Lime Macarons with Mint Buttercream
Look, I get that lime macarons with mint frosting might sound a bit unusual, but hear me out. Think of this macaron recipe as a virgin mojito in cookie form. It’s startin’ to sound good now, right? Okay, well let’s dive right into the details!
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Story Time
My husband gets all of the credit for this mojito style macaron combo. I made a delicious mint chocolate chip cake for my birthday, but ended up with a ton of leftover mint frosting. Macarons are such a great way to use up leftover buttercream chillin’ in your freezer. (Pun intended…)
Anywho, I wanted to do chocolate macarons with mint frosting, because duh. But Josh insisted on lime macarons. I was a bit dubious, but even The Flavor Thesaurus backed up his suggestion. Plus it was our anniversary, so I made the mint and lime macarons and they were soooo good!
Lime Macarons
To get a bright, citrus flavor in these lime macarons, I simply added the zest of one lime to the batter when it was time to fold it all together. I also used a tiny bit of lime juice to stabilize the meringue. That probably doesn’t add much flavor, but why the heck not, right?
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if a bit of lime zest was going to be enough to add a decent flavor to these lime macarons, but it was perfect! I wouldn’t add any more zest than the recipe calls for though. The oils from the zest can mess with the meringue as you fold all the ingredients together.
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Swiss Meringue
Arguably one of the most crucial elements of a macaron is the meringue. There are three meringues to choose from: Italian, French, and Swiss. Most of my macaron recipes use an Italian meringue, but my Lavender & Honey Macarons use a French meringue.
All that was left to try was a Swiss meringue. (And the vegan option, but that doesn’t really count…). A Swiss meringue is made by heating egg whites and sugar over a double boiler and then whipping until you get stiff peaks. It’s a super thick meringue.
Mint Buttercream
Like I said, these lime macarons are filled with the leftover mint frosting from my mini mint chocolate chip cake. It’s a very basic American buttercream. But even a simple ABC can be a pain in the butt sometimes, so I made a video on how to make creamy frosting!
And don’t listen to me. In the video, I said I did two drops of yellow and one of blue to get that mint color. Boo. It’s two green, 1 blue. And for the lime macarons, I used green and yellow.
Related Reading: Classic French Macarons: Tips & Tricks
Blunders
I found the Swiss meringue method to be quicker and easier than the Italian meringue, but I’m not 100% in love either. My lime macarons were perfectly baked in the center. Crack one of those bad boys open and it was glorious.
My issue is the top of the macs. They were weird and lumpy, but not because of chunks in the batter. I did a little research and the wrinkled, lumpy top could be from the oils in the lime zest, or because I under mixed the batter.
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Next Time
I definitely want to try this method again, but I will do it a bit differently. First, I want to try a flavor that doesn’t have any citrus oils so I can see if that was the reason I had ugly tops. Luckily, I dusted them with green powder, so you can’t really tell.
Besides that, I’m going to do the macaronage in the stand mixer. It’s crazy, but because a Swiss meringue is so thick, you can use the paddle attachment for 10- 20 seconds to combine it all. I didn’t want to do this as I thought it would be too easy to over mix, but I think it’s worth a shot.
Les Petits Macarons
My friend Morgan, from Blueberry Chronicles, gave me such a sweet gift months and months ago. She dropped off Les Petits Macarons for me and I have been drooling over this little book ever since.
It’s got recipes for all the different macaron methods, plus hundreds of flavors, fillings, and combinations. I’m seriously dying to bake every single item in this book. Except for the wasabi shells, and even then, I’m not not tempted.
Enjoy!
Well, my dear friend, thank you so much for stopping by Bakes & Blunders today! What do you think about this whole lime macarons with mint frosting dealio? You could totally throw some rum into that frosting for a true mojito macaron!
It makes me so happy that we can share our love of baking and macarons together. Are you on Instagram? Oh my goodness, me too! Check out @bakesandblunders for a steady stream of drool worthy food photos.
Lime Macarons with Mint Buttercream
Ingredients
Lime Macarons
- 165 g almond flour
- 165 g powdered sugar
- 115 g egg whites room temperature (about 4 eggs)
- 150 g sugar
- 1/2 tsp lime juice
- 1 tsp lime zest
- Gel food color
Mint Buttercream
- 8 oz unsalted butter room temperature (2 sticks)
- 16 oz powdered sugar sifted
- 1- 2 Tbsps cream or milk
- 1/4 tsp peppermint extract
- Pinch of salt
- Gel food color
Instructions
Lime Macarons
- Prepare several baking sheets (3 for me) with baking mats or templates and parchment paper. Fit a piping bag with a 1/2 inch (2A) piping tip. Set aside.
- Pulse the almond flour and powdered sugar in a food processor and sift into a bowl. Discard any large chunks. Whisk the dry ingredients and set aside.
- In a clean stand mixer bowl, add egg whites, sugar, and lime juice. Whisk to combine and place bowl over a double boiler. Heat, whisking regularly, until the sugar is dissolved (30- 90 seconds). Remove the bowl from the double boiler and carefully dry off the bottom. Place it in the stand mixer and whisk on a medium speed (6 for me) until you have stiff, glossy peaks. This will take roughly 5- 6 minutes.
- Add the dry ingredients, lime zest, and gel color to the meringue. Fold until the batter has loosened and flows like lava. Swiss meringue is very stiff, so this will take a bit.
- Pipe macaron shells onto prepared baking sheets. Let the macarons dry until you can lightly brush the tops with your finger. While they dry, preheat the oven to 305°F. When the shells are ready, bake for 17- 18 minutes, rotating the pan every 5 minutes.
- Let the macaron shells cool on the sheet for 5- 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Mint Buttercream
- Beat the butter for 7- 10 minutes, scraping the bowl down as necessary. Add a third of the powdered sugar, mix on low until combined, then on a medium slow speed for 1- 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl down.
- Repeat with two more additions of powdered sugar. Once all of the sugar has been combined, add cream or milk a little at a time until you have the right consistency. Add gel food color and a pinch of salt. Beat on low until combined.
Assemble
- Once macarons are completely cool, pipe a small amount of buttercream in the center of one shell, top with a second shell. Place the macarons in the fridge overnight. Let them sit at room temperature for 30- 45 minutes, then enjoy!
Notes
- Next time, I plan on combining the dry ingredients and meringue with the paddle attachment on low for 10- 20 seconds.
- Monitor your macarons as you bake. Increase or decrease the temperature as necessary.
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Colleen
Hi there! I’m Colleen, a novice baker with a passion for learning and improving my bakes… and blunders. On Bakes and Blunders, you can find all sorts of tasty recipes that range in difficulty, but most importantly, I’ll try to explain the reason behind important steps. If you know why a recipe works, you can tweak and adapt it to suit your unique tastes, and you’ll be able to reliably produce some very delicious treats. If you love baking and want to expand and grow your skills, or if you are a casual baker and just need some pointers, my blog is right up your alley! Join me on my baking journey and we’ll learn how to make more impressive recipes together.
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