Rosemary and lemon flavors compliment each other well with the earthy taste of rosemary and the citrus flavor of lemons. So, when a friend requested rosemary lemon macarons, I thought it could be the perfect macaron flavor combination.
Rosemary Lemon Haiku
citrus bright, cheerful
dew of the sea so earthy
all in one for thee
So, how to do I create this rosemary lemon macaron? Lemon is a natural flavor to incorporate into a filling with many possibilities, including simply adding lemon extract to a buttercream. Also, you can make a lemon curd or cream to use alone or to flavor a buttercream. Rosemary was the wild card I decided to use to flavor the macaron shell. Rosemary can easily overwhelm a dish and, even if finely chop, it can leave the shell with a gritty texture. My friend suggested infusing the simple syrup used in the Italian meringue for the macaron shell with rosemary. The rosemary simple syrup should give the macaron a hint of rosemary and retain a smooth macaron shell.
I began with making a lemon cream to flavor Italian buttercream for the macaron filling. Lemons are both sweet and tart at the same time. They pack a very sour, acidic tang that will make your mouth pucker. Lemon cream buttercream will give the macaron a decided kick.
I used the lemon cream recipe found in Laduree's Macarons the Recipes cookbook.
Lemon, sugar, corn starch, and eggs simmering
Blending in the softened butter
Lemon cream
The rosemary simple syrup was a challenge. Rosemary with it's piney, earthy, astringent taste is a herb with many uses. It is a member of the mint family, which I did not realize until writing this piece, and is native to the Mediterranean and Asia. It can be used alone or blended with other spices to flavor a variety of dishes. The name rosemary is Latin for dew (ros) and sea (marinus), or "dew of the sea".
I used the Italian meringue method found in the Bouchon Bakery cookbook, and described in a previous blog post for the macaron shells.
Rosemary added to flavor the simple syrup
To give the rosemary flavor, I added a cup of rosemary leaves to the simple syrup for the Italian meringue. This was allowed to boil for a minute and then steeped for another thirty minutes. The syrup was passed through a fine mesh sieve removing the leaves. The syrup was reweighed, and water lost to evaporation was added back.
A sprig of rosemary was added to the syrup which was then cooked in the usual manner for Italian meringue. As the syrup reached 110 degrees C, the rosemary sprig was removed.
The rosemary flavored Italian meringue
Piped macaronage
Baked rosemary flavored macaron shells
The lemon cream was added to the Italian buttercream and piped onto the macaron shell. A little squirt of lemon cream was added to the center of the macaron filling.
A rosemary lemon macaron nestled in a bed of rosemary.
The rosemary lemon macaron has a very refreshing taste. The rosemary flavor was subtle, perhaps could have been more intense. The lemon cream buttercream was close to perfection. This macaron would be ideal for a hot summer day accompanied by a cup of green tea.
I hope you enjoyed the latest macaron story, please stay tuned for more.
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