Wednesday, June 1, 2011

lemon cream cheese macarons, and whipped chocolate ganache macarons


Grant's cousin Erin was in town last weekend, and we were planning on meeting her for a day at the zoo.  I wanted to bake something that we could snack on, and based on my knowledge that a) she loves macarons, and b) she loves lemon cupcakes, I decided to make lemon macarons.


Instead of blanching and peeling my own almonds to make the almond meal with like I did here, I chose to use blanched slivered almonds instead, to save me some time.  (Of course, I could always buy ground almond meal itself, but where's the fun in that!)


I decided that I wanted to fill half of them with something lemony, and then the other half I would fill with a chocolate ganache.  So I dusted a few of them with good cocoa powder - these would be the ones filled with ganache.


For the lemon macarons, I made a smooth cream cheese filling, and added a bit of fresh lemon juice and lots and lots of freshly grated lemon zest, to give it lots of lemony flavor.


And for the ganache-filled macarons, I made a bittersweet chocolate ganache, which I whipped in order to make it more light.  This way the cookie itself could stand out more, instead of being overpowered by ganache.


We ended up having a great day at the zoo, although we didn't snack on any macarons while we were there.  Instead, we had them prior to heading to the zoo ... as a pre-lunch snack, and a post-lunch dessert!  Hope you enjoyed them Erin!


23 comments:

  1. OMG! your macarons looks so good! i love the flavors you choose!

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  2. We did enjoy them! They didn't even make it back to the apartment, haha. Thanks so much, Michelle!

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  3. @Erin - you're welcome! we're so glad we got to hang out with you guys, let us know next time you're back in the bay area!

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  4. These looks so good. I want to make some badly, but I hear all the horror stories of people in Seattle having issues because of the humidity. I haven't committed enough to try yet, and I have yet to have a truly good macaroon here in Seattle. But I may be a touch picky as I have had Laduree macaroons forms Paris more times than I can count. Thank goodness for friends who travel there for work and bring them back home. :)

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  5. @Tiffany - thank you!

    @juliana - thank you! and surprisingly, i think i liked the lemon even better than the chocolate!

    @S.V. - oh wow, i didn't even think of humidity as a factor! you should just try though, maybe you'll be the one person in seattle who can produce a good macaron :)

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  6. bạn ơi có thể cho mình công thức bằng tiếng việt o mình chưa thử bánh này bao giờ, trong nó dể thương và ngon quá .thanks bạn
    luthunguyet@yahoo.com

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  7. They look beautiful and so perfect!!!
    and absolutely delish! is there anyway you can possibly email me the recipe? I'd really like to try making these sometime if thats okay. My email is kaela_711@yahoo.com. Thanks tons :)

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  8. Hi :) I found this blog post at food gawker (An iPhone app). May I ask you To post the recipes? I will apreciate a lot :))
    Or If you could send via email To me I will be veeery happy :) aretusa@gmail.com !

    Greetings from Brazil and congrats for the amazing pics!

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  9. Can i also have this recipe? They look perfect, great blog! Juanasm58@gmail.com

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  10. these are absolutely gorgeous :) i tried making macaroons twice but failed. could i get your recipe please? crystal@webranet.net

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  11. I love your blog. I received 4 macaroons for my birthday recently. I would love to try to make my own. Can you share your recipe with me? ckwong9598@yahoo.com
    Thanks!

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  12. Omg this looks delicious! Mind sharing the recipe? :) Please and thank you! rachtyy@hotmail.com

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  13. if youre sharing the filling recipes and instructions, I would LOVE to be in on that :) andreafrandsen@gmail.com thank you! they look amazinngggg!!!!

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  14. these macarons look beautiful! lemon is one of my favs :)

    Sweet Sarah french macarons and more
    sweetsarahshop.etsy.com

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  15. Love all the pics and your expert advise....invaluable. What about the actual recipes? Any chance you would share them?

    Dianne

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  16. @Anonymous - the recipe for the macaron shells is from pierre hermes "macaron" book, so i don't feel right posting his recipe, but i don't mind sending you my 'loosely translated' interpretation - just send me your email address if you're interested!

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  17. Hi! These look so good! Would it be alright if you sent me the recipe? moonstargrl106@yahoo.com

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    Replies
    1. @Stepanie - i just sent you the recipe! let me know how it turns out! :)

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  18. Hi! do you mind sending me the recipe? I'm trying to find the perfect macaroon recipe but just couldn't find it. Sorry for all the trouble, its clarja10@apu.ac.jp thanks a bunch :)

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    1. @Anonymous - no problem, just sent you an email! enjoy!

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  19. can you please send the recipe for the lemon and chocolate ganache? thanks! dodokacsi@freemail.hu

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  20. would you please send me your French macaron recipe? laurajohnson1990@gmail.com

    thanks!

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