Last Updated on April 15, 2022 by Karen
This post comes with a warning: macaron is one of the most delicate and difficult pastries to make successfully. Well, in my humble opinion anyway! There’s a whole lot of precision and patience required and practice definitely makes perfect, but don’t get discouraged if you don’t succeed on the first try. After too many failed batches to count, I think I’ve a good grasp of this: what works, what doesn’t, what’s important, and what’s not. If anything, this post is meant to inspire you to try and try again!
The best macarons I’ve had were from Laduree, Dalloyau, and most recently, Pierre Herme (which my sister kindly sent some back from Paris – thanks Carol!) They have a wonderful crisp shell with chewy center, authentic flavors, and are very pretty to look at!
I took a macaron making class at Sur La Table few years ago, and I found that their recipe is pretty fail proof. The macarons have puffed up appropriately (and not too much),have “feet”, and the texture is chewy with a crisp exterior. Just the way it should be!
There are many factors that may affect the end result (ie: climate, ingredients, oven temperature). If you have questions, leave a comment below and I’ll do my best to answer them.
Here is a free macaron template you can print out and slide under the parchment paper to use as a guide for piping the rounds.
Some more of my favorite kitchen tools for macaron making success:
- Finely ground almond meal
- Gel food coloring
- Disposable pastry bag
- Non-stick sheet pan
- Non-stick silicone baking mat
Lemon Curd Macarons
Ingredients
For the macarons:
- 3.2 oz egg whites room temperature and preferably aged up to 3 days
- 2.8 oz granulated sugar
- 5.6 oz confectioners' sugar sifted
- 3.2 oz almond meal sifted
- Yellow food coloring
For the lemon curd filling:
- 3 large egg yolks
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 ½ tsp lemon zest
- 4 tbsps unsalted butter cut into pieces
Instructions
To make the macarons:
- Whisk egg whites until they begin to foam, about 1 minute. Slowly add in granulated sugar and continue to whip until stiff peaks form (mixture should be thick and glossy; you should be able to hold the bowl upside down without the whites falling out).
- Add sifted confectioners’ sugar, almond meal, and food coloring to the mixture. Using a spatula, fold until it is well incorporated and the mixture has a consistency of molten lava. To test, scoop up a spoonful of batter and drop it back into the mixture; it should flatten and disappear into the batter in about 15 seconds or so. If it doesn’t, continue folding the mixture. It should take about 50-60 strokes for the batter to reach the right consistency.
- Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with large round tip, and pipe small rounds onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper with a template underneath. The rounds should be no larger than 2 inch in diameter with at least ½ inch of space between.
- Gently tap the bottom of each sheet on work surface to release trapped air, then let the macarons dry on the counter for about 30 minutes until a skin is formed on the surface (the batter shouldn’t stick to your hand when you touch it).
- Place the macarons in a 350F oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes until the shells harden. Let cool completely on the baking sheets.
To make the filling:
- In the top of a double boiler filled with 2 inches of simmering water, combine egg yolks, confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice and zest. Cook over moderately low heat, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 10 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter. Strain the curd into a bowl and press a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto the surface. Refrigerate until completely cold.
To assemble:
- Match the macaron shells in pairs. Pipe a small round of lemon curd (about half a teaspoon) on the flat side of a macaron shell and sandwich together with a matching macaron shell. Repeat with the remaining macarons.
Notes
*I leave the egg whites on the counter for three days, cover with plastic wrap, leaving some space for the moisture to escape.
Karen, these look delicious! Love that you used lemon- it’s my current obsession in everything baking related!
Me too! I especially love using Meyer lemons in baked goods, but I can’t find them anywhere this time of the year.
they look delightful!
Thank you!
Oven temp?
Hi Lynn, thanks for spotting that out! The oven should be set at 350F.
How do you get your macarons to puff up with the feet but stay so flat and shiny on top? Whenever I make macarons they tend to puff up in the middle with a noticeable peak from when I was piping the batter.
Hi Giselle, I used to have the same problem with my macarons having peaks. My instructor told me to use a wet finger and smooth them out, but I find that the peaks and the puffed center both have to do with problems in the folding step (most likely not enough folding). If done right, the peaks should sink back into the batter when you finish piping. The batter should also level out evenly on the baking sheet and not mound up in the center. Another thing you can try is when you’re piping the macarons, try to hold the piping bag vertical and keep the tip consistently at about 1/4 inch from the parchment paper. Apply even pressure and just let the batter fill to the edge of the stencil. Don’t try to “draw” a circle like you would with cupcake frosting. Hope these tips help!
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I love your lemon curd recipe! I made a second batch of just the curd but used limes instead of lemons, and it was so yummy! I’ve already eaten half of it on english muffins and with a spoon!
So glad you enjoy this, Kaitlyn! :)
hey Karen just saying what should I use to pipe nicely like your ones
when I pipe mine they spread over the tray
Hi Meredith, you can try chilling the lemon curd before you pipe it onto the macarons. The consistency is actually much thicker when it is cold, so it should be easier that way.
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Can you freeze macarons?
I haven’t tried, but I’d think the moisture from thawing the macarons might change the texture.
About how many egg whites does this recipe use? Thanks!
One large egg is about 1 oz, so 3.2 oz egg white is about 3 large egg whites.
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I made these and they are very good! Thank you for this recipe
Glad to hear that! :)
Hello, have you ever had any issues with the macarons going a little soggy after filling them with the lemon curd. I made a 2nd batch of macarons thinking I did them wrong the first time and filled half with buttercream and the other half with lemon curd. The lemon curd ones went squidgy whilst the buttercream ones remained the lovely macaron texture. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong with the curd? Thanks