Lemon curd macarons with blueberries

Psssshhh… Boom!

This is the sound of a package arriving to your doorstep. You open a door, reach out to the box and then — holding it close to your heart — run into the kitchen. Lights on, scissors out, cut here, cut there… you open the box and immediately see THEM! Bright and colorful, they smell so good you’re squinting.

Next ten minutes you sit silently in front of the box unable to make up your mind. Finally, you take the plunge and carefully take one of them. It’s fragile. With your eyes closed, you’re making a small bite… It feels like a lemon bomb detonated in your mouth! You think it’s too strong, but just in a few second your tastebuds are muffled up in a sweet veil. You don’t quite get the taste so you decide to make another bite. Tart and sweet, this combination easily becomes addictive. And right when you think you know it all, you bite into something unexpected. Fresh. Juicy. Flavorful.

“Honey, it’s time to wake up!” – you’ve started to hear quite voice of your husband. Wait what, was it just a dream? You jump out of the bed, take your favorite notebook and begin to scribble…

For the macaron shells:
makes about 60 shells

150 g almond flour
150 g powdered sugar
55 + 55 g egg whites
150 g granulated sugar + a pinch
50 g water
gel coloring (optional)

Make batter and bake macarons shells by following instructions in Cooper’s how-to post. After baking, transfer shells to a cooling rack and let them cool completely before filling.

For the lemon curd ganache:

100 g sugar
zest of one lemon
4 egg yolks
70 g lemon juice
pinch of salt
70 g butter (a), at room temperature

50 g butter (b), at room temperature
100 g white chocolate

In a small bowl combine sugar and lemon zest. Thoroughly rub the mixture with your fingers and leave it for 30 minutes.

Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring it to a simmer. In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the eggs yolks, lemon juice, sugar with zest and a pinch of salt. Place the bowl over the pot with simmering water and whisk the mixture until it thickens, it takes about 8-10 minutes.

Remove from the heat, transfer the curd to a shallow bowl and whisk until it cools down to a room temperature. Whisk in pieces of butter (a), keep whisking to create a nice and shiny emulsion. Cover the curd with a plastic wrap and let it set in the fridge for 1-2 hours.

Chop white chocolate and melt it in a bowl over a pot of simmering water or using microwave on low power.

In a bowl of stand mixed fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter (b) for several minutes. Start to add lemon curd in several additions. Mix everything together until the mixture becomes light and fluffy. Add slightly cooled melted chocolate and whisk once again.

Transfer the lemon curd ganache into a piping bag fitted with a plain tip and place it in the fridge while you’re preparing macarons shells.

To assemble macarons:

30 fresh blueberries

Find matching macarons shells and place one of them face side up and another face side down.

Pipe lemon curd ganache on to one shell. Lightly press a blueberry into the center, finish with a dollop of ganache and top with matching shell. Repeat with all remaining shells. Place all macarons into an airtight container and chill them in the fridge overnight.

Have you tried any of recipes from this blog? I’ll be happy to hear your feedback about them!