Batch #6 - Tahitian Lime & Salted Caramel Macarons

Batch Number 6 was one of my all time favourites.  I wanted to try different flavours again.  The zesty lemon is quite addictive so I thought I'd follow the same citrus track, and inspiration struck when I saw some gorgeous looking tahitian limes at my local green grocers.  It also allowed me to try some green coloring - I love how they turned out!

Stacks of Salted Caramel Macarons on the left, Tahitian Lime on the right.

I also wanted to try making a caramel filling.  Salted caramel is all the rage nowadays, and I never thought I'd like salt in my sweet filling.  However it's amazing how the saltiness makes the buttery sweet caramel all the more enticing.  Instant favourite!  The only thing is that my caramel seemed to have separated a bit after being beaten post-refridgeration.  Nonetheless they tasted pretty good!

I took a picture of how the shells looked inside the oven.  This was taken at about the 8 minute mark.  The "pied" on them makes me want to do the happy feet dance every time!

I was humbled by a request to make macarons for someone's wedding after this batch.  I turned it down as I didn't feel experienced enough yet (and still don't!), and I didn't want to disappoint the lovely bride.  Very happy though, that my macarons are liked by people outside of my family (who wouldn't dare to tell me they don't like'em, hehehe!)

Lessons Learned -

• The Caramel filling seems to get drawn into the shells faster than the butter cream, thus maturing the macaron faster.
• Putting cling wrap on top of the caramel prior to it being refridgerated will prevent a skin forming on top of the caramel.

Yet another macaron stack!