Chocolate Lemon Macarons

if you've been a very loyal reader to my blog, i bet you know my struggle with those little babies called macarons. well, after a long hiatus of blogging and a more deepen (professional?) study about pastry, i finally able to tackle those pretty fancy cookies. so today, to show you my progress and tell you, who haven't succeed, to keep fighting for it, i will give you my rendition of chocolate lemon macarons.

this chocolate lemon macaron recipe is my invention during all these years' trials and errors. i find this recipe as the most reliable and efficient for me, and perfect for those who are still in their quest of battling macarons. i will give you the basic macaron recipe as well here, i love this recipe more because i adjust the amount of sugar quite decent here, so that the macarons would not make you clinch your teeth due to the oversweetness.

and to be completely honest, i learn the best from Not So Humble Pie's macarons troubleshooting. you might as well learn from it and knowing how beautiful and useful the elaborate post Ms.Humble wrote.
i will include the clip from her post about the crucial macaronage and the rest of the troubleshooting would be wiser if you just read it directly from her blogpost.


Chocolate Macarons with Lemon Cream Filling and Candied Lemon Slices

2 egg whites (room temperature)
25 gr caster sugar
75 gr almond powder
75 gr icing sugar/powdered sugar
1 tbsp cocoa powder


directions

1. sift almond powder, icing sugar, and cocoa powder together. set aside.
2. beat egg whites with a pinch of sugar until it forms soft peak. gradually add the sugar (little by little) until it turns glossy and forms very stiff peaks.
3. add in the almond powder mixture in 3-5 batch to the meringue. fold carefully with a little pressure (you don't want to fold it loosely as it will turn into meringue cookies and don't stir it vigorously as it will ruin all your mixture). look at the clip at the bottom and just follow it, you need the exact final consistency as hers.
4. pipe all the macaron batter in double stacked tray lined with silicone mat or parchment paper, let rest for 30-60 minutes in a dry place OR preheat the oven to 100* C, turn the heat off and put the macarons in the oven for 5-10 minutes until the surface is completely dry and not tacky to the touch. take out the tray from the oven and let it sit on the counter, preheat the oven again to 160*C.
5. bake in 160*C oven for 15-18 minutes. remove the macarons when it has completely cooled.

Lemon Cream Filling

originally from Pierre Herme's Meyer Lemon Cream

100 gr sugar

zest of 1.5 lemons

2 large eggs

75 ml  + 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

150 gr unsalted butter, cut into large cubes and softened

directions:

1. bring a saucepan of water to the simmer. in the meantime, set up your food processor/blender ready to go. also prepare a sieve that will fit over your food processor/blender.
2. combine the sugar and lemon zest in a metal bowl that will fit over the simmering pan of water without its base touching the water (au bain marie). rub the sugar and zest together with your hands until the mixture is moist, grainy, and very fragrant. then whisk in the eggs followed by the lemon juice.
3. keep whisking over the bain marie until cream thickens and reaches 80*C. be sure to be sure to use a thermometer and watch carefully. it will not take too long.
4. remove the curd off the heat when it has reached 80*C and sieve it into your food processor/blender. let cool to 60*C
5. blend on high speed while adding pieces of butter into the cream, about 3-5 pieces at a time. scrape down the sides of the blender when necessary. when all the butter has been incorporated, continue to blend for another 3 to 4 minutes to ensure that it is perfectly smooth and light.
6. the curd ideally should be stored in refrigerator for a few hours to be able to piped.

Candied Lemon Slices

* diced them and sandwiched between the cream and macarons.