Batch #13 - (Very Lucky) Lime & Blueberry White Chocolate Ganache Macarons

I've wanted to make this batch of macraons for the last few weeks, but life kinda got in the way a bit.  But here it is!  One of my "most favouritest" batch yet! 

Back to my favourite lime flavour again, but this time, we wanted to try a more pastel look!  I am really, really excited about this batch.  Hubby bought me an oven thermometer and it has made a huge huge difference. 

Firstly, the more gentle heat meant that I didn't overdo the shells, so the pastel colors didn't fade after baking as much as in earlier batches.

Secondly the more controlled heat meant the feet didn't rise and fall as quickly.  Not only did I avoid any of the "abalone" feet ones that I got in Batch 10, but I achieved the prettiest, neatest and most consistent feet in any of the batches I've made so far!

I loooooove the neat feet!

There were also negatives.  The softer shells meant that the bottoms are not as crispy to start off with, so there's less chewiness to them after maturation.  I still liked them a lot and the softness under the slightly crusty shell is very nice, but I do prefer my macarons with a bit of bite.  Also, I was not 100% satisfied with the blueberry white chocolate ganache.  We made a blueberry coulis by heating up some frozen blueberries with sugar and then passing it through a strainer.  The color is nice but I found that the blueberry flavour is not strong enough for my liking.

Lessons Learned :

• The oven thermometer has made a huge difference this time round.  Hubby bought ours for $7.95 from General Traders and I've seen them for $6.95 at The Chef's Hat in South Melbourne.  I barely had any unacceptable shells, and my NQR macarons were still reasonably presentable. (Macaron Monster is totally oblivious to the flaws!)
• The fruit flavour needs to be fairly strong as sweetness of the white chocolate ganache is quite overpowering.