Lemon Meringue French Macarons

Lemon Curd

1. Zest 1 medium lemon. Set aside.
2. Using a juicer, press out 1/2 cup of lemon juice. Set aside for a moment.
3. In a double boiler, add in the granulated sugar, egg yolks and egg. Stir to combine.
4. Add in the lemon juice and whisk to combine.
5. Whisking constantly, let the curd thicken until it covers the back of a spoon. It will take about 20 minutes.
6. After it thickens, strain the curd through a fine mesh strainer.
7. Add in the lemon zest and place into a shallow bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Be sure to lay the plastic wrap on the top of the curd.
8. Place in the fidge to chill.

Macaron Shell

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place a silicon mat or parchment paper on a baking sheet.
2. Sift together the almond flour, powdered sugar and lemon zest. If you can't find almond flour you can always make it with almonds and a food processor. Finely grind the almonds and sift through a fine mesh sifter. Discard any large pieces.
3. In a large mixing bowl, add in the egg whites. Turn the mixer on high and beat until the egg whites form a soft peak meringue.
4. Add in the sugar, salt, cream of tartar and lemon extract. Mix on high until a stiff peak meringue forms.
5. Very carefully fold in a third of the almond flour and powdered sugar into the meringue with a spatula. All together you'll want to have about 65 turns of this mixture. If you don't mix enough the macaron shell will be extremely fluffy and cracked. If you over mix, the macaron shell will be extremely flat and might not form a foot.
6. Repeat with the rest of the almond flour and powdered sugar.
7. Fill a disposable piping bag with the macaron filling. I just used a coupler on the end of my piping bag.
8. Pipe macaron shells on the baking sheet. Zest a small amount of lemon zest for the top of each macaron shell.
9. Let the macarons dry until they are no longer tacky to the touch. It will take about 20 minutes to 1 hour.
10. Place in the oven for about 16- - 17 minutes until they no longer stick to the silicon mat or parchment paper.
11. Let the macaron shells cool.

Frosting

1. In a mixing bowl, add in the butter, marshmallow cream, powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix on medium/high until light and fluffy. It will take about 2 minutes.
2. Place in a piping back with a small star tip.
3. Pair up the macarons by the same size.
4. Pipe the frosting in a circle around the outer edge of the macaron.
5. Place the chilled curd into a sandwich bag and cut out a corner.
6. Fill the center of the macaron with the lemon curd. Repeat with all macarons.
7. Serve. Store in the fridge.