Name: Lavender Macaron Shells
Yield: 45 macarons
Ingredients: 3 tsp finely pulsed lavender; 245 grams almond flour; 245 grams icing sugar; 185 grams egg whites; 165 grams castor sugar or granulated sugar; 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Stumble

Dinner Party Macarons

When I was on Deborah Moore‘s radio show last time, I told you about our private dinner experience prepared by Chef Travis Petersen and showed you the macarons I made for the event. I promised a recipe as well so I’m finally sharing it with you all tomorrow morning on the show along with some of the other activities I’ve been up to: Cooking a Gourmet Meal at the Dirty Apron and Tea at the new Avery Tea House.

In case you didn’t read about our private dinner party experience last time, here are some photos:

Our ladies’ floral themed night. Our host decorated her place with fresh flowers and a faux flower wall made from tissue paper. Click to see more pictures from the night.

Building on the floral theme, I decorated these lemon lavender macarons with some lavender colored flowers made with gumpaste. For this 3D flower shape, I used gumpaste instead of fondant so it can retain it’s shape. The pistol is a white dragee and I also brushed some gold shimmer dust on the shell to give it a subtle shine.

3 Part Recipe

This recipe consists of three parts:

Lavender infused shells: For this, you’ll need to pulse three teaspoon of lavender buds along with the almond flour and icing sugar then use my Best Macaron Recipe to finish making the shells. This is a great way to add additional flavouring to the shells without compromising it’s structure.
Lavender white chocolate “ganache”: We’ll be adding food grade lavender oil to the white chocolate ganache which we then pipe into a circle creating a dam. Then we fill the center with a dallop of lemon curd
Lemon Curd.

A Strong and Sturdy Lemon Curd

A very important element of this recipe is the strong and sturdy macaron-friendly lemon curd. Most macarons containing lemon curd tends to be wet and soggy since lemon curd is a high-moisture filling. Today, we’ll be making one that is strong and sturdy and it keeps well in a macaron for a few days.

This recipe is multi-part but I think the results are worth the effort since the flavours really shine through. Any recipe with flavour infused into the macaron shell is going to be very flavourful and I hope you get a chance to try it.

XOXO,

Mimi

Shopping List for this Project

(Disclosure: affiliate links)

SILPATS is the only mat brands I use for baking macarons. This one comes with a circle template so you don’t have to make your own. It’s so convenient!

11 5/8 X 16 1/2 is the size I use in all the videos showing one single mat on a pan. SILPATS is the only mat brand I use for baking macarons. This mat has no preprinted templates on it so it’s great for using over my free macaron art templates.

Toaster oven sized mats are perfect for counter top ovens. I sometimes place two of these on one tray to bake two different sized macarons shells at once. You can easily take out one mat earlier once it’s done, leaving the other mat to bake longer. SILPATS is the only mat brand I use for baking macarons.

This is the cookie sheet I use. It’s constructed of aluminized steel, the material of choice for commercial bakeries. It is also heavy duty so it won’t buckle while baking . It is also rimless allowing even air flow to the macarons.

This is the same brand and similar model to the processor you see in my videos for grinding your own almond flour. It is made for Canadian/USA Voltage.

Accurate measurements by weight are crucial for making macarons successfully. Electronic scales are a MUST. This is the one I use in my kitchen. It’s compact and the top is tempered glass.

I use two KitchenAid mixers in my ktichen. Having a mixer will save you tons of time by allowing you to clean up or work on other tasks as your mixer does all the work. No more sore wrists as well! This is the Professional 600 mixer with a big 6 qt. bowl. It also has a high powered 575 watt motor. Besides using it for beating meringue, it can handle more heavy duty mixing like bread dough and chocolate chips. It also has a bowl-lift design which is common with the higher end models of KitchenAid mixers which allows it to stay completely stable while mixing denser ingredients.

I personally use recyclable multi-use ones since I find its quite easy to wash because meringue don’t contain any oil. A quick rinse is all that is needed. But if you find you are already juggling a lot while baking macarons, use disposable piping bags until you’re ready to take on a little more in the kitchen. I really like and use this brand. It’s very strong and works absolute wonders for firmer fillings like caramels. A weak piping bag can burst open while you’re applying pressure and the mess is not fun to clean up!

This is the egg white separtor I use to separate the egg whites and yolks for aging egg whites. It helps to prevent the yolk from breaking and leaking into the whites. Meringue does not whip properly if there is presence of yolk.

Lavender Macaron Shells

Servings 45 macarons

Ingredients

3 tsp finely pulsed lavender
245 grams almond flour
245 grams icing sugar
185 grams egg whites
165 grams castor sugar or granulated sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Recipe Notes

Pulse lavender buds in a food processor along with the almond flour and icing sugar.
There is enough filling in this recipe to fill 45 macarons. Use the quantities above to make the macaron shells and follow the method below:

Lemon Lavender Macaron Filling

Servings 45 macarons

Ingredients

Lavender White Chocolate "Ganache"

50 grams heavy cream
150 grams couveture white chocolate (not chocolate chips)
few drops of food grade lavender oil

Sturdy Macaron-Perfect Lemon Curd

zest of two organic lemons
76 grams organic lemon juice
2 eggs
50 grams butter
180 grams granulated sugar

Instructions

Instructions for Lavender White Chocolate "Ganache"

Chop up couverture chocolate into small pieces.
In a pot, heat cream on medium heat until just before boiling.
Take cream off heat immediately once you see steam and a few bubbles along the edge.
Pour cream onto chocolate. Wait one minute.
Stir the mixture until incorporated.
Add a few drops of food grade lavender extract to the mixture to your taste and stir until fully incorporated. Add only one to two drops at a time since you don't want it to end up tasting like soap!
Put into fridge to firm up a bit before placing in pastry bag.

Instructions for Sturdy Macaron-Perfect Lemon Curd

Zest the organic lemon, set aside.
In a heatproof glass bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Do not use metal bowls as it will react to the acidity in the lemon juice.
Add egg and beat until incorporated.
Add lemon juice and beat until incorporated.
Place over a pot of boiling water. Do not let the bottom touch the water.
Whisk gently to keep the mixture moving as it heats up.
Occasionally, check the temperature of the mixture. You should see the curd thicken up and it will coat the back of your spoon. Allow the mixture to reach 180-185F. It might take a while (10-15 min), so be patient.
Take the mixture off the heat, add the lemon zest into the hot mixture to release the oils and mix until combined.
Pour through a sieve into another bowl for a smooth curd.
Let it cool down then place in the fridge. It will set up into an even firmer and thicker curd after you've chilled it in the fridge.
Pipe a ring of lavender ganache onto the macaron shell then fill the center with a dallop of lemon curd.
Assemble the macaron shells together. Place in fridge for 24 to 48 hours so it can mature before eating. Enjoy!