Lime Macarons

These lime macarons are perfect for summer! They're filled with tart lime curd and delicious lime buttercream frosting.

📝 Ingredients

• 110 g aged egg whites; SAVE 2 OF THE EGG YOLKS TO MAKE THE LIME CURD BELOW
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar - optional
• 110 g granulated sugar (1/2 cup + 2 tsp)
• gel food coloring - optional
• 140 g superfine almond flour - blanched (1 1/2 cups)
• 125 g powdered sugar (1 cup)
• 40 g large egg yolks (2 large egg yolks or 1 large egg)
• 67 g granulated sugar (1/3 cup)
• 45 g fresh lime juice or bottled key lime juice (3 Tbsp)
• 4 g key lime zest - zest of 1 small lime (2 tsp)
• 2 g fine salt (1/4 tsp)
• 30 g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (2 Tbsp)
• 56 g unsalted butter, room temperature (1/4 cup)
• 6 g lime zest (1 Tbsp)
• 6 g lime juice (1 1/2 tsp)
• 4 g vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (1 tsp)
• 1 g fine salt (1/8 tsp)
• 166 g powdered sugar (1 1/3 cups)
• 15 g heavy whipping cream, room temperature (1 Tbsp)
• Kitchen scale
• Stand Mixer or Electric Mixer
• Large, flat baking sheets
• Silpat Mats (or parchment paper)
• 1 Large Piping Bag (18-inch)
• Round Piping Tip - Ateco 805
• 2 Small Piping Bags (12-inch)
• Small Round Piping Tip

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- Green Macaron Shells ---
2. 2Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon mats. Set aside.
3. 3Pour 110g of aged egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk and mix on medium speed until the surface of the egg whites is covered in small bubbles. Add 1/4 tsp cream of tartar and continue to mix until it reaches the soft peak stage and leaves visible tracks.
4. 4Gradually mix 110g of granulated sugar into the egg whites over a few minutes while mixing on a medium-low speed. Increase the mixing speed to a medium-high speed. Keep mixing until stiff, glossy peaks form.
5. 5Sift 140g of superfine almond flour and 125g of powdered sugar into the meringue. Use a rubber spatula to break up any big clumps and press them through the sieve.
6. 6Add in 4 small drops of yellow and 1 small drop of green gel food coloring to give the shells a warm green color. It sounds like a strange ratio, but it gives the macs a really nice bright green color.
7. 7Fold the ingredients together with a rubber spatula. Use a circular motion that sweeps around the edge of the bowl and then pull through the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is getting mixed together. Don't forget to scrape off the inside of the spatula intermittently. Sometimes meringue can get stuck there and not get mixed in properly.
8. 8Fold the batter until a thick ribbon of batter runs off the spatula when it's lifted. You should be able to draw a couple of figure 8's with the batter running off your spatula in a continuous stream when it's the right consistency. If the stream of batter breaks before you're able to do this, you may need to stir it a bit more.
9. 9Pour the batter into a large piping bag fit with a medium-sized round piping tip and pipe 1 3/4-inch rounds on the prepared baking sheets. Space them about 1 inch apart.
10. 10Bang the pans firmly on the counter a few times to release air bubbles, then pop any remaining air bubbles that come to the surface with a toothpick.
11. 11Let the macarons rest for 30 minutes, or until they develop a skin. The macarons should look matte once the skin has formed. While the macarons rest, preheat the oven to 320 F / 160 C.
12. 12Bake one tray of macarons at a time on the middle rack of your oven for 18-21 minutes and rotate the pan halfway through to help the macarons bake evenly. Place a foil tent over the shells halfway through when you rotate the pan to prevent browning.
13. 13Remove the macaron shells from the oven and let them cool on the pan (about 15 minutes), then gently remove them from the Silpat mat. If they're properly baked, they should peel off the mat cleanly and have a shiny bottom.
14. 14--- Lime Curd ---
15. 15Make the lime curd next! It needs time to cool to room temperature.
16. 16Fill a saucepan with 2 inches of water and heat over medium-low heat.
17. 17Combine 2 large egg yolks, 1/3 cup sugar, 3 Tbsp of lime juice, 2 tsp lime zest, and 1/4 tsp of fine salt in a medium-sized, heat-proof bowl. Whisk until combined and smooth.
18. 18Once the water begins to simmer, place the bowl on top of the saucepan to make a double boiler. Leave the heat on medium-low heat and make sure the water isn't touching the bottom of the bowl. Continuously whisk the mixture until it thickens. This usually takes me about 3-5 minutes.
19. 19Remove the bowl from the pan and turn off the stove. Add 2 Tbsp of butter and stir until incorporated. The mixture should be thick and smooth at this point.
20. 20Scoop the lime curd into a small piping bag and seal the top. Place in the fridge to cool. It should have thickened and be fully chilled in 15-30 minutes.
21. 21Leftover lime curd can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
22. 22--- Lime Buttercream Frosting ---
23. 23Beat 56g room-temperature butter on a medium-high speed for 1 minute with a hand mixer until smooth. It should become lighter in color as air is incorporated into it.
24. 24Mix in 6g of lime zest, 6g of lime juice, 4g of vanilla extract, and 1g of salt on a low speed.
25. 25Slowly mix in 166g of powdered sugar. Halfway through add 15g of heavy cream or milk to make the frosting easier to mix. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula.
26. 26Mix on low for a minute until the ingredients are fully incorporated and the desired consistency is reached.
27. 27If the frosting is too thick, add in additional heavy cream or milk (1 tsp at a time). If the frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar (1 Tbsp at a time).
28. 28Once the frosting is the right consistency, place it in a piping bag fit with a small round tip (like a Wilton 10) and set aside.
29. 29--- Assembling These Key Lime Macarons ---
30. 30Pair up the macaron shells, then pipe a ring of key lime buttercream around one macaron shell. Fill the center with lime curd. If you don't want to make lime curd, you can either use store-bought lime curd or pipe a large dollop of buttercream on the shell to fill the entire macaron.
31. 31Gently press a second shell on top of the filling to create a sandwich.
32. 32Sprinkle a little extra lime zest over the top of the macarons to give a little extra pizazz.
33. 33Place the finished macarons in an airtight container and chill in the fridge overnight, then enjoy!