Thank God It’s Friday… Thank God It’s Sweet!
Welcome to Rometti Limoncello’s new blog Fridaylicious focusing on the use of Limoncello for culinary purposes. Yes, Limoncello is not good only by itself or as ingredient for flavory cocktails, but it can also be used in cooking, especially with desserts! We hope you will enjoy such a delicious Friday blog to end your working week on a high note and start your weekend in the sweetest way!
For our first Fridaylicious entry we couldn’t help but picking a classic dessert, a pearl of French cooking: Limoncello Macarons AKA Meyer Lemon Macarons with Lemon Curd and Blackberry-Thyme-Limoncello Jam.
Macarons come in quite a big variety of colors and flavors, they consist of a meringue-like cookies with a soft cream sandwiched in between. The colors often suggests the flavor, and they are extremely pleasant to present!
We found this amazing recipe posted by Mardi Michels on her food blog Eat. Live. Travel. Write. If happiness comes in small quantities, Mardi’s recipe will deliver it under the resemblance of sweet, chewy little bites! These macarons made with the addition of Rometti Limoncello will brighten up your parties, receptions, bridal showers, and will be a tasty, buds-blowing gift for friends and family!
Ingredients:
For the Meringue (French Method):
1 3/4 cups + 2 1/2 tablespoons of almond flour
1 3/4 cups of powdered sugar
6 egg whites
1 cup + 3 tablespoonsof granulated sugar
2/3 cup water
yellow colored paste
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl sift together almond flour and powdered sugar. Mix it together and add 3 egg whites in it. With a spatula stir it until it becomes a thick almond paste.
In a small saucepan combine granulated sugar with water on a medium-low heat. It needs to become a syrup, once it reaches 248 F take it off the stove.
Take the remaining 3 eggwhites and whisk them into a mixing bowl until they softens up. At that point pour in the syrup down the side and continue whisking for 2-5 minutes until stiff and glossy. Add a pea-size of yellow colored paste.
Finally, mix in the meringue with your almond powder mixture and fold it in until the meringue forms a thick and uniform texture.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Fit a pastry bag with a 3/8-inch #4 round tip, and fill with batter. Pipe 1-inch disks onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies. The batter will spread a little. Let stand at room temperature until dry, and a soft skin forms on the tops of the macaroons and the shiny surface turns dull, about 15 minutes.
Bake, with the door of the oven slightly ajar, until the surface of the macaroons is completely dry, about 15 minutes. Remove baking sheet to a wire rack and let the macaroons cool completely on the baking sheet. Gently peel off the parchment. Their tops are easily crushed, so take care when removing the macaroons from the parchment. Use immediately or store in an airtight container, refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month.
ps: if you, like me, need a sylicon baking mat, Mastrad offers a whole kit for Macarons-aspiring-chefs: get your Mastrad macaron baking set here!
For the Curd (Recipe from the Flavor Forecast):
9 eggyolks
2/3 cup Meyer lemon juice
1/4 cup Rometti Limoncello
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup butter, cold cut into tbsp pieces
For the Meyer Lemon Curd, mix egg yolks, Meyer lemon juice, Limoncello liqueur and granulated sugar in large heavy saucepan with wire whisk until well blended. Whisking constantly, cook on medium heat 8 to 10 minutes or until curd is thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat. Whisk in butter, one piece at a time. Spoon into large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight until chilled and set.
For blackberry with Limoncello and thyme (recipe author: Mardi Michels):
1/2 cups blackberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup Rometti Limoncello
2 tsp dried lemon thyme (or 1 tsp finely chopped thyme and 1 tsp Meyer lemon zest)
Combine blackberries, sugar, Limoncello, thyme and zest in a medium heavy saucepan.
Cook over medium heat until the blackberries begin to soften a little.
Use a wooden spoon or a potato masher to break up the fruit.
Reduce heat to low and cook, uncovered, stirring often, until the mixture begins to thicken, about 30 minutes.
The jam won’t be as firm as you think it should be but it will definitely firm up once it cools down.
Once everything is ready, pair up the meringues and lightly spread on the flat side of each some of the lemon curd. On only one side add a pea-size worth of blackberry jam, put the two meringues together and here you go: you have made your first Limoncello Macaron!
~Enjoy!
Rometti Limoncello 