These were the first successful macarons I made. Previous to these, all of my attempts ended up looking like rocks. You probably could have injured someone if you threw one at them. Lemon macarons will forever have a spot in my heart for being my first batch of macarons that actually looked like macarons.
I decided it was time these bad boys got an upgrade and remade them this weekend. You guys, these are SO GOOD. Like a little lemon explosion!
The first time I made these, I used lemon zest in the shells and homemade lemon curd as the filling. This time, I skipped the zest in the shells and filled them with a ring of lemon buttercream and a dollop of lemon curd. Mine wasn’t homemade this time because I’m trying not to spend too much time on my knee, but I highly recommend your own lemon curd if you can make it.
I’ve learned a lot about macarons in the 6 years since I first made these. I’ve finally pinned down a base recipe that I love and can rely on. The most important thing I’ve learned during my macaron journey is the importance of ageing your egg whites. It makes for a much more stable meringue and super reliable results. No volcanoes here!
Wayyyyyy back when I first made these, it was for a citrus-themed Friday Night Dinner that my friends and I used to have. They were a total hit! We sat outside passing the box around, eating them and telling stories. It was great!
These lemon macarons are an absolute lemon explosion! If lemon is your thing, you’ll love these. They’re light, bright, so fresh tasting, and make me wish we were outside enjoying summer weather. I truly cannot get enough! You could make these with just the buttercream or just the curd, but trust me when I tell you the lemon flavour is most pronounced when you use both.
Run, don’t walk to your kitchen to make these. They are the perfect lemon macarons.
Lemon Macarons
Ingredients
- Shells:
- 275g almond meal
- 250g powdered sugar
- 210g egg whites
- 210g sugar
- Yellow food colouring, gel or powder
- Lemon Buttercream:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 tbsp. heavy cream
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Lemon curd, store-bought or homemade
Directions
- Step 1 Shells:
- Step 2 To start, put the almond flour and powdered sugar in a food processor and blend thoroughly. Sift into a bowl to ensure there are no lumps.
- Step 3 In the bowl of a stand mixer (make sure it’s clean and dry), beat the egg whites until foamy. Slowly add the sugar, about 2 tbsp at a time, beating on a medium speed. Once the sugar has dissolved, increase speed to medium high and beat until a thick glossy meringue forms. Add yellow food colouring and beat to combine. The mixture should form stiff peaks and you should be able to tip the bowl over your head with none of the mixture coming out.
- Step 4 With a large, flat rubber spatula, gently fold 1/3 of almond flour/powdered sugar mixture into egg whites until combined. Repeat until all of the almond mixture has been added. Fold to combine until you see no streaks of almond flour in the batter. The batter should be pretty fluid, a lot of people describe as a lava-like consistency. It should run smoothly off the spatula when you pull it out. This part comes with practice. Once you know the consistency, you’ll just be able to feel when it’s ready.
- Step 5 Pipe the batter into circles onto parchment or silicone lined baking sheets. Bang the tray a few times on a table to remove air bubbles and allow to sit for about 30 minutes before baking. To see if they’re ready for baking, touch your finger to them. If you get batter on your finger, they need to rest longer.
- Step 6 While resting, preheat your oven to 300°F with a rack placed in the lower third of the oven. Bake, one sheet at a time, for 15-18 minutes (this depends on your oven, my old one was fine at 15 minutes, this one needs 17-18). The shells should cool completely before you remove them from the parchment/silicone.
- Step 7 Lemon Buttercream:
- Step 8 Beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Step 9 Add the powdered sugar, lemon juice, heavy cream, and lemon zest. Beat to combine, then increase the speed and beat for 5 minutes, until the buttercream is nice and fluffy.
- Step 10 Assembly:
- Step 11 One one half of each macaron, pipe a ring of lemon buttercream. Put a dollop of lemon curd in the middle, the top with the other half of the macaron.
Hi there! What do you do if your batter is a little thick? Keep folding to pull air out?
Hi! Yes, if it’s a little thick, do a few more folds. You should be able to draw a figure 8 with the batter as it falls from the spatula once it’s ready.