I've already told y'all about my love affair with lemons. It's my all time favorite flavor and there is nothing you could say that would change my mind! Lavender is the perfect compliment to lemon in every way, so of course I had to throw them into a macaron. These Lemon Lavender French Macarons should be the official dessert of summer.
The shell of the Lemon Lavender French Macarons are dusted with dried lavender that has been pulsed in the food processor so there aren't any big chunks. You could also mix the lavender straight into the macaron mixture before piping, I just love the way it looks dusted on top. The filling is a lemon curd folded together with whipped cream for the perfect whipped lemon curd.
If you're looking to up your macaron game check out my blog post on French Macarons. I give you all of my best tips and tricks for the perfect french macarons! The recipe in this post is my base recipe for all of my macarons. It's what I've found the most success with in all of my macaron endeavors!
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning, at no extra cost to you, I may earn a commission if you click a link and buy something.
For in-depth “whys” and “howtos”, skip to the end of this post!
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Recipe
Lemon Lavender French Macarons
Ingredients
For Macarons:
- 3 large (100 grams) egg whites
- ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 ⅔ cup (200 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 cup (110 grams) almond flour
- 3 tablespoons dried lavender
For Filling:
- ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon (75 grams) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (48 grams) lemon juice fresh squeezed
- 1 large (50 grams) egg
- 1 large (15 grams) egg yolk
- 6 tablespoons (90 grams) unsalted butter cubed and softened
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream cold
Instructions
For Macarons:
- Line a cookie sheet with a silicone mat or you can use parchment paper if you don't have one.
- Using a food processor, pulse the powdered sugar and almond flour until fully combined and rid of lumps. Sift the combined dry ingredients into a large bowl. If you do not have a food processor you can just sift.
- In a medium bowl, prepare the french meringue. Beat the egg whites on low speed with a hand mixer until they get frothy. Increase the speed and slowly add the sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form. If you want to add any food coloring, do it now, but use it sparingly or you will make the meringue too liquidy.
- Add the french meringue into the dry ingredients and begin to gently fold. The batter should be fully combined and not streaky. When you are able to make a figure 8 with the batter in one motion, the batter is ready. If it is too runny it has been over-mixed.
- Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a piping tip. Pipe 1-inch disks on to the silicone mat.
- Tap the cookie sheet on the countertop 3 or 4 times to get rid of any air bubbles. Use a toothpick to pop any remaining air bubbles.
- Add the lavender to the food processor and pulse a few times until the lavender is in small pieces. Place the lavender in a sifter and shake it over the macarons to lightly dust each shell.
- Allow the macarons to rest for an hour or until the tops of the macarons have dried. You will be able to gently run your finger over them without anything getting on your finger.
- Preheat the oven to 260 degrees (F).
- Place the macarons on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 5 minutes, rotate the cookie sheet and bake for another 5 minutes, rotate the pan one last time and bake for 5 minutes. 15 minutes in total.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on the cookie sheet.
- If the macarons were baked correctly they should easily peel off of the silicone mat.
For Filling:
- In a medium heat-proof bowl whisk together the sugar, lemon juice, egg, and egg yolk.
- Place the bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water and add the butter.
- Let the mixture cook over low heat for about 15 minutes, whisking occasionally.
- You will know the curd is ready when a thermometer reads 180 degrees (F) or when it is the consistency of mayonnaise.
- Remove the curd from the heat and cover the surface of the curd with plastic wrap. Place the curd in the fridge until fully cooled.
- In a medium bowl use a hand mixer to whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks. Be sure not to overwhip.
- When the curd is cooled gently fold the curd into the whipped cream until fully combined.
- Transfer the whipped lemon curd to a piping bag and pipe your desired amount onto the inside of a macaron shell. Sandwich another macaron shell on top.
Nutrition
Lemon Lavender French Macarons
- Line a cookie sheet with a silicone mat (my favorite baking sheet for macarons and favorite silicone mats for macarons). I highly recommend a silicone mat of some kind, but if you don’t have one then you can also use parchment paper.
- In a food processor (I use this one) add the powdered sugar and almond flour and pulse until fully combined and rid of lumps. Don’t do this for too long or you will make almond butter. Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. If you don’t have a food processor you can just sift the ingredients together. In a medium bowl, prepare the french meringue. You can use a stand mixer for this, but I prefer a hand mixer for a batch this small. Beat the egg whites on low speed until they get frothy. Increase the speed and slowly add the sugar. If you add the sugar too fast you will deflate the meringue. Beat until stiff peaks form. This is when you pull the beater out and the meringue stands up with a slight curve. It should not fall or jiggle too much if you move the beater. If you want to add food coloring, do it now, but add it sparingly or you will make the meringue too liquidy.
- Add the french meringue into the dry ingredients and begin to gently fold with a silicone spatula. This process is called macaronage. You will know the batter is ready when the ingredients are fully combined and not streaky. You should be able to hold the spatula above the bowl and draw a figure 8 smoothly without the batter breaking off. A good way to test if the batter is ready is to place a very small amount in your piping bag and pipe it onto your mat. If the batter is stiff and does not spread at all, then it is not ready. If the batter immediately runs out, then you have over folded. The batter should spread slightly and the tops should even out (there shouldn’t be any little tips sticking out), but it should not spread out too much. Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a piping tip (this is my favorite for macarons). Pipe 1-inch disks onto the prepared cookie sheet.
- Firmly tap the cookie sheet onto the counter 3 or 4 times to bring any air bubbles to the surface. Use a toothpick to pop any remaining air bubbles.
- Add the lavender to the food processor and pulse until the lavender is in small pieces. Place the lavender in a sifter and shake it over the macarons to lightly dust each shell.
- Let the macarons rest for an hour. There needs to be a dry layer on the top. You should be able to run your finger over the top without any transferring to your finger. If it is really humid outside this process will likely take longer.
- Preheat the oven to 260 degrees (F). This is the temperature that I have found works well for my oven, but you may need to play around with the temperature.
- Place the macarons on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 5 minutes, rotate the cookie sheet, bake for another 5 minutes, and rotate the cookie sheet again, bake for 3-5 minutes. 13-15 minutes in total. The macarons should not have any color to them, and they should peel off of the mat easily.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
- Peel off of the mat and match each shell to another that is the same size.
Whipped Lemon Curd
- In a medium heat-proof bowl whisk together the sugar, lemon juice, egg, and egg yolk.
- Place the bowl over a small saucepan (I used this one) of simmering water and add the butter.
- Let the mixture cook over low heat for about 15 minutes, whisking occasionally.
- You will know the curd is ready when a thermometer reads 180 degrees (F) or when it is the consistency of mayonnaise.
- Remove the curd from the heat and cover the surface of the curd with plastic wrap. This will prevent the curd from forming a skin on the top. Place the curd in the fridge until fully cooled.
- In a medium bowl use a hand mixer to whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks. Be sure not to overwhip.
- When the curd is cooled gently fold the curd into the whipped cream until fully combined.
- Transfer the whipped lemon curd to a piping bag and pipe your desired amount onto the inside of a macaron shell. Sandwich another macaron shell on top.
- Like this post? Visit my Recipe page to see more like it!
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