Dairy Free Macarons With Lemon Cream Filling
This lemon dairy free macaron has a crisp exterior, chewy interior, and a burst of citrusy flavor, making it a perfect dessert or afternoon tea snack.Note: Use the unit converter if needed. This recipe is measured by weight (metric) for accuracy.
Equipment
- Digital scale
- silicone pastry mat
- hand blender
- Stand mixer
Ingredients
Lemon Cream Filling
- 140 g lemon juice
- zest of 2 lemon
- 10 g water
- 100 g sugar
- 25 g rice flour
- 2 g agar-agar powder
- 140 g Naturli vegan butter or Miyokos vegan butter
Tant Pour Tant Paste - Macaron Batter
- 250 g almond flour, Blue Diamond preferred
- 250 g icing sugar
- 90 g egg whites
- 0.5 g or as needed yellow food color (powder, paste, or gel)
Italian Meringue
- 90 g egg whites aged
- 225 g sugar
- 65 g water
Instructions
Cooking Lemon Cream Filling
- Mix the rice flour, agar-agar, and sugar in a saucepan. Add the water, zest, and lemon juice, then cook on a medium heat while continuously stirring until boiling and thick. Remove from heat.
- Let the lemon cream cool to about 50°C (122°F). Blend in the cold vegan butter until smooth.
- Transfer to a container, cover with cling film, then store in the fridge for a few hours until set and firm enough for piping.
Making Italian Meringue
- In a small saucepan, boil water and sugar until it reaches 118-120°C (244-248°F).
- In a stand mixer, whisk the whites until slightly foamy. Adjust the speed to low, and pour in the hot sugar in a steady stream. Adjust the speed to high and continue whipping for 4-6 minutes. While the meringue is whipping, start working on the macaron batter.
- The Italian meringue is ready when it's stiff, shiny, and a bit warm.
Tant Pour Tant Paste - Macaron Batter
- Pulse almond flour and icing sugar as fine as possible in a food processor, then sift through a fine sieve.
- Mix the almond flour mixture with the egg white with a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until it forms a paste.
- Add 1/3 of meringue to the almond paste, then whip at low speed until fully incorporated.
- Fold the remaining Italian meringue in two batches until it reaches the "ribbon stage."
- Do not overmix or undermix. Overmixed batter spreads quickly when piped, while undermixed batter is too thick and barely spreads out after piping. Find the right consistency in between.
Baking the Macaron shells
- With piping tip no.10, pipe the batter about 4 cm (1.5 in) in diameter on a tray lined with silpat or silicon mat. Tap the tray a few times to flatten the batter, then poke bubbles on the surface with a toothpick.
- Dry the macaron shells for 30-60 minutes, depending on the humidity of your kitchen. Do not bake the shells if they are still wet.
- When the shells are dry enough, bake at 150°C (302°F) for 16–18 minutes, depending on the size.
- Cool down before taking them off the silicone mat or baking paper.
Assembling the Macarons
- Pair the macaron shells according to size, then arrange the pairs alternately on a tray, one facing up and the other facing down.
- Fill a piping bag with the cold lemon cream, then pipe a blob of the filling into the center of the shell. Place the other macaron shell on top, then press lightly to spread out the lemon cream filling.
- Before serving, store the filled macarons in a tightly sealed food storage container lined with parchment paper in the fridge overnight or at least 24 hours.
Notes
Three essential factors to remember before baking the macarons:
- The drying. Never bake macarons when they are not dry enough. Baking them slightly wet will cause a cracking and uneven surface.
- Too high oven temperature. It will cause deformation of the feet, cracking, and darker color.
- Fan-forced oven. Macarons bake well in a convection oven. It allows even baking due to air circulation.
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