Lemon Poppy Seed Macarons

The shells are poppy seed french macarons and the filling is a light and bright whipped lemon curd.

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 15

Resting Time 1

Total Time 1 45

Servings macarons

Calories 92kcal

Author Ellie Haley

Ingredients

For Macaron Shells:

1 ⅔ cup (200 grams) powdered sugar
1 cup (110 grams) almond flour
3 large (100 grams) egg whites
¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
½ tablespoon poppy seeds

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 (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 add the powdered sugar and almond flour and pulse until fully combined and rid of lumps. Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. If you don’t have a food processor you can just sift the ingredients together.
Whisk the poppy seeds into the dry ingredients.
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.
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 280 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 5 minutes. 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 each macaron shell off of the mat and match each shell to another that is the same size.

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.

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