It’s National Macaron Day!
Over the past few years, I have come to really love Macarons! They are perfect little dessert bite. An almond cookie shell with a creamy filling inside. Pure heaven!
So To celebrate, I baked up these Lavender Macarons with a lavender cream cheese buttercream filling.
What says Springtime more than beautiful budding flowers. So, definitely knew I wanted to use lavender. It’s such a Spring flowers with an amazing scent.
To adorn these beautiful Macarons, I added lavender buttercream flowers. Gorgeous!
Macarons:
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup almond flour
• 3 egg whites
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Lavender food gel
Buttercream:
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp lavender extract or oil
4 tbsp cream cheese
1. Sift confectioners’ sugar and almond flour together, discarding any bits of almond flour that are too large to pass through the strainer.
2. In a large bowl, beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt on high speed until foamy, then with the mixer running, slowly add the sugar. When the mixture reaches soft peaks, add vanilla and color. Continue whipping just until mixture forms stiff peaks.
3. Gently pour the almond mixture over the whipped egg whites so they don’t deflate. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the almond flour mixture into the egg whites until the mixture holds a 10 count, meaning when batter falls from the spatula to the bowl it takes about 10 seconds until it fully blends into the rest of the bowl in the batter. This way, the almond mixture is fully hydrated but egg whites still retain some air. The mixture is thick enough to pipe without running everywhere, but the peak at the top of each piped cookie will fall on its own, making a perfectly smooth cookie. This takes about 45 turns, but depending on how aggressively you fold, it can be more or less.
4. Transfer the batter to a decorating pastry bag with a 1A tip. Pipe 1 inch rounds of batter onto the parchment lined pans, spacing at least 1 inch apart. Tap the pans hard on the countertop 4-5 times to release trapped air, and then let sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes or until the unbaked macaron form a skin and do not stick to your finger when touched. Allowing the macaron to crust over is what leads to their signature “feet,” the holey ring that arises during baking at the base of each cookie.
5. Pre-heat the oven to 275 degrees.
6. Bake for 17 minutes on a shelf in the center of the oven. Set a timer.
7. Cool the macaron completely on a cooling grid before sandwiching with the buttercream. Makes 36 to 48 sandwiched cookies.
Buttercream:
Place all ingredients in a standing mixer and blend. Pipe into Macarons.
