Yellow Lemon Macarons

Lemon Macarons (with Fresh Lemon Curd Filling)

BySigrid Lauri Categories Macaron recipes

The smell of fresh lemons is always a sure sign that summer is around the corner. Lemons bring back memories of sun-kissed skin, trips to the beach and lazy afternoons spent reading in the shade.

Lemon macarons are the perfect refreshers on a hot sunny day. They are sweet and also have a sour taste that complements the summer heat.

This recipe is for a light, refreshing macaron with a tart lemon flavor. It’s made with citrus so it will be perfect if you love that kind of flavor! It might not be the most typical flavor, but I’m sure it will be a hit in your family!

Yellow Lemon Macarons

Tools and ingredients for fresh lemon macaron shells 

Tools

  • Kitchen scale
  • Sifter
  • Whisk
  • Candy thermometer
  • Mixer (stand or hand mixer)
  • Small saucepan
  • Silicone spatula
  • Two large bowls (glass or stainless steel)
  • Piping bags
  • Silicone mat/parchment paper
  • Toothpicks

Ingredients

  • 4 oz (115 g) Almond flour
  • 4 oz (115 g) Powdered sugar
  • 4 oz (115 g) Granulated sugar
  • 1 oz (30 ml) water
  • 1,7 oz (50 g) Egg whites part 1
  • 1,4 oz (40 g) Egg whites part 2
  • A tiny bit of food coloring – Yellow Gel Food Coloring works perfectly for lemon macarons

This amount of batter should produce about 30-40 macarons (60-80 shells).

Yellow Macaron Shells

I have put together a comprehensive recipe for baking perfect homemade macarons with Italian method. It goes into detail on every step of the process and should help you increase your success rate! I highly suggest you take the time to read this post thoroughly as well.

Baking the yellow lemon macaron shells

I recommend you to follow my detailed recipe on how to make Perfect Homemade Macarons (Italian Method). Everything is done the same as in this recipe. Just use the yellow gel food coloring for the lemon macaron shells.

Once your macaron batter is ready, you should pipe it onto parchment paper or silicone mats. After 30 minutes, the shells should have developed a matte surface over them. Now is the right time to place them into the oven.

Yellow Macaron Shells

Making the filling for lemon macarons

This recipe will be ready in a short time and tastes amazing. The buttercream is creamy and it has a perfect blend of sweet & sour flavors with a hint of lemon.

Ingredients for lemon flavored buttercream

  • 5 oz (145 g) soft butter
  • 5 oz (145 g) powdered sugar
  • 1 oz (30 g) mascarpone cheese
  • 1 tablespoon of lemon zest
  • Juice of the half of lemon
  • Yellow Gel Food Coloring (optional)

Ingredients for lemon curd

  • Juice of 1 large lemon
  • 1 tablespoon of lemon zest
  • 1 egg
  • 3 oz (85 g) white sugar
  • 3 oz (85 g) soft butter

NICE TO KNOW: Lemons and other citrus fruits can also help relieve stress and anxiety!

Steps on how to make lemon-flavored buttercream

  1. Place the lemon in the hot water for at least 15 minutes
  2. Wash the lemon until its perfectly clean
  3. Grate the clean lemon with a fine grater. I am using this Stainless Steel Fain Grater
  4. Put 7 oz (200 g) softened butter into the mixing bowl. Beat it until it becomes fluffy
  5. Add 3 oz (85 g) mascarpone cheese and mix until even
  6. Start adding 7 oz (200 g) powdered sugar. Pour all of the sugar into the mixture slowly, adding it little by little
  7. Add the zest of the lemon and around 5 tablespoons of lemon juice
  8. Add yellow food coloring with a toothpick if needed
  9. Mix until even and put it in the piping bag

Steps on how to make lemon curd

  • Place the lemons in the hot water for as long as possible to get them clean
  • Grate the lemon with a Stainless Steel Fain Grater
  • Press the juice out from lemon
  • Place the lemon juice, lemon zest, 1 egg, 3 oz (85 g) white sugar, and 3 oz (85 g) soft butter into the small saucepan
  • Put the pan on medium heat, stir constantly
  • It will take a little while before the butter melts and the mixture becomes even
  • Keep stirring the mixture over medium heat until it gets thicker
  • If that happens, remove the pan from the stove
  • Pour the curd into a glass container. Use a sifter to shake out any lumps
  • Cover it with a food film and store in the fridge for at least 3 hours or until it cools down

Things to know about making the lemon curd:

  • The lemon curd will be runny while it is being made, but once it is cooled down in the fridge, it will thicken up a lot.
  • You can get a lot more juice from warm lemons! Keeping them in a hot water helps.
  • Also, you can roll the lemons on the table or between your hands to get more juice from them.
  • If the heat is too high, you could end up with a lemony “omelette“.
  • If the heat is too low, the curd won’t thicken.
  • You need to turn up the heat if the curd isn’t getting thicker. But be careful not to overcook them as eggs start to turn hard and it’ll become impossible to get a creamy consistency.
Making filling for lemon macarons with batter
Macarons filling buttercream

Filling the lemon macarons

Have you ever had a lemon macaron? These mouth-watering little cookies are delicious and make for an excellent dessert. They can be filled with anything from chocolate to whipped cream. One of the most popular fillings is fresh lemon curd, which pairs perfectly with the tart taste of the cookie.

It is important to wait a while before you fill your macarons because the lemon curd needs to cool down and thicken. Otherwise, it will just gradually slide away from your macaron shells and will make an absolute mess.

Pipe a small amount of filling on the center of the macaron, making a flat round of the filling in the middle of the bottom shell. By doing that, the macaron shell is not coming in contact with the wet curd filling. This can cause your macaron shell to become soggy. Do it with all the shells.

For the next step, draw a higher line around the bottoms of the macarons as shown below. Do it only for half of the shells! They should look like little holes for the lemon curd. Fill the piping bag with the lemon curd and fill up all those little pits with it.

Once all the pits are filled with the lemon curd, place the shells without a curd on top of the shells with curd and sandwich all the macarons together.

Lemon macarons with fresh lemon curd

How to store the macarons and the lemon curd

Macarons are delicate, light, and sweet confections. It is best to let them mature before being eaten. They should mature in an airtight container for at least a few hours before being eaten.

For storing macarons I love to use these BPA-free Plastic Food Storage Containers. The lid is tight enough to ensure the macarons don’t get any moisture and humidity. Also, they are easy to clean and are freezer-safe!

In order for your macarons to taste as yummy as they look, make sure to bake them at least one or two days before the event. Store them in an airtight container and keep them in the fridge until it’s time to serve.

It’s best to place lemon curd into a sterilized jar and put it in the fridge while preserving it. This should last up to a couple of weeks if done right!

Yellow Lemon Macarons
Yellow Lemon Macarons

Enjoy your macarons!
Belli xx