18 Macarons with Lemon Curd Filling & terpaksa-rela

Ok...that's it! I have to go & buy more almond powder..I've used the last bit to make these macarons. I have to make a trip down also to get those powdered food colorings. I tell u..it's not cheap..(at least for me la)..A teeny weeny setotet let bottle cost $9++ if I am not wrong..adoiii..bule bangkrupt! I have some other alternative, using the gel food colouring but I have to watch how much I put in..really the plastic bottles of the food colouring are tiny too! I just can't handle small stuff..I picit a little bit & a whole blob will come out of it's mouth and me being super duper lazy to use a spoon..I thot I could just dump it straight into the batter...har har har..hardy harr!!

Anyway, baked them I did last weekend..and the filling..I just had to try something lemony after seeing it at babe's. And surely, I didn't regret one bit..the sweet, sour taste is just heavenly for me..Moi suka! Packed them nicely in that overprice box just for the fun of it :) Overpriced indeed as it was my youngest brother who bought me a box from MBS for me to try.. I blanched when I heard how much 1 piece cost! Boleh koyak pocket..$3 bucks a piece!

And talking about price..you know what happened? Some smarty pants brought some (quite a lot I tell you!) to his school for his kakis to share..Boys being boys & whose main diet consist of fast food while chilling with their kakis, will definitely not give up any kind of free food..kan..so munch they did and one particular smarty pants yang amat bermurah hati, kembang vontot coz his kakis all praising his mommy  to high heavens for being I quote "wahhhhh so clever" to make macarons..Like them so much that they asked this boy to ask his mommy to bake  some as they wanted to order.. This boy upon reaching home from his chilling session proudly told his mom that all his friends wanted to order coz those macs are super yummy indeed (this ai tak bedek taw..his words..;) So the mommy was beaming...so proud jugaklah that her macs menjadi pojaan hati  those teenage boys..so after kembang kuncup idong si mummy, she said..."sure...sure..no problemos....err...so how much did you sell those macs for" thinking "ohhh what a clever boy this budak cari business for his mommy.. " A dollar....he said" "Pandai jugak budak ni letak harga" I was thinking before he finished his sentence...and then he dropped it " A dollar for 5 pieces...that's the price right?
"WHATTTTTT????????" 20 cents each??? Ha????" Shocking ape!(terkejut beruk) jap I...Luckily tak berbegik the hot dog that I was munching then..Oh my gosh!! now I am stuck! The clever boy said I already said & he quote "sure...sure...(see dialogue highlighted in red)..so harus la I terpaksa-rela menabur bakti beramal jariah kan..

So, clever boy... I am so gonna do it for you this time coz I love you very much & I know you have my "best interest" at heart..But bear in mind this is a one time offer only..Not valid any other time, day,moon, sun, month or year, aite...and you better be there to help me out..and no complains if suddenly the skirt just refuse to ropol2 on their own okay...coz...depa pun pasti ter-shocking ape when they hear that they are being sold for 20 cents a piece..kecik taw hati macs tu!haizzz boys...

Alternatively, smarty pants, you can give them the recipe for free...hehe..

Ingredients

Swiss Meringue
80g egg white (at room temperature)
65g caster sugar

80g ground almond
140g icing sugar (130g)
1/2tsp lemon juice
powder or gel food colouring of choice

Method
Swiss Meringue Macarons:
1. Line 3 to 4 baking trays with silicon sheet. (i used babe's Mac sheet, so I skipped 2,& 3)
2. Use a round cookies cutter, press it into some cocoa powder or flour.
3. Use the cookies cutter to make some round imprint on the silicon sheet and set aside.
4. Sift icing sugar and almond together and set aside.
5. Pour sugar and egg white into a heatproof pan and place it over a saucepan of simmering water.
6. Stir constantly until sugar has dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch (about 50 to 55C).
7. Pour the egg white and lemon juice into the mixing bowl with the whisk attachment and beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks then add in the powder colouring. (I used copper powder colouring..looks like chocolate in the end)
8. Continue to beat until the egg white has cooled down and it look smooth and shiny. (medium peak but not dry)
9. Fold in the sifted mixture in 4 portions into the meringue. Do not over fold batter until it turn watery, batter should be slightly thicker than cake batter.(I hv tried dumping the sifted mixture all at once.. it works too)
10.Spoon batter into a piping bag and pipe it within the round imprint which had made earlier on.
11.Let the macarons to rest for 30mins.
12.Preheat oven to 150C.
13.Bake a tray at a time for 20-25mins, depend on individual oven. (i baked mine for 19mins)
14.Remove macarons and cool on a wire rack
15.Slather filling of choice on the macs & sandwich them..Enjoy!

Filling ~ Lemon curd

Ingredients
3 large egg yolks, strained
Zest of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup lemon juice
6 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces
I added a teeny weeny bit of egg yellow colour

Directions
Combine yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar in a small saucepan. Whisk to combine. Set over medium heat, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, making sure to stir sides and bottom of pan. Cook until mixture is thick enough to coat back of wooden spoon, 5 to 7 minutes.

Remove saucepan from heat. Add butter, one piece at a time, stirring with the wooden spoon until consistency is smooth.

Transfer mixture to a medium bowl. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd to avoid a skin from forming; wrap tightly. Let cool; refrigerate until firm and chilled, at least 1 hour.

Source: bisousatoi & martha stewart