Lavender and Honey Macarons

Lavender and honey macarons are full of subtle flavors.  Floral notes from the dried lavender buds will transport you to the famous lavender fields of Provence.  The warm sweetness of honey will make you feel the lazy summer sun, even if you’re indoors on a cloudy March afternoon.  Throw in some honeycomb candy for added flavor and texture!

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Macaron March

 

I’ve made a decent number of macarons these days, but I’ve stuck to my comfort zone while I figured out this finicky cookie.  Ever since my first (awful) batch of macarons, I’ve been using an Italian meringue as my meringue of choice.  The meringue is what gives these cookies their lift, texture, and shape.

Macaron March is all about mastering macarons, so I figured I needed to expand my mac skills a bit.  The first, and most obvious, place to start was using a classic French meringue instead. More on that later.  This month, I’m also going to make a dairy free filling and use a different nut to change things up. Push those boundaries!

 

 

French Meringue vs. Italian Meringue

 

So, my basic macaron recipe uses an Italian meringue, which is made by pouring incredibly hot sugar into whipped egg whites while the stand mixer beats it all up.  To be honest, this might sound scary, but it’s really not. The hot sugar cooks the egg whites, making it the most stable meringue variety.  

In contrast, to make a French meringue, you gently add sugar a spoonful at a time to whipped egg whites and beat until you have firm peaks.  This meringue is the most delicate and doesn’t involve any heating.  You have to be extra gentle when working with this meringue. I decided to give this a go for my lavender and honey macarons.

 

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Thoughts on the French Method

 

Honestly, French meringues scares me because I’m not the most delicate person in the world.  Although my recent batches of macarons have been a smidge too stiff, I was still super worried that I would knock out too much air in my lavender and honey macarons.  I was also worried about the meringue splitting from over mixing.

Luckily, these came out beautifully!  My macaronage (folding macaron batter to get the right consistency) was better, though I almost over mixed.  I found the tops of the macarons to be a bit crunchier and the feet were slightly underdeveloped. Still, I think I prefer the Italian method better, though I’ll give this a try every now and then.

 

 

What is Caster Sugar?

 

Caster sugar is a very fine granulated sugar that seems to be very common in the UK.  It’s smaller size makes it the best choice for baking because the sugar dissolves much quicker.  I think it is essential when making a French meringue. Regular granulated sugar will knock out more air and may not dissolve completely, which would ruin your texture.

My wonderful bro-in-law gifted me a bag he found at a local grocery store, but you can easily make it at home.  Weigh out your 90g of sugar and dump it in a small food processor. Whiz it up until your sugar is nice and fine.  It may not be worth it to do this for every bake, but it really is essential for a French meringue.

 

Related Reading: Baking with my brother-in-law

 

Under Developed Feet

 

I’m working on being kinder to myself.  Ya see, I tend to see the flaws in my bakes and nothing else.  So let me start out by saying, these came out great! Not a single one that went into the wonky pile.  But, I do think the feet are just a tad under developed.

This is most likely because they should have rested a bit longer.  The tops were dry, but they could have been drier. When I compared the first baking sheet with the second, the second had better feet because they had more rest time.

 

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Lavender and Honey Macarons

 

I didn’t plan this, but lavender and honey macarons were the perfect choice to try out the French method!  Lavender and France go hand in hand. Heck, if I was bougie, I’d have used lavender honey instead of the stuff I got at Target.  

 

Lavender Lovin’

 

Baking with lavender is insane because your kitchen is going to smell AH-mazing and you get a tasty treat out of it.  I was inspired by this recipe from Indulge with Mimi mostly because I still had some lavender buds leftover from these Lavender and Lemon Cupcakes.  My tip is to grind up the buds in a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder first.  The whole buds didn’t get ground up too much when tossed in with everything else.  However, the flavor still came out great.

Another way to stuff some lavender into these macarons is by making lavender sugar.  If you’re making your own caster sugar, throw a large pinch of lavender buds into the food processor.  Let the sugar sit at least overnight to really infuse it. Then sift out the large chunks of lavender and use that to make your French meringue.  

 

 

Easy Honey Buttercream

 

My favorite filling for macarons is Easy Buttercream.  I’ve made this in a ton of flavors like rose, coffee, and lemon.  It’s light, fluffy, and much less sweet than American buttercream.  That makes it perfect for a honey frosting because you don’t want it to become too sweet.  Blergh.

I only used 2 tablespoons of honey and added a splash of vanilla to help add flavor.  This gave me a buttercream that had just a subtle hint of honey. Feel free to add another tablespoon or two.  Keep in mind, honey is a mild flavor to begin with. Use raw honey for a stronger taste.

 

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Rage Baking

 

First of all, my husband gets me.  For Valentine’s Day, he got me this cookbook, Rage Baking, which combines my passions of food, books, and women’s rights all into one awesome package.  Proceeds from the book go to Emily’s List, a non-profit organization that helps women running for public office.

 

Related Reading: Cookbook Review: The New Best Recipe

 

How to Make Honeycomb

 

One of the recipes in this cookbook is for (Don’t Call Me) Honey Cakes.  And it includes a recipe for honeycomb candy. My husband and I have been dying to try this, but we’ve only ever seen it being sold across the pond.  It’s so easy to make though!  We used to think it was actual honeycomb that was candied.  Nope.

You’re going to boil up sugar, corn syrup, honey, and water, then quickly whisk in baking soda.  The baking soda reacts to the heat and gets all bubbly and foamy. Once it sets, you can easily break it up.  On the inside you’ll see this gorgeous texture, like honeycomb, and it tastes amazing.  The cooking process gives it a deep, toasted honey flavor.

 

 

FREE Macaron Templates

 

If you’re piping macarons onto parchment paper, don’t forget to grab your free macaron templates in the Bakes & Blunders Resource Library.  This makes it soooo much easier to get uniform macaron shells.  Plus, you can print them off and re use them as often as you want.  For free.  Yay!

Enjoy!

 

You know what’s cheaper and quicker than flying to the lavender fields of France?  Making these lavender and honey macarons! The flavors are fragrant, sophisticated, and will make your house smell like a spa.  Lavender is popular in aromatherapy, so I think these macarons count as self care! And don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest 😉

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