Ever since I completed the course last weekend at Le Cordon Bleu , I’ve been on a bit of a macaron kick. I came back to Newfoundland on Saturday for a visit, and my mom and I thought it would be fun to make some with a little local Newfoundland berry inspiration! My mom makes the most incredible jams and sauces, and all from local berries that Mom and Dad pick themselves (actually, family berry-picking outings are one of the things I miss most from home). After quite a bit of experimentation, I’ve also altered the macaron base recipe ever so slightly, to make it work a little better for at-home baking :)

INGREDIENTS
makes 25-30 macarons

140 g icing sugar, sifted
80 g almond flour
80 g egg whites
35 g sugar
1 teaspoon lemon extract
zest of half a lemon
15-20 drops liquid yellow food colouring

for the blueberry buttercream;
1 egg white
1/4 cup blueberry sauce + 1/3 cup blueberry sauce, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 stick butter (1/2 cup), room temperature, cut into small pieces

DIRECTIONS

Whisk together the icing sugar and almond flour, and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and sugar on high-speed until glossy, and the meringue holds it’s shape. (I was doing this by hand up until now, but it’s SUPER exhausting. Haha.) Add the lemon extract, zest, and food colouring, and whisk through.

Using a spatula, fold in the dry ingredients in two batches, and then continue to fold the batter for another minute or so. Place the batter in a piping bag fitted with a round tip, and pipe ~1-¼” rounds onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Allow the sheet to sit for 15 to 20 minutes before placing in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 265F. Bake the macarons for ~20 minutes, until the tops are firm, but bottoms are a little sticky when lifted. Place the sheet on a cooling rack, and do not remove the macarons until completely cooled.

Make the blueberry buttercream filling;

Beat the egg white with an electric mixer until frothy, and peaks begin to form. Meanwhile, combine the 1/4 cup of blueberry sauce with sugar in a small saucepan, and heat over medium-high until it boils. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook until syrupy.

With the mixer going on high-speed, immediately pour the blueberry-sugar syrup into the egg white in a slow, steady stream. Continue beating until the mixture has returned to room temperature.

Without turning off the mixer, add the butter gradually. Beat until light and fluffy.

Add the remaining 1/3 cup of blueberry sauce, one spoonful at a time, while beating on high speed. Again, continue beating until light and fluffy.

Place the buttercream into a piping bag, and add about a teaspoon to half of the macarons. Sandwich the cookies together, and enjoy!

Love the flavour combination of the lemon with blueberry, and they’re so pretty too! Such a lovely French-Newfoundland combination :)