Earl Grey Macarons
by aninalaura
So if you know me well, you know that I am obsessed with earl grey tea. More specifically creme earl grey. Its rare that a day goes by that I don’t drink at least one cup of the stuff and its my usual replacement for hot coffee in the summer. There is something about it. Its smooth richness and the fabulous way it goes together with lavender. I just can’t get over it. Its my every day cup early in the mornings when the fog still lies heavily across the lawn too thick to see where the end of the fence and road is and the cool moisture chills even if its warm out.
I started making macarons shortly after J and I got married and quite quickly became infatuated with perfecting the craft of creating these delicate little pastries. Over the past 3 years we rented a small apartment smack in the middle of the city and our oven was..less than desirable. For quite some time I would spend time creating batch after batch and crying out in frustration at my failed attempt at creating the perfect sweets and with a disgruntled attitude would throw my oven mitts above my head and stomp off to google what exactly I was doing wrong. It turned out that our oven was broken (which I found out later via some absolutely ruined dinners.) and it was only partially my fault that my shells were turning into half baked burned on one side raw on the other nightmares. We recently moved out of that apartment and now have an actual house with you guessed it, a lovely new properly functioning oven! *three cheers all around!* This week I finally had the time to once more attempt to make the shells in our new oven and what better way than to make my all time favorite flavor.
Earl Grey Macarons
Shell Ingredients:
*2 egg whites at room temperature.
* 3/4 c. almond flour
* 1 c. confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
* 1/4 c. granulated sugar
* Approximately 1 to 1/2 tbsp. loose earl grey tea leaves.
Filling:
* (at least) 2oz. White chocolate
* 4 tbsp. butter room temperature.
* 1/4 cup (approximate) confectioners sugar
* at least 1/4-1/2 tsp. leftover finely ground tea leaves.
Instructions:
* Preheat oven to 325
*Mix together almond flour, confectioners sugar, and a large pinch or two of the loose tea leaves. Pulse until flour mixture is blended together (about 4-5 4 second pulses is my preference.)
*Sift flour mixture into a separate bowl with a fine wire mesh strainer making sure that any large pieces of tea leaves fall back through the strainer. Set aside any leftover ground tea leaves.
*Place granulated sugar and leftover ground tea leaves or another large pinch in the food processor and pulse until most of the tea leaves are finely ground into the sugar.
*Sift this mix into a separate bowl making sure that no large tea pieces end up in the sifted sugar.
*Place egg yolks in a bowl and whisk until frothy. (I noticed that doing this first does make a difference.)
* Using a mixer with at least 3 speeds, whip eggs until they hold soft peaks.
* Slowly add granulated sugar and tea mixture into the blender and beat until eggs and sugar become glossy and holds stiff peaks.
*Using a large flat (preferably no wood) spatula gently fold almond flour and sugar mixture into into the meringue until it creates a smooth batter.
* Carefully pour batter into a pastry bag with a plain large tip and pipe desired size circles onto a baking sheet covered in parchment paper.
* Rap baking sheet against work surface to release any air bubbles in piped shells and also helps form the pied (foot) on the bottom of the cooked shells.
* Let stand for at least 25-30 min. (This is crucial as it creates a smooth stiffened crust on the top of the uncooked shells.)
* Bake for 10-15 minutes in preheated oven checking every 5 min. If browning begins to occur early on reduce oven temp slightly. Large temperature fluctuations can cause shells to not turn out properly so be sure it is only by 1-2 degrees. Believe me it will make a difference.
* Remove shells from oven and allow to cool completely (for about 10 min.) before gently peeling them off of the parchment paper.
Filling Instructions:
* Add softened butter and confectioners sugar in a blender and beat together until pale and fluffy.
* In a double boiler or microwave melt white chocolate until it is smooth and liquid like.
* Remove chocolate from heat and allow to cool for a few seconds (until you can easily dip your finger in without being burned) and add to butter and sugar mixture.
*Add any finely ground leftover tea leaves into mixture and blend until smooth.
* Pipe filling onto one macaron shell and add a lid.
* I have read countless times that it is best to allow your macarons to age before you eat them. If you have the patience to I highly recommend that you do this before eating them. It allows the shells to become chewier and marry with the flavor of the filling.
* Enjoy!
Yum! I’m an early grey lover too and these look delicious!
Love this post and photo, gorgeous!
Thank you!
These are so pretty! I love that you combined the two, it’s perfect!!
Thank you!
Is there any chance of substituting something in for the almond flour? I have a tree nut allergy but would still love to make these. Am I out of luck?
Megan as far as I am aware I dont think you can substitute the almond flour but I have never done extensive research on it. This might inspire a almond-less recipe if its possible though!
these look incredible…but you can’t really mean egg YOLKS, right??
vful thank you for pointing that out 😉 It was quickly corrected
[…] • chandelier • print • distressed • doilies • iced roses • chevrons • stairwells • tulle […]
Oh! I’ve been curious to try earl grey macarons soon, and this is a great recipe. Thank you! The blue shells are so pretty too. I’m hosting a macaron link party this month on my blog and I would be delighted if you could join and share these. Hope to see you there!
http://triedandtwisted.blogspot.com/2014/03/march-of-macaron-linky-party.html
Sara I am so sorry I didn’t see this comment until now! I am honored that you asked me to join. My most sincere apologies for not responding sooner!
[…] a / b / c two a / b three a / b / c / […]
Tried this out! My first attempt at macaron making and it was delicious! Thanks!
Esther I’m so glad you enjoyed it! (btw your name is beautiful!)
[…] the long weekend, we made some earl grey macarons. (Note to self: next time, take pictures) We followed every step and when we tried one, […]
Your macarons looks gorgeous! Would you mind sharing how did you achieve that beautiful elegant color of pale blue grey? Also did you use gel or powder food coloring?
Mindy I used a gel food coloring! I think just a swipe with a toothpick in blue was how I got the pastel color 🙂 ❤
Can I subsitute earl grey with any other tea leaves?
Celia I have before! It seems to be a bit of trial and error with some teas as a lot of them get bitter and dont do well in response to the heat of baking and become either bitter or almost sour tasting (from my own experiences only)
guiltsalad I’m sorry they did not turn out for you but this is indeed my own recipe from my usual base. I simply wrote down what I did to my own personal preferences so if doubling or tripling seems more your strength preference then awesome! I’m not sure why you think I’d write something down without trying it first.