Lime Macarons

After a rainy and cloudy Memorial Day weekend here in Portland, I thought I'd sweeten the atmosphere with a sunny lime macaron.

I like sweet and sour macaron combinations because the sour cuts the sweet. I'm not a fan of super sweet desserts and macaron shells are plenty sweet.  Creamy and lightly sweet is always my goal for a macaron filling. 

For me, these lime macarons are just right.

Lime Macarons
180g ground almonds, sifted
270g powdered sugar, sifted
150g egg whites, aged 2 to 4 days in the fridge and then brought to room temperature
100g granulated sugar
green food coloring

Line four heavy baking sheets with good quality parchment paper and set aside. Also, set aside two pastry bags for the piping of the macarons.

Sift together your ground almonds with the powdered sugar and set aside.

Whisk the egg whites (at room temperature) to glossy firm peaks adding the granulated sugar gradually in four parts.  Towards the end of mixing, add the food coloring.

Incorporate the dry ingredients into the beaten egg whites using a large rubber scraper.  Mix well. 
Fold the mixture with the rubber scraper by pulling down the sides and flipping the mixture over. Do this until you have a smooth mixture that falls like a “ribbon” off the scraper.

Transfer the mixture into the two piping bags. Use rubber bands to close the piping bags. Clip the tip of the bags, one at a time, and pipe small quarter sized rounds, leaving 1-inch of space between each because they spread as they set.

Macarons waiting to be baked.

 Leave to set for about 30 minutes or until the top has formed a crust and is not sticky to the touch.

While they are setting, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. A convection oven is preferable. 

Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for about 12 minutes or until the cookie is firm, matte and doesn't wobble when touched.
Leave on the baking tray until cool then lift them all off the parchment carefully. You may need to use a thin knife to help lift them off.

Sort into pairs and fill with Lime Cream Filling

Lime Cream Filling
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, room temperature
Juice of 3 limes
zest of 3 limes
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Juice and zest of three limes.

In a small saucepan, combine lime juice, lime zest  and sugar. Over medium heat, reduce mixture by half until it is a thick syrup. Be sure to watch closely and stir frequently. This takes 4 to 7 minutes. The lime zest will loose it's bright green color after cooking but that's okay. Set aside to cool completely. You may put the syrup in the fridge to speed up the cooling process.

Whip butter and cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Add cooled lime syrup and vanilla. Whip again and use a piping bag to fill macarons.