blueberry honey tea macarons.

Yes! Passable macarons even after not practicing for eons! These were made using the french meringue method while I usually use the italian meringue one. I think the french meringue method is more forgiving but they don't have the crisp shell you get using the italian meringue method. These were also chewier than your italian meringue macarons.

I originally intended these to be lavender blueberry honey tea macarons but my dried lavender buds were unusable. Well, even without the lavender these were still fabulous! For a jam which ingredients that I sorta threw together on a whim I have to say that it was quite a success. There was just the right amount of tea flavour and floral sweetness from the honey that gelled very nicely with the blueberries. I was considering if I should make the jam smooth like a puree but I think the slight chunkiness was pretty nice too.

There's really something about the pairing of berries with almond. I often get swayed by the promises of salted caramel macarons, ispahan macarons, dark chocolate macarons and the like but I have to say that the refreshing fruitiness of berries and the rich nuttiness of almonds work best together.

I should have sifted my ground almonds better. The surfaces of the macarons were noticeably rough and bumpy. Oh well. I still think these were a job well done!

I miss baking so so much. I'm going to go on a baking spree once my final exam of the year is over. Can't wait!

Blueberry Honey Tea Macarons

For the shell recipe, refer to here 

For the blueberry honey tea jam (enough to fill 15 macarons):
1/2 cup dried blueberries
1 heaped tsp tea leaves
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp honey

Combine the blueberries, tea leaves and water in a small saucepan. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook until the blueberries have softened and plumped up. Remove from heat and cool.

Pour mixture into a blender and blend until almost smooth. Add in the 1 tbsp honey and blend to combine. Refrigerate jam until it has thickened up.

Fill macarons with jam. Refrigerate macarons for at least 1 day before consuming.