Lime and Coconut Macarons
These macarons are a summery treat! I have filled them with la sharp and zingy lime curd surrounded by a smooth, sweet coconut cream. I have chosen to split the macarons batter to create a two toned macaron, when splitting this mixture ensure it is evenly split and not over mixed when the colour is added otherwise you may have troublesome macarons.
For the macaron shells:
116g ground almonds
116g royal icing sugar
87g egg white/ 2 large egg whites
Green gel colouring
Cream of tartar
For the Lime curd
Juice of 1 lime
Zest of 1/2 lime
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp water
For the coconut cream
50g softened unsalted butter
1 can coconut milk
150g icing sugar
Method:
Place the can of coconut milk in the refrigerator overnight
Pre heat the oven to 50°C.
Begin by preparing the macaron shells.
Whisk the egg whites until they become thick and frothy. Add the cream of tartar and continue whisking until the meringue holds stiff peaks.
Gradually add the caster sugar until it is all incorporated and the meringue is thick and shiny.
Next sift together the icing sugar and ground almonds to remove any lumps.
Fold in half of the sifted almond mixture into the meringue until just incorporated.
Fold in the rest of the almond mixture until just incorporated. Next split the mixture in half and place into separate bowls add green colouring to one bowl and fold gently until a lime green colour is achieved. Continue folding until a the mixture flows off of the spatula and ribbons into the bowl repeat this folding for the white batter.
Transfer the mixtures to piping bags fitted with medium plain round nozzles.
Pipe equal sized circles onto the lined baking tray spaced approx. 2-2.5 cm apart.
Tap the tray on a surface to remove any air bubbles that could cause cracking during the bake.
Place in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the surface of the macaron circles are dry to the touch.
Once the macaron circles are dry to the touch, turn up the oven temperature to 130°C and bake for 12-18 minutes until they have formed a 'foot' and are firm to the touch.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Next prepare the lime curd. In a small saucepan stir together all the ingredients. Place over a low heat stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat and continue stirring bringing the mixture to a gentle simmer. The curd will gradually thicken to a gel like consistency, once this is achieved remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
Prepare the coconut icing. In a bowl combine the sugar and butter and beat using an electric whisk on high until the mixture is pale light and fluffy. Remove the coconut milk from the refrigerator, the coconut fat will have solidified and separated from the liquid. Add 2 tbsp of this coconut cream to the butter mixture and beat on high.
Transfer both the coconut icing and lime curd to piping bags.
Organise the cooled macaron shells so that there each pair had one white and one green shell.
To assemble the macarons pipe a hazelnut sized amount of lime cured into the centre of once macarons shell. Then pipe the coconut cream in a ring around the curd. Place the matching shell on top and press gently.
Repeat this for all the macarons.
You can serve these immediately but these are best left for 2 hours or overnight for the flavours to develop and soak into the shells.
Once assembled the macarons can be kept for 2-3 days in an airtight container.
Delicious!
