Lavender and Orange Macarons

I would describe these macarons as lavender and orange scented rather than full, bursting flavor ones. I like the hint of lavender and the freshness of the orange against the almond. I love almonds so I really wanted these macarons to be simple.

So finally, here is the recipe.

LAVENDER AND ORANGE MACARONS

Makes about 4 dozen small macarons

181 grams almond flour
243 grams powdered sugar
138g egg whites
3 grams egg white powder
2 grams of finely ground sea salt
81 grams granulated sugar
Zest of one orange
5 drops of blue food coloring (I used a natural food coloring made from blueberry concentrate)
dried lavender leaves

In a large bowl, sift together the almond flour, powdered sugar and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the egg white and the egg white powder. Whip in medium speed until egg whites start to increase in volume. I know a lot of recipes say to whip the egg whites at high speed but I find that it is better to start slower to build a better structure for the meringue.

When the egg whites are almost fully whipped and very fluffy, slowly start adding the sugar, sprinkle it in. After all the sugar is incorporated, continue to whip the meringue in high speed now until stiff peaks have formed. This is when we will add the orange zest and the food coloring.

Add the dry ingredients to the meringue and with a spatula, fold the meringue into the dry ingredients. This is called “macaroner” and is also a tricky part. It is better to fold slowly and test a couple of macarons because it is possible to over fold this mixture. We are looking for a shiny mass. For this amount of ingredients, I would say that it will only take about 10 to 15 strokes. But again, it is better to check for consistency. We are looking for a mass that spreads a little but not too much otherwise our macarons will be flat.

Pipe the mass onto half sheet pans lined with silpats. Sprinkle the wet macarons with dried lavender leaves. Make sure to pick out any stems or hard pieces.

Let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes so they dry. We want the tops to not stick to our finger when we touch them. This will ensure a crack-free macaron.

Have your oven preheated at 325 degrees. Bake one sheet pan at a time positioning it in a middle rack. Bake for about 8 minutes and rotate sheet pan to ensure even baking. It should take about 14 minutes but that depends on the oven. We want to be able to pick up the macaron without it falling apart but we don’t want to over bake it either. It is better to bake it slowly so no browning occurs.

Remove them from the oven and slide the silpat onto a cold surface. Let them cool on the silpat.

ORANGE BUTTERCREAM FILLING

I don’t ever follow a recipe for buttercream. When I was in culinary school my chef instructor, chef Schmidtke drilled in my head the numbers 1-2-3, meaning 1 part of egg whites, 2 parts of sugar and 3 parts of butter. So that’s what I follow.

50 grams of egg whites
100 grams of granulated sugar
150 grams of room temperature unsalted butter
Zest of one orange

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together egg whites and the sugar lightly. Place over a water bath until sugar is dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch. Bring bowl to the electric mixer and whip until stiff peaks form. Add butter, a tablespoon at a time while whipping. Add the orange zest and mix until incorporated.

Pipe a teaspoon of the buttercream on a macaron and top with another one that is similar size.

I know I probably bored you with all my extra comments but I hope you try to make them. They are worth the effort for sure!