I will never forget the first time I ate a macaron: I was 16 years old in Paris for the first time with my parents when we stopped at Laduree because that’s obviously what you do on your first trip to Paris. I was so enamoured by these beautiful little cookies in this storied cafe. When my parents and I took our first bites on the streets outside, we were just giddy over how delicious and flavourful they were. Needless to say, we ate a lot of macarons in that week.
That summer I attempted making them for the first time (it did not go well) and then a second time (it went a heck of a lot better). Macarons are the perfect example of practice makes perfect, once you get the hang of it, you’re golden.
I decided to step into spring with these beautifully coloured macarons and also continue my matcha kick (eat your greens, etc). They turned out beautifully, the bright tangy lemon perfectly balancing the earthy, sweet matcha.
Ingredients (Shells)
- 2/3 cups ground almonds
- 1 1/2 cups (minus a tablespoon) icing sugar
- 1 tbsp matcha powder (I used David’s tea Matcha Matsu)
- 3 egg whites
- Pinch of salt
- 3 tbsp superfine sugar
- 1 drop green food colouring (optional)
Ingredients (Lemon Curd)
- 1 lemon (grated zest and juice)
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 tbsp butter
Start by whisking your ground almonds, icing sugar and matcha together in a bowl and a set aside.
Place your egg whites in a mixing bowl with a pinch of salt and beat with an electric mixer (standing or hand is fine) with the whisk attachment until they hold soft peaks. Once this point is reached, gradually add the superfine sugar a bit at a time, mixing fully in between each addition. The mixture will be thick and shiny like below. Add the food colouring and mix.
Pour your dry ingredients into the egg whites and gently fold into the mixture. Be patient and ensure the mixture is uniform. Once ready, it will be thick and slide down your spoon like magma.
Fill a piping bag (a big plastic bag will also do) with the batter and pipe onto a parchment lined baking sheet in 1-2 inch rounds, like below:
If the tops are uneven, wet the top of your finger a little and smooth it out. Set the baking sheet down firmly on a hard surface a couple of times to get rid of air bubbles and leave the shells to set for about an hour, or until the tops aren’t tacky or sticky. (Pro tip: ensure the room you leave them in isn’t humid, aka don’t open the steamy dishwasher).
Bake at 325F for 10 minutes, until the tops are dry, and leave to cool on the sheet,
While waiting for the macarons to cool, you can make the lemon curd. Juice and finely zest a lemon and put that in a bowl with the sugar, egg yolks and butter. Set over a pot of simmering water and whisk the ingredients together over the heat, ensuring the yolks don’t cook. Continue whisking on and off for about 10-15 minutes, or until the curd coats the back of a spoon. Strain into a bowl and allow to cool completely.
Spread the desired amount of curd and sandwich the shells together.
Pie Girl Bakes 