I enjoy making macarons for special friends on special occasions. So, when a friend recently became engaged I naturally thought of baking macarons for their celebration!
After texting back and forth about flavor combinations and which flavors they would enjoy, I decided to remake the lavender honey macarons. I had previously posted about an earlier version, but I wanted to kick it up a notch. How do I add more lavender flavor without compromising the integrity of the shell? How can I have a more intense honey buttercream filling without making it overly sweet?
haiku
lavender’s perfume
honey’s natural sweetness
macaron heaven
For the macaron shell I used the same technique that was previously described in the blog post Macarons for a Wedding. To intensify the lavender flavor, I finely ground three tablespoons of culinary lavender buds in a cuisinart mini food processor. This was added to the almond flour and sifted with the confectioner sugar.
A teaspoon of lavender extract was then added along with the egg whites.
The macaron shells have a deep lavender flavor that fills the senses with the image of a lush lavender field in Provence.
The honey Italian buttercream filling was made substituting honey for the simple syrup. It has the intense honey flavor that I was looking for without being overly sweet. I found the perfect recipe on the allrecipes.com website and is reprinted below.
Honey Italian buttercream recipe
1 cup honey
5 egg whites
1 1/2 cups butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pour honey into a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat until a thermometer inserted into the saucepan reads 240 degrees F (115 degrees C). While honey is heating up, beat egg whites in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form. Slowly and gradually pour hot honey into the egg whites, keeping the mixer on medium-high speed. Keep mixer going until the bowl cools to room temperature. Add pieces of soft butter gradually, with the mixer still going. Add vanilla extract. Keep mixing until mixture comes together and is the consistency of buttercream, up to 10 minutes.
The lavender honey macarons have the intense but balanced flavors that I was hoping for. Lavender so calming to your senses, allows your mind to drift to far way places as if in a dream. Honey with its natural sweetness. The perfect macaron flavor for this special occasion!
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