Monday, March 24, 2014

Mother's Day Gluten Free Lavender & Rose French Macarons

These pretty lavender & rose French macarons have just the right amount of floral flavor!  They are completely gluten-free and when presented in a gift box, make the perfect Mother's Day gift.
Celebrate #mothersday with #glutenfree #lavender and #rose #French #macarons from @anyonitanibbles
Yield 20 macarons

Lavender & Rose French Macarons

These perfectly pretty French macarons are so floral they're like eating a sweet flower. That's probably my most favorite thing about them: they perfume your mouth with a lovely floral flavor from both the lavender-scented shells and the heady rosewater buttercream.

Components of a lavender and rose French macaron from @anyonita

Here in the UK, Mother's Day is this coming Sunday and everyone usually can be found queueing up at the local supermarket with arms full of flowers and chocolates, but this year, I wanted to give you another option: something homemade and delicious and still quite floral. The idea for these macarons came from a rose macaron recipe I came across. I loved the idea of a rose macaron but wasn't sure I could handle that much full-on rosiness. So this was a compromise.


Mother's Day Lavender and Rose Macarons from www.anyonita-nibbles.co.uk

French macarons are naturally gluten-free so if you or your momma suffer a gluten intolerance, then this recipe would be ideal for you. I have to admit, I made these macarons as an early Mother's Day present to myself and I'm not even sure I shared. Warning: these are so tasty your mom might gobble them up without so much as offering you a bite. So, if you're partial to the macaron, I'd advise making extras for yourself.

#glutenfree #lavender and #rose #French #macarons from @anyonita

The macaron mad & Pinterest addicts amongst you might like this board:

Ingredients:

Ingredients for #glutenfree #French #macarons from @anyonita

For the macarons
2 medium egg whites
5g lavender flowers, processed
25g caster sugar
70g almond flour
135g icing/confectioner's sugar
a drop or two purple paste coloring
culinary lavender flowers, to taste

Three lavender and rose #French #macarons ready to eat from @anyonita

For the rosewater buttercream
2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp butter, softened
2 cups incing/confectioner's sugar, sifted
rosewater, to taste, but use sparingly!
a drop or two pink paste coloring



A close up of a #mothersday lavender macaron from @anyonita

These #lavender #macarons with #rosewater #buttercream filling are easy to make from @anyonita


**Notes**
  • Once you pipe out your macaron shells, remember to give them a good whack to knock the air out. Drop the baking tray repeatedly onto the counter or work surface until no more air bubbles burst.
  • Allow your macarons to rest 20 minutes before pre-heating your oven, so that they form a good skin.
  • If you'd rather not make your own buttercream, you could substitute with shop-bought vanilla buttercream and just stir through rosewater and pink coloring
  • Alternatively, you could prepare the buttercream in advance and either freeze or refrigerate it until needed.


A #lavender and #rose macaron surrounded by lavender flowers from @anyonita
Trays of lavender and rose macarons before baking from @anyonita

 Instructions:

Lavender & Rose French Macarons
  1. Process 5 grams of the lavender flowers in a food processor until finely ground.
  2. Sift the ground almonds and lavender flowers through a fine sieve into a medium-sized bowl, removing any large clumps or bits of almond skin or lavender petals too large to pass through.Sift the icing sugar on top of the ground almonds in the same bowl and set aside.
  3. Whisk the egg whites in a large porcelain or glass bowl. When the egg whites have begun to foam and froth (after about 30 seconds of whisking) add the purple paste color and a bit of sugar.
  4. Continue to whisk, adding the rest of the sugar gradually. Whisk until the egg whites are very stiff and have a sheen to them. By this stage, the color of your egg whites should be a much paler purple than when you began.
  5. Add the dry ingredients directly on top of the egg whites and fold in using a silicone spatula, turning the bowl with each fold. You should have reached the right consistency after about 15 folds; avoid folding more than this or you may overwork the batter. The batter should not run from the spatula in a continuous ribbon, it should instead fall off gradually when the spatula is lifted from the bowl. A bit of graininess is normal and your batter should have a thick texture and an almost paste-like consistency.
  6. Once the batter has come together, scoop it into a piping bag. You may need to divide the batter in half and refill the bag if there is too much batter for you to pipe out.
  7. Pipe evenly sized circles in five rows of four onto a baking tray lined with greaseproof or parchment paper.
  8. Lift the baking tray into the air, about chest height and let clatter onto the counter or work surface. Continue to do this until you no longer see any (or very, very few) air bubbles.
  9. Sprinkle the tops of the macarons with lavender flowers and leave to rest 20 minutes. 
  10. After 20 minutes, preheat your oven to between 140 and 160C. You'll need to play around with the temperatures until you find the exact setting that bakes your macarons in 15 minutes without over baking the tops while still cooking them through. For me, that is just over 150 in a fan-assisted electrical oven.
  11. Prepare the buttercream while the macarons bake.
  12. Whisk together the butter with the remaining icing sugar, vanilla and a bit of rosewater. 
  13. Add the paste color until your desired color vibrancy is acheived and stir well to combine.
  14. Store in the fridge until needed.
  15. Remove the macarons from the oven and leave to cool on the parchment paper but not on the baking tray for 10 minutes. When the macarons have been cooked through completely, they should peel back from the paper cleanly.
  16. Pair macarons as best you can by size. Pipe or use a palette knife to frost each half of the macaron and then sandwich together. Run your finger or a skewer around the macaron to remove any excess buttercream that may ooze out.
  17. Refrigerate the macarons for at least two hours so that the filling and the shell can marry together. This step is annoying because you'll be tempted to eat the macarons straight away, but this makes a huge difference to the macaron's quality and overall taste.
  18. Store the macarons in the fridge, ideally, for up to 10 days. Macarons can also be stored at room temperature for up to a week.
Fancy some French desserts? How about these:

Blueberry & Fig Tarte Tatin from Anyonita Nibbles

Red Velvet Petits Fours from Anyonita Nibbles

Triple Chocolate Eclairs from Anyonita Nibbles

These lavender and rose #macarons from @anyonita would make an excellent #Mother'sDay gift! Pacakage them in a lovely box or jar for a pretty present.

30 comments:

  1. These are so pretty, and they are perfect for Easter.

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  2. G'day LOVE the combination and have made macarons before Anyonita!
    Well done and these would make a great gift for Mother's Day too!
    Cheers! Joanne
    http://whatsonthelist.net

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  3. I would totally prefer getting a bouquet of these to real flowers any day (well, I'd love a bouquet of lavendar...what I used to have at my fingertips is now nowhere to be found here in China;p)...unfortunately, I don't think my hubby will be trying this recipe out;) Maybe your guy?

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    1. Oh yes, these would be my ideal Mother's Day gift, too, but unfortunately, if I wanted them, I'd have to make them myself! lol :)

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  4. I would totally prefer getting a bouquet of these to real flowers any day (well, I'd love a bouquet of lavendar...what I used to have at my fingertips is now nowhere to be found here in China;p)...unfortunately, I don't think my hubby will be trying this recipe out;) Maybe your guy?

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  5. What gorgeous colours! These look amazing. My sisters and I had a macaron-making competition at Christmas which was, erm, rather unsuccessful. Could have been the wine we consumed though!

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    1. Hahaha this cracks me up! I could understand why a bit of the Dutch courage would result in "unsuccessful" macarons! That should be a challenge on Masterchef: soused French patisserie or something lol!

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  6. Your macarons are super pretty and absolutely perfect for mother's day. Love those floral flavours too.

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  7. You make macarons look so easy! I've always wanted to try to make them!

    Thanks for joining the Link Up this week!

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  8. These look fabulous Anyonita - so pretty and awesome colours! Vohn x

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  9. Oh I would love to be able to make macaroons so I could make these! My mission for the year is to make them!

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    1. Give it a go! :) That seems like a good mission to me; & no matter what they look like, they ALWAYS taste good. Good luck! :)

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  10. Wow! These look so beautiful and the flavors sound amazing!

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  11. These are absolutely gorgeous!! I can just imagine how wonderful they taste!

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  12. Gorgeous Anyonita!! Just beautiful. My son is in LOVE with french macaroons...I have never made them. I need to remedy that!

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    1. Oh yes, Renee! You'll need to remedy that for sure! They're absolutely delicious :D

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  13. These are beautiful, Anyonita! I'm floored by the flavor combo and just how delicate and pretty these are. It's been years since my one and only attempt at macarons. I should definitely try again soon. Pinning!

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    1. Oh, yes, try again! :) Thanks for the pin!

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  14. These look beautiful and I shared on FB and it got another share. YAY

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  15. They are gorgeous! Can you believe I have never even had a macaroon! THAT needs to change!

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  16. So gorgeous! I am too chicken to try to make macaroons.

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  17. These look utterly divine!! I can't wait to try them out!! Lovely photography too - have you got any good tips on places I can go to improve mine? V xox

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    1. Thank you! :) I have a really simple photography tips post here: http://www.anyonita-nibbles.co.uk/2014/02/basic-effective-food-photogrpahy-tips-food-bloggers.html

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  18. What a lovely idea for Mother's Day. I've only made macarons once - Root Beef Float - turned out to be quite a challenge for me! I kept opening the oven too soon and deflating them. :( Thanks for the invite to #TastyTuesdays.

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  19. I'm in love with these. So pretty and I love using lavender! Can't wait to try these!

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  20. What lovely macarons. I keep telling myself I should try to cook with fresh lavender, but I always chicken out, LOL. Thanks for sharing at Simple Supper.

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  21. Oh Yum, these look delicious and they are absolutely beautiful! Thank you for sharing.

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  22. I have a friend who is gluten free and was just talking about using lavendar in cooking...sending this recipe to her right now. Thanks for bringing it to foodie friday.

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  23. Wow, these are beautiful!!! Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! :)

    What great recipes this week in the link up!

    Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com

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What do you think of this recipe? Be sure to tag me in any recipes you make on social media and use #anyonitanibbles!