
Nota di redazione (ovvero di Nicolò, fidanzato di Angelica). Ovvero la dura verità legata ai macarons: non sempre i macarons vengono, forse l’umidità, forse li avete fatti riposare troppo poco, forse il vostro forno, forse è una giornata particolarmente sfigata. Raramente ho visto Angelica sconsolata come l’ho vista dinanzi ai macarons crepati. Ma voi non demordete. Alla fine riusciranno, e di quelli che verranno vi chiederete “ma perché se li ho fatti alla stessa identica maniera si sono crepati?!
