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Lime & Galangal Macarons

My take on the official 'Roland Garros' 2024 macaron flavour by Ladurée- these yellow macarons are filled with a zesty lime & galangal curd filling and decorated with orange edible dust.
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine French, Italian
Keyword Galangal, Italian macarons, Ladurée, Lime, macaron, Roland Garros
Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 11 minutes
Chill Time 1 hour
Total Time 3 hours
Servings 22 macarons

Equipment

  • 1 small(ish), round piping nozzle
  • 1 piping bag

Ingredients

For the whipped lime & galangal curd filling:

  • 1 egg, beaten.
  • 75 g caster sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp galangal paste (see Note 1).
  • 2 limes, zest and juice.
  • 55 g unsalted butter, diced.
  • 150 ml double cream

For the macaron shells:

  • 95 g ground almonds
  • 103 g icing sugar
  • 72 g egg whites, split into two equal portions (2x36g).
  • 95 g caster sugar
  • 30 ml water
  • Yellow & orange water-based gel food colouring (see Note 2).

To decorate:

  • Orange edible colour dust (optional).

Instructions

Make the lime & galangal curd:

  • In a small saucepan, mix together the beaten egg, caster sugar, galangal paste, lime zest and juice until completely combined.
  • Add the diced butter, then place the pan over medium-low heat and stir constantly while the butter melts.
  • Once the butter has melted, keep the pan over the heat and continue stirring until the curd has thickened. It should coat the back of a wooden spoon when ready.
  • Pass the curd through a heatproof sieve to remove the zest/galangal, as well as any pieces of egg. Cover the surface directly with clingfilm, then place into the fridge to chill and firm up for at least an hour before finishing the filling.

Make the yellow macaron shells:

  • Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Fit a piping bag with a small(ish), round nozzle (mine was 6mm in diameter) and set aside.
  • Place the ground almonds and icing sugar into a food processor. Pulse 10 times, then sift into a large bowl, discarding any large lumps. Repeat this process once more, so that you are left with a very fine powder.
  • Add one of the 36g portions of egg white to the almond/icing sugar mixture, along with the food colouring (I used mainly yellow, with a few drops of orange to darken it). Mix well to form a paste with an even, deep, egg yolk shade, then set aside.
  • Place the remaining 36g of egg white into the clean (see Note 3), metal bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment. Leave aside while you make the sugar syrup.
  • Place the caster sugar into a small saucepan with the 30ml of water. Place over a medium heat and bring to a boil. Do not stir- swirl gently if necessary. Allow the syrup to continue bubbling, while monitoring the temperature with a digital sugar thermometer.
  • When the syrup has reached 114°C, turn the stand mixer to high speed and begin to whip the egg whites to soft peaks. Keep the syrup over the heat.
  • Once the sugar syrup reaches 118°C, the egg whites should have reached soft peaks. With the mixer still running on high speed, carefully pour the syrup down the side of the bowl in a slow, steady stream. Once all of the syrup has been added, turn the mixer up to full speed and beat for 5 minutes, or until stiff peaks are achieved and the metal bowl has come to room temperature.
  • When the meringue is ready, add 1/3 of it to the yellow almond mixture. Mix vigorously to combine the two mixtures and loosen the thick paste.
  • Add the rest of the meringue and fold it in, using a figure of eight motion, until the mixture is cohesive and comes off the spatula in ribbons- if you leave those ribbons for 30 seconds they should level themselves out into the rest of the mixture.
  • Transfer the macaron batter to the prepared piping bag. Holding the bag vertically to the baking tray, pipe macarons about 2.5cm in diameter.
  • Once the macarons are piped, lift the whole tray and drop it down onto the work surface a few times to bring any air bubbles to the surface. Use a sharp knife/cocktail stick to burst any remaining bubbles, letting the mixture fall back on itself.
  • Set the macarons aside at room temperature to form a skin- on a relatively dry day, this should take about 30-40 minutes, but can take less time on drier, warmer days and more time on cold, humid days. Check on the macarons every 10-15 minutes or so, if unsure. The macarons will be ready when you can gently touch their surfaces without any batter coming off on your finger.
  • When the macarons are almost ready, preheat the oven to 165°C fan. When the macarons are ready and the oven is hot, bake the macarons in the centre of the oven, one tray at a time, for 11 minutes. To check if they are done, place a finger on top of the shells and wiggle gently. When done, the tops of the macarons should not wobble. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the tray before decorating/filling.

Finish the lime & galangal filling:

  • In a large bowl, whip the cream to just below stiff peaks.
  • Transfer half of the chilled lime & galangal curd to a bowl (the other half can be kept in the fridge for 4-5 days and used for other bakes/zesty snacking).
  • Add a spoonful of whipped cream to the curd and mix through well to lighten the mixture.
  • Add the rest of the cream and fold in gently, until combined.

Assemble & decorate the macarons:

  • Sandwich two macaron shells with a small amount of the lime & galangal filling. You can use a piping bag for a neat finish, or just use a teaspoon/blunt knife to spread the filling onto the underside of the shells.
  • If you want to decorate the macarons, use a small, dry, food-safe paintbrush to add a little of the orange food colouring dust onto each macaron (this can also be done before filling the macarons, if preferred).
  • For best results, serve immediately after assembling. If necessary, the macarons can be stored in the fridge for a day or two, as long as the cream does not surpass its original use by date.

Notes

  1. Galangal has quite a strong flavour, so you don't need a lot of it, though it will become more subtle once the curd is mixed with the cream. This amount (1 1/2 tsp) gives a subtle, floral taste and slight warmth. If you would like a more intense galangal flavour, you can increase the amount accordingly.
  2. You must use a water-based, gel food colouring when making macarons. I like Colour Mill’s Aqua Blend range. For these macarons, I used a combination of the shades Yellow and Orange.
  3. To clean the bowl and the whisk for meringue, rub a small amount of white wine vinegar over both using a piece of kitchen roll. This will remove any traces of fat/residue that might prevent your meringue from whipping up properly.