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Opera Macarons, Thoughtful Gifts And An Award

Be prepared this is the loaded post of the weekend! Take your time reading it but there were many people I wanted to thank on this site and this is long overdue. I know I still have to answer a couple of "meme" I have been tagged for and I am saving those for next week. In the meantime, let’s start at the beginning…

A couple of weeks ago, one of my favorite bloggers and fellow Daring Baker Deborah from Taste and Tell sent me an email reading that she wanted to try her hand at making macarons but she had never had one so she would not know what to look for in the texture, taste, etc… She offered to pay me to send her a box and I immediately shook my head "No, no, don’t pay me, instead let’s do a trade! I’ll send you some macarons and you’ll send me a favorite cookie or something". She agreed and although a few health and family have delayed my sending them they are finally one their way to her house. Cross your fingers that they get there un-crushed! Wednesday afternoon the mail man dropped a box full of Meyer Lemon Cookies and jar of Deborah’s Peach and Vanilla jam. Thank you Deborah!

I had the idea of these macarons while making an Opera Cake for a birthday party last month. I know I am no genius and they have been done before but they were really fun to put together. I love Opera Cake so much I could have it breakfast, lunch and dinner. The basis of the cake are as follow: almond genoise layered with coffee buttercream and chocolate ganache. I love hazelnuts much more than almonds so I did 50/50 each in the macarons shells, I used an Italian meringue coffee buttercream and for the chocolate ganache layer I just piped it right in the middle of the macaron. You have to trust me when I tell you they were unbelievably satisfying and we liked them so much that I made another batch right away. We all have a different approach to macarons and I tend to start with a crispy shell: I know they will soften after a couple of days and I like the contrast between the crunch of the shell and the buttery creamy insides. But hey! That’s just me!!

Opera Macarons:

For the shells:
3 egg whites (110 gr) (I like to use 2-3 day old egg whites)
40 gr. granulated sugar
200 gr. powdered sugar
55 gr. ground almonds
55 gr. skinned and ground hazelnuts

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue. Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry and your macarons won’t work. Combine the ground almonds, ground hazelnuts and powdered sugar in a food processor and give them a quick pulse. It will break the powdered sugar lumps and combine your nuts with it evenly. Add them to the meringue and fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that flows like magma or a thick ribbon. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip with the batter and pipe small round onto parchment paper baking sheets. Preheat the oven to 315F. Let the macarons sit out for an hour to harden their shell a bit and bake for 8-10 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool completely.

Chocolate Ganache:
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup bittersweet chocolate

In a heavy saucepan set over medium heat, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the stove and add the chocolate to it. Let stand 2 minutes and then stir until fully combined. Let cool until firm enough to put in a small piping bag.

Coffee Buttercream: (it will make more than you need but freeze the leftovers for up to 3 months)
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
2 large eggs
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons instant espresso powder dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water

In a small heavy saucepan set over medium heat, dissolve the sugar in the water. While stirring bring the mixture to a boil, and continue to cook until it registers 240°F. on a candy thermometer. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment or with a hand held beater beat the eggs until they are frothy. Add the sugar syrup in a thin stream, beating, and beat the mixture until it is cool. Change to the paddle attachment and add in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, the espresso mixture, and beat the buttercream until it is combined well. Leave at room temperature so it will be easier to spread.

To Assemble:
Put the coffee buttercream in a piping bag and pipe a circle around the edges of a macaron shells. Pipe a dollop of ganache in the middle and top with another shell.


Allright, now moving on to the second part of this post….


The cute as can be felt slice of chocolate cake is none other than a creation from Hannah of Bittersweet. That was her Christmas gift to me…how sweet is that?!! I set it on another Christmas gift: a gorgeous display of crystal baking items by Swarovski that my mother had put together and framed for me. I am spoiled, I know that! How Hannah finds the time to do all the things she does is beyond me…she is like the energizer bunny!

Talking about bunny…it’s Eater soon and I thought it was about time I tell you about another talented artist. One day a lovely lady, Mia sent me an email thanking me for my recipe and my blog (if you know me you know I was blushing red right then), and adding that she wanted to send me a little something "just to show her appreciation". Mia paints life on eggs and beautiful jewelry. Literally. Life. Stunning. The duck egg on the left is a traditional design of an Ukrainian woman, in her embroidered clothing , wearing a crown of flowers with ribbons and holding a loaf of Easter bread. The one on the right has a design of a bird holding a branch of leaves. Birds show the fulfillment of wishes, leaves are for a fresh start, red is for passion, the nets separate good from evil, flowers are for love and happiness, diamonds are for wisdom and knowledge, there is also evergreen for good health and dots which show the blessings which come from sorrow. How on earth did she read inside my soul is beyond me?

Thank you ladies and thank you to you all readers out there fill me with joy and excitement. I try to visit as many blogs as I can and to answer to all the emails as promptly as I can but I have never felt more proud to be part of such an awesome community. My head does not get big and my ego does not soar in cases like that but my throat gets tight and I feel uncomfortable. I just bake and write because it is in my blood and to receive these compliments is always a little…how can I say? mind blowing? So imagine my heart getting full with gratitude and passion for the work I do when I received this award from Aimee, Jen, Susan, Linda and Gretchen Noelle.


First off ladies: right back at you! I love reading your blogs, you make me laugh, you crack me up, you kick my ass and make me wish I were rich enough to fly all of you to a huge slumber baking party somewhere on a tropical island….oh boy, looks like the painkillers are kicking in again!!

Now I have to pass this on and although there are tons of you who deserve and I am sure will receive this award soon, I wanted to focus on the male bloggers (but not entirely)out there and to reveal a few other crushes (gosh if you read this blog, it is starting to sound like we need a PG rating or something)…..so…..Please accept this "Excellent" award:

– Frenchie Zen Chef of Chefs Gone Wild: my fellow expat has the excellent touch to put "sexy" in everything he makes, writes with great spunk and has the knack to take mouth watering pictures .
– Mark from No Special Effects: pure talent, creativity and gorgeous photographs, not to mention that his blogs reads like a novel and he is the most excellent commenters!
– Graeme from Blood Sugar: what can I say? I love his blog: the excellent photography, his excellent wit, charm and wonderful recipes. I’d love to be his roomie, that’s all I can add!

Now for the ladies:
– Shawda from Confections Of A Foodie Bride: what can I say that her pictures don’t already do? Excellent photography, recipes and sense of humor as well as community. I am crushing too what can I say?!!
-Carol from Paris Breakfasts: you make my day lady! I always read you while in my pjs sipping my coffee. You make me feel at home and I lust after your art. You are excellent indeed.
– Lisa from La Mia Cucina: I know what you are going to say "you guys are close friends"…but it’s more than that. Lisa not only holds my hand in time of crisis but she is the most excellent talented writer I know. Not to mention a kickass cooks….I never want to leave when she she fixes me food (but she might say the opposite since I eat like a horse)…fantabulous dishes!!

Sorry if it was such a long post but all these topics were long overdue and I kept wondering how to fit them in….Have a great weekend all!

Hot Macarons For My Hot Tamale


I know, I know…Valentine’s Day is like 4 days behind…and still I am all about the reds and the pinks…and gushy feelings for and shared with family and loved ones. You are going to think I am lying when I proclaim high and loud that we do not celebrate V-Day. Well, we don’t do the usual things like flowers, jewelry, and especially dining out. I love what Jen said about that day and how she feels about her man. Ditto Jen! So it should be no surprise to you when I tell you that we ended up making dinner together and that I am the one who brought the jewelry…in the form of these Jeweled Hot Tamale Macarons.

I know B. loves macarons way more than I do, and he likes Hot Tamales way more than I do, so I found it only fitting to make these for him for last Thursday, except they were made on Tuesday and also shared with my mother before her trip back. Only a few were left for Valentine’s Day dinner and that was plenty with a glass of dessert white wine. Why a Hot Tamale? Because I think B. is plenty hot to make me melt… Just like these macarons. Why Jeweled Macarons? Because they’re full of sparkles and when held in the light they look like a million bucks.

I filled them with a soft white chocolate and raspberry ganache and as you bite into them, you are surprised by a hot cinnamon candy. The macaron shells were painted hot red and sprinkled with pink sugar sparkles which offer a little extra crunch on your lips when you bite into them.

I promise this is the last "lurve" post for a while, I guess I just got inspired this year!! Note on the first photo: my mom was my model and I want to thank her for going through 15 minutes (twice) of "Don’t move" "To the right…lower…left" "Hold it" "One more…" especially right after she woke up…! Thank you Mom!


Hot Tamale Macarons:

For the Macarons:
3 egg whites (I like to use 2-3 day old egg whites)
50 gr. granulated sugar
200 gr. powdered sugar
110 gr. ground almonds
3 Tb hot red powdered food coloring, divided
sparkling sugar

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glosy meringue. Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry and your macarons won’t work. Combine the ground almonds and powdered sugar in a food processor and give them a quick pulse. It will break the powdered sugar lumps and cobine your almond with it evenly. Add them to the meringue along with 1 TB food coloring and fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that flows like magma or a thick ribbon. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip with the batter and pipe small round onto parchment paper baking sheets. Preheat the oven to 315F. Let the macarons sit out for an hour to harden their shell a bit and bake for 8-10 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool completely. Combine 2 Tb food coloring with 1TB water in a small container and paint the macaron shells with the color. Sprinkle with the sanding sugar. Fill a pastry bag with the ganache, pipe over one shell, add a Hot Tamale candy and close with the other macaron shell.

White Chocolate Raspberry Ganache:
8 oz white chocolate
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup rasberry puree

If you can’t find raspberry puree: in a food processor, puree enough raspberries (1/2pint) to get the required mesurement.
In a heavy bottom saucepan, heat the cream to boiling, remove from heat and stir in the white chocolate. Whisk until completly combined, add the raspberry puree. Refrigerate until ready to fill the macarons.

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Now…I need to brag a little…but just a little…. Dessert Magazine released their first digital edition and is featuring a lot of the contestant from the Death By Chocolate Contest (with their permission) Not only am I featured in their edition but The Nutella Creams picture actually made the cover! Now…excuse me for the shameless "Tooting my own horn"…I am done. I love the layout of the magazine and the actual "flipping" the page sound, I am looking forward to reading more issues!

Dulce De Leche Macarons

…Or how I got my macarons mojo back thanks to Gerard Mulot. For those who don’t know Gerard Mulot, let’s just say that he is one of the other Masters of French pastries and I fell in love with his pastries and macarons when I was knee high. Once a month we would take the train into Paris to visit my dad’s godmother. A tough and quirky maid living in a very old building with a giant (or so it seemed to me at the time) marbled staircase. The woman had never married, never had children and an afternoon in her appartment full of plastic covered furniture and untouchable curtains seemed more like torture than a fun times in the City. Except for the patisseries she served us around four o’clock….they were Mulot’s patisseries: canneliers, macarons, pains au chocolat, lemon tarts, coconut chocolate cakes, etc…I would quickly forget the covered the plastic covered chair I was sitting on and dive into the pink colored box full of goodies.

So why would I need to get my macaron mojo back? Well, I feared that I had lost it after talking every weekend with Veronica about macaron making method, nuts, flavors, buttercream, etc… Twice in the span of two weeks I ended up with sub par macarons. I tried the recipe in The Sweet Life by Kate Zuckerman and right from the start I had my doubts. The recipe used a lot of egg whites compared to the rest of the ingredients and as soon as I began folding I knew the mixture would be to dry and too dense to produce that lovely round shell that we all know. I ended up with lovely blood orange meringue shells, but not macarons. The second time I played around with my usual recipe and some chocolate and the same thing happened! In the meantime Veronica was keeping me informed of her macarons successes (check out her new business venture) and I finally emailed her "I think I gave you my macarons mojo!!" To which she replied "Have you tried Gerard Mulot’s recipe…I like it…not too sweet, nice soft shells" Ahah!! That was the only and perfect excuse I had to ask my mother to bring me his book.

His recipes are not very different from the ones I have used before and as it is often the case with macarons, the baker and the weather have often more to do with messing up the end product than the recipe itself (except in the case of Zuckerman, Veronica and I still have our doubt!). Remember how I keep saying that I like making them but don’t really enjoy eating them? You could then ask me why I spend my time making them?! Well, beside the orders I get for family and friends or private parties, their elusive and rebelious nature has me jumping up and down when I see their little feet forming in the oven. I like the way they look when filled, like they are sticking their tongue at you. Mastering a macaron batch and creating flavors and filling is a fun game to play for me…but remember that I am weird like that!! And now that Veronica has sent me a stash of matcha green tea, I am already thinking about adding some to the next macaron baking session I have!!

The recipe from Gerard Mulot is quite simple as it does not require an Italian meringue, so no messing around with hot sugar syrup. Last month I made a batch of Dulce de Leche or Confiture De Lait, using David Lebovitz’s foolproof method and I had a small jar tucked away in the fridge just for the next macarons I would bake. I topped the shells with crushed praline before they went into the oven and after they were all cooled, I filled them with the Dulce De Leche. Surprise, surprise….it is now the second time that I am devouring them!!

If you decide to make this recipe, it might take you some time if you make all the components the same day. What I usually do on quieter days is to make a batch of praline that I crush in the food processor so that I can sprinkle it on ice cream, mousses and cake layers on a moment’s notice. The Dulce De Leche keeps a long time in the fridge and I try to keep a jar to drizzle it on yogurts, ice cream or use as a dip for tart apples.


Dulce de Leche Macarons:

For the cushed praline:
1/3cup sugar
1 cup unblanched almonds

Combine the sugar and almonds in a heavy saucepan. Place over medium heat to begin melting the sugar. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon so the sugar melts and caramelizes evenly. Cook to a light amber color.
Scrape the praline from the saucepan and spread it about 1/4-inch thick on an oiled baking sheet or a marble surface. Let cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Break the hard praline into 1-1/2 inch pieces and place them in a bowl of a food processor and quickly pulse until finely ground.

For the Dulce de Leche:
Please see David Lebovitz’s recipe. I did not change a thing and it worked perfectly.

For the Macarons:
3 egg whites
50 gr. granulated sugar
200 gr. powdered sugar
110 gr. ground almonds

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glosy meringue. Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry and your macarons won’t work.
Combine the ground almonds and powdered sugar in a food processor and give them a quick pulse. It will break the powdered sugar lumps and cobine your almond with it evenly. Add them to the meringue and fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that flows like magma or a thick ribbon. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip with the batter and pipe small round onto parchment paper baking sheets. Sprinkle the praline powder over the shells.
Preheat the oven to 315F. Let the macarons sit out for an hour to harden their shell a bit and bake for 8-10 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool completely. Once cooled, sandwich them with the Dulce de Leche and enjoy!

Once again, no chocolate post….But….if you want your fill and a good dose of Nutella to go with it, help me go to Napa and check out the Copia Center Chocolate Festival by voting for my Nutella Creams here:

Death By Chocolate Contest: Nutella Creams and Chocolate Macarons

I feel a little bit strange coming here and telling you that I, too, have entered the Death by Chocolate Contest held by the great folks from Culinate. I feel even stranger asking people to vote for me or give me their approval but posting about chocolate is an offer I can’t refuse! With time being a precious commodity while my mother is visiting I am really thankful that the rules allow bloggers to post past entries.

I was excited to enter just for the theme….and then they told us the prizes on hand if we won: one food blogger and one reader will be sent on a trip for two to Napa Valley and will attend the Copia Center’s annual Death by Chocolate Festival on Feburary 23, 2008. Talk about generosity! The winner among readers will be chosen at random from all entries. Readers will vote for their favorite blog posts, and the winning food blogger will be selected by a panel of judges from the top 10 reader favorites. The entries I have seen so far are absolutely mouth watering.

Will I make you drool with these Nutella Creams and Chocolate Macarons? I hope so….Nutella…whipped cream…hmmmhmmmhmmm

Why would I love to win? Well, the only thing that comes to my mind this close to Valentine’s Day is that my husband and I will celebrate our 10th anniverary this year and we have never gone on a honeymoon…No sunny beaches, no exotic trip…He was tied home badly sick and he still feels terrible about it. I keep telling him that I don’t need a honeymoon to make me love him more and I think that rewarding him with a nice trip to Napa would prove that come hail or high water, I am his girl.

So…..if you feel like this Nutella Cream and Chocolate Macarons post is deserving of your vote, you can do on by clicking on the picture below. Voting start today an ends February 8th. Many many many thanks!

Gingered Peanut Macarons


"Hein! Des macarons aux cacahuetes..?! Ca va pas la tete Tartelette?! C’est pas des vrais comme Pierre!"
"What? Peanut macarons? Did you lose your head Tartelette?! There are no the real thing like Pierre’s!"

Yes well, who said that macarons had to be 100% almond based? Not the pastry shops selling pistachio ones! Necessity is the mother of invention and that proved to be especially true last weekend when these little peanut macarons with a cream cheese buttercream and crystallized ginger center came out of my kitchen.

I had just finished an order for deep red and deep green holiday inspired macarons with traditional fillings and almond shells when I found an extra bowl of buttercream in the fridge, and plenty of ripe egg whites. Since I was on the macaron making train, I decided to make one more batch for us and the neighbors. When I went to weigh the almonds, I had half of what I needed…darn…out of pistachios too and the walnuts were going in cookies…but eh! Peanuts were sitting quiet and pretty on the pantry shelf so why not?! What do I have to lose? Flat macarons, sticky macarons, cracked macarons? Not a problem! They could always find their destiny in ice cream!

Really, what would be the big deal by replacing half the almonds with half peanuts? Peanuts are more oily than almonds but there would only be half the amount in the batter, not enough to make a big difference. I should be ok…and might as well pray too. A conversation with Veronica reinforced my belief things could get pretty tasty. I don’t want to be stuck with eating macaron shells. Remember I am the one who loves making them but not that much eating them. Now is my time to fess up: I have already had six. That little surprise of ginger inside combined with the peanut taste and not too sweet filling is just sinful.

Another issue that afternoon was that I was running out of powdered red color so I knew these would not be as red as Christmas inspired ones. Oh well, there will just be as tasty, especially with the cream cheese buttercream filling, which is nothing more than a basic cream cheese frosting but a little less sweet. The crystallized ginger piece in the middle is completely borrowed from Karen’s fabulous macarons creations which you can go admire on her blog Mad Baker. Go check them out, I’ll wait….

You’re back? Then let me give you the recipe for these:

Gingered Peanut Macarons:

For the shells: (Makes 35 halves)

225 gr powdered sugar
60 gr almonds
65 gr unsalted roasted peanuts
3 egg whites (about 100gr)
red food coloring (powdered is better)
25 gr granulated sugar
small pieces of crystallized ginger

In a food processor, run the nuts and powdered sugar until the nuts are finely ground. Run through a sieve if needed.
Whip the egg whites until foamy, slowly add the granulated sugar, until they are glossy. Add the red food coloring.
Slowly fold the nut/sugar mixture into the whites with a wide spatula. The mixture should remain shiny and flow easily.
Fill a pastry bag with the batter and pipe small rounds onto parchment lined baking sheets.
Let the macarons rest for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 315 and when they are ready, bake them for 12-15 minutes.
Let cool, remove from the paper and fill with the buttercream, add a piece of ginger and top with another macaron shell.

Cream Cheese Buttercream:

8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 stick butter (55 gr), at room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar

With a stand mixer and the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, give it one more whirl to incorporate everything. Fill a pastry bag with the mixture and fill the macaron shells.

Pink Tagada Macarons

Pink Tagada Macarons
Pink macarons, ok…but what is "tagada" you may ask. "Fraises Tagada" is one of my childhood favorite candies, and it is pink, and it is good and it makes me giddy like a kid again. I just like saying the name over and over! Since I introduced B. to the line of Haribo candies, the licorice rolls and "fraises tagada" have become his favorites, so it was no surprise that when we came back from Christmas with my parents in France that we had several bags tucked away in our suitcase. I thought we had gone through all the stash when I found a bag that had fallen behind my pastry box. The candy is like little pink pieces of strawberry flavored marshmallows.
I know I said May was the month of things pretty and delicate but when you read the reason why I made these, you will understand.

I started thinking about these ever since I saw Requia' post about a pink event to support the fight against breast cancer. I wanted to make them very pink and very giddy…Well, yeah I am weird: just looking at them makes me happy, feels me with hope and the color even calms me down. I put it in the back of my mind until Bea’s savory pink "verrines" reminded me it was high time I cranked up the mixer.
Cancer makes no distinction of gender, reace, age and social status. We live with cancer, know somebody with it and hold the hands of too many friends going through the same thing. Cancer is global, cancer is universal…so is hope, so is the fight against it. A few weeks ago I participated in Barbara's yellow event for LiveStrong Day, and today I want to pay tribute to all the women and men devasted by breast cancer.

I also wish to pay tribute to my grandma who found out in her early 8os (yes, you read right) that she had breast cancer. When her doctor suggested biopsies, exams, breast removal and what not, she looked at him straight in the eyes and said "you’re crazy…let me live". AH!!! And there you have it, my grandmother in a nutshell…and the essence of the way I lead my life. She passed away at 93 from a cancer that had invaded her tiny frame but never her spirits or her will to live.

Now, and before you all start to yawn…These are just plain macarons shells colored with neon pink powder dye, with different pink sparkles and filled with a "fraises tagada" and white chocolate ganache. For the macaron shells I followed a different recipe than my favored Italian meringue one, and with good results. The first tray looked like the meringue was not folded enough so I gave it a couple of extra turns and the remaining tray turned out beautiful…I think I could get addicted to this lazier method!!

Pink Macarons and Fraises Tagada White Chocolate Ganache

Shells: (original recipe here)

3 egg whites at room temp

100 g almond powder

160 g powdered sugar

40 g granulated sugar

a few drop of neon pink coloring

pink sprinkles of your choice

In a food preocessor, grind the almonds and powdered sugar togther to make sure they are really fine. Pass through a sieve and set aside.

Note: when I process them very fine, I usually skip the sieving step and just break any lumps with my fingers.

Start whipping the whites on low speed to break them up, and slowly increase as to obtain a soft foam. Slowly add the granulated suage, one TB at a time until the meringue is tight and glossy.

Stop the machine and fold in the coloring and the almond/powdered sugar. The batter should flow like magma. Try a spoonful on a plate. The little peak created by the meringue should flatten when tapped on the counter top.

Line 2 baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 300 F.

Fill a pastry bag with the batter and drop rounds on the baking sheet. Add the sprinkles. Let dry for 30 minutes and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Once they are cooled. Fill each with about 1 Tb. of the ganache.

Fraises Tagada White Chocolate Ganache:

2 cups fraise tagada candy

1 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup heavy cream

Heat the cream until hot. Drop the chips and candy into the cream and stir until all are melted and come together. Let cool.

Pink Tagada Macarons

If you read French, here are some more "Fraises Tagada" recipes:

– Emmanuele’s mousse

– Samania’s yogurt

– Paris Breakfast’s fun post about the candy

Bye Bye May: Lemon Macarons

Why would the end of May prompt me to make macarons? Well, they are delicate little cookies and for me May is a "delicate" month. On the first of May, I get a card from my parents with dried, fragile Lily of the Valley tucked inside. Then there is my birthday, for which I receive some precious orchid (background in the picture above) or other exotic flower….delicate.
Then there is a few more girlfriends' birthdays and of course mother’s day…the month ends up being very feminine, very pink and a major reason to make macarons!

I have been experimenting with a couple of recipes, one is promising but I want to tweak it a little bit more before posting, the results are almost as good as my cherished recipe originally found on Mercotte's blog.
I made a batch of these in an attempt to teach my friend C. and when she divided the loot in half I told her to keep them all and that I did not like macarons that much. Her jaws dropped, her eyes rolled in their socket and she almost checked my temperature. Yes, I am weird: I will gladly put me through the joyous torture of Italian meringue and macaron making but I don’t like eating them. I love the whole process, from deciding on the flavors, colors, folding, piping, filling but I am not a big fan. I find the process more rewarding than the results but friends and family think otherwise.

What could be more fitting the celebrate the end of May than a lemon flavored macaron filled with freshly whisked lemon curd? June will bring bolder flavors and colors but for now let’s stick to a tried and true recipe for the shells, as well as this lemon curd that I use now all the time.

Lemon Macarons:

For the shells:

120 gr. egg whites, divided
35 gr. sugar
150 gr. finely ground almonds
150 gr. powdered sugar
2 tsp. pure lemon extract

For the boiling syrup:
150 gr. sugar and 50 gr. water

Sift the ground almonds and powdered sugar.
In a stand mixer, whip 60 gr. egg whites to soft peaks, add 35 gr. sugar.In the meantime, in a saucepan on high heat bring the water and sugar for the syrup to 230 F. on a candy thermometer.
Slowly add the boiling syrup to the egg whites and continue to whip on medium – high speed until they are completely cooled and you have a shiny meringue (10-15 minutes).
Mix the remaining 60 gr. of egg whites, the lemon extract and the sifted almond/sugar and carefully fold into the meringue.
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip with the mixture and pipe macarons about 3 inches in diameter on parchment paper lined baking sheet. You can let them sit at room temperature for 20 minutes if desired. This is often done to assure those little feet at the bottom but I found that I can skip this step with this recipe and still end up with the same result.
Bake at 320 for 15 minutes. Let cool.

Lemon Curd:

grated zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup strained lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 eggs
Combine the zest, sugar, juice in a saucepan, and bring to a simmer.
In a small bowl, beat the eggs until light.
Beat some of the lemon mixture into the eggs to temper. Scrape the mixture back into the saucepan and cook stirring constantly until it thickens up, about 5 minutes.
Strain and refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap until ready to use.
Fill the macarons with about 1 Tb of the curd and refrigerate.

Bye bye May…Looking forward to June!

Note: Check out the WTSIM May edition on Jeanne’s blog…Yum!