The French lemon macarons recipe experiment! And happy Macaron Day to you!!! :)

by Lili
March 20, 2015
43 comments
Cake news and fun, Special everyday cakes and treats

Hello sweet reader!  Happy Macaron Day or bonne journée du macaron to you!!! 🙂  Yes, I’m not kidding.  20th March is indeed Macaron Day, a yearly event created in 2006 by master pâtissier and creator of an amazing range of macarons and cakes, Pierre Hermé.  Apparently he’s into little Fetish montblanc cakes at the moment, as I was informed by a reliable on-site source on holiday in Paris (Mum).   But going back to macarons, you can participate in Macaron Day in cities where some pâtisseries offer free macarons in exchange for donations to charity.  The map below gives you an idea where these activities are taking place, but there are many more worldwide.   New York has its own macaron map online, some patisseries in India have youtube videos promoting the day and there’s lots going on.  I’ve found nothing yet in Barcelona but I live in hope.  Luckily I still have my own little stock of mojito macarons here at home… hee hee!    And yesterday I managed to put together some lemon cream macarons which you should find fast and easy to make!

Lemon cream macarons

Lemon cream macarons

If you’d like to make mojito macarons to celebrate, the recipe’s here.  They’re still my favourite!

Mojito Macarons at http://wp.me/p5uVyi-1p7

Mojito Macarons

But the lemon cream macarons are scrumptious too!

Yesterday I conducted my first experiment making shells with the French macaron technique.  Hmmm, initially I didn’t feel they were as nice as the ones I’ve been making with the Italian meringue method.  I wasn’t going to give you the recipe but this morning I discovered the texture was okay and they were yummy!  I had a few for breakfast just to double-check.  Again, hee hee!

Lemon cream macarons

Lemon cream macarons

Also, the pros are they’re fast to make, there’s less washing up and you don’t need a sugar thermometre!  They might grow on me.

These lemon macarons are based on a recipe from the ‘Pâtisserie’ book by Murielle Valette, which has really clear step-by-step instructions and photos.  I just had to add some gelatine to the lemon cream and changed a few other small things.

French macaron shells (70 to make 35 macarons)

Please go here for the instructions (it’s a page in my ‘basics’ section).

Lemon cream filling

  • 200ml fresh double cream or 35% whipping cream
  • 33g caster sugar
  • two-thirds grated lemon zest
  • 40g freshly-squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 sheets gelatine (gold-quality: 4g)
  1. Place the sheets of gelatine on a small deep plate and cover with water so they soften.
  2. Put two tablespoons of the cream in a heavy-based saucepan to heat gently.
  3. When around 40 degrees centigrade (not too hot), take off heat then add the gelatine (squeeze out the extra water from the gelatine first) and stir till it melts.  Put aside.
  4. Whisk the cream with the caster sugar and lemon zest until it starts to thicken.
  5.  Whisk in the lemon juice and keep whisking till your cream is as firm as possible.
  6.  If you’re using 35% whipping cream you’lll notice your mixture is quite liquid.  So add the cooled cream and gelatine mixture and whisk well.
  7. Pour into a small clean bowl, cover in plastic wrap and keep in the fridge for a 3-4 hours (or overnight) till it firms up.  If the cream firms up too much, just whisk again to loosen it.
  8. Put the cream in a disposable piping bag (medium nozzle no.8) and pipe a blob in the middle of a macaron shell.  Cover with another shell and press very gently so the cream goes to the edge.  You want enough cream so the macaron is not dry, but not so much that it all squirts out.  Also, the consistency should be moussy but not gellified.  You’ll soon see how it should be to make piping easy.
  9. Keep the macarons in the fridge and eat!!! 🙂

And if you’re unsure about how macarons should taste, I’ll try to describe one:  a heavenly litttle biscuit with a slightly crisp shell on the outside but moist and chewy melt-in-your-mouth on the inside where the flavour just hits you.  Mmmmmmacaron!

Lemon cream macarons

Try a lemon cream macaron!

Here’s a little interview in English with Pierre Hermé talking about macarons and mentioning white miso!

And finally, to finish off with some macaron cheer here’s a photo of some crazy climbers having breakfast of mojito macarons, the new green superfood!

We love macarons!

We love macarons!

Let ‘s celebrate Macaron Day together!

But remember every day can be Macaron Day!!! 🙂  I’ll be taking mine to the Fiesta Friday party which has a new venue!  And I’d like to thank Angie @the Novice Gardener for her hard work hosting this party every week and her co-hosts this week:  Tracy @Scratch It Cook and Nancy @Feasting With Friends.   Hope they and yourselves will all have a little mojito or lemon macaron – or both! 🙂

Have a mojito macaron!

Have a mojito macaron!

Lemon cream macarons

… or a lemon macaron!

A lemon cream macaronWishing you an excellent World Macaron Day sweet reader!!!  May you munch merrily on some yummy macarons or simply have a lovely day looking at pretty pictures of them!!!  And have a sweet day and weekend! 🙂

P.S.  Okay, some people might be a bit worried about making macarons.  Don’t be!!! 🙂  But just to help out a bit I’m including this link to Macaron Troubleshooting by Not So Humble Pie.  It’s not supposed to be off-putting but it gives you some good ideas, one of which is to err on the side of overbaking your macarons!  I know you can do it so happy macaron-making!!! 🙂

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Baking on Sundays with my French mum was a lovely part of my childhood. Later I experimented with baking books or internet recipes and did the pâtisserie course at Le Cordon Bleu Paris. Still trying out new recipes and inventing cakes with influences from all around the world, including some healthier ones. Yes, love cakes!!! Hope you'll love them too and have fun baking. :)

43 thoughts on “The French lemon macarons recipe experiment! And happy Macaron Day to you!!! :)”

  2. Nancy's avatar
    Nancy says:

    Stunning macarons, Lili! I’m so happy to hear you taste tested a few of these before sharing the recipe…hehe…you wouldn’t want to share a blah recipe. 😉 I still haven’t tried making macarons. Something about them scares me to death. However, I will gladly gaze upon yours with envy! Happy Macaron Day to you…and Happy Fiesta Friday! Thanks for linking up your delectable sweets.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Lili's avatar
      Lili says:

      Thank you Nancy! Yes, I always force myself to test stuff before I post (and even get friends to test it too). It’s hard work for all of us but we soldier on. 🙂 I think you’d like making macarons – I recently read a post by someone saying that macarons are not scary at all if you’re just careful. You’d be well able to make them. Thank you for the lovely comments about these ones and Happy Macaron Day and FF to you too!!! 🙂 Thanks for hosting the party! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Tracy's avatar
    Tracy says:

    Omg these macaroons are PERFECT. Like for real, perfect!! I love the bright yellow color- perfect for Spring!! Thanks so much for sharing, I can’t wait to try the recipe! Although would you mind coming over and helping me put them together this perfectly??? 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    • Lili's avatar
      Lili says:

      Thank you Tracy! Nice of you to say so – yes I was happily surprised at how bright they were! And yes, I’ll be over to help out with your macaron-making soon… ish. Well, virtually at least. Hope you enjoy making them and let me know how it goes! 🙂 Thanks for co-hosting the party this week and it was great to discover your blog! 🙂

      Like

    • Lili's avatar
      Lili says:

      Very sweet of you to say so.. Yes, some were so delicate they didn’t make it! 🙂 But I think you’d enjoy making macarons and could easily do it if you wanted… And thank you for your lovely comments Linda! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Lili's avatar
      Lili says:

      Thank you Lily!! You’re like me … I’ve beem pinning lots of stuff too! 🙂 Hope you enjoy making these! 🙂

      Like

  6. deliciouslynell's avatar
    deliciouslynell says:

    Seems I’ll be late to Macaron Day. But these look delish and my contribution will be along soon~

    Liked by 1 person

    • Lili's avatar
      Lili says:

      Thank you Natasha! Very happy you like the macarons and that you’re going to make them!!! 🙂 I added a link to some troubleshooting tips I thought would be useful for first-time macaron-makers (and me!). Let me know how it goes! Also happy you like the blog and love yours too! Looking forward to seeing more of your dishes! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Lili's avatar
      Lili says:

      Thanks Judi! Yes, the lemon cream wasn’t sweet and provided a lovely contrast to the shell! Hope you have fun making macarons one day! 🙂

      Like

  10. Fimnora Westcaw's avatar
    Fimnora Westcaw says:

    I’m drooling here! lol At first I thought you were talking about Macaroons. Not the same, I know. But oh my gosh, how delicious, and lemon *swoon* and how adorable and tiny. Maybe on my birthday, I can have a treat. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • Lili's avatar
      Lili says:

      Thank you Fimnora! Very happy you like the macarons, which are so little that I’m sure you could have them as a treat on your birthday! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

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