Hello there. It has been a hot minute hasn't it? So, first up, thank you for bearing with me over the British summer holidays. My kids are back at school, I’m back in the kitchen and you’re going to be forced to look at pretty pictures of cake. You poor loves.
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Welcome to edition no. 6 of my ‘A love letter to…’ series. Where I show my love for, and experiment with, slightly more unusual flavour pairings - giving you fresh ideas for your bakes.
So far this year we have enjoyed Orange and Rosemary, Peach and Oregano, Apricot & Rose, Lemon & Lavender and Dulce de leche & Lime. Do you have a favourite so far?
Before we begin, the usual vote! I would be thrilled to hear what you’d like to investigate for next month’s love letter.
Dear Blueberry & Mint, aka Summer’s Last Hurrah.
It seems as of late, you can’t leave the house before someone shoves a pumpkin spiced latte in your face. As an Autumn devotee, I’m pretty happy with this development.
However… for those who follow the astronomical calendar, it’s still Summer until September 22nd. And this week’s flavour combination of Blueberry & Mint in macaron form is an elegant and fresh last hurrah for summer.
All gentle and floral, blueberry can lack the intense flavours of other berries. And sometimes, when you buy from the supermarket, they are watery and insipid.
Niki Signit of The Flavour Thesaurus tells us that cooking lacklustre blueberries with sugar unlocks their aromatic potential1. The freshness of mint gives everything a further lift - a sprinkling of mint leaves on a blueberry galette or pancakes can be a game changer. So long as you don’t overdo it and make everything taste like toothpaste.
In folklore, this is a combination of peace and prosperity. Blueberries are said to be soothing, a berry to calm the emotions. Whereas mint, with its green leaves, represents wealth.2 Interestingly, in the UK we refer to someone wealthy as ‘minted’ - linking to the term ‘to mint’, meaning to make new coins or money. Did you know our Royal Mint even sends Tooth Fairy letters? Awww.
Anyway, I digress. Blueberries are also linked to St Brigid of Kildare - her nuns were said to go out onto the land, gathering blueberries and make blueberry jam to sell to support the order.3
Other Bake Ideas
This flavour combination seems to lend itself well to drinks… with recipes for iced tea, mojitos and mocktails to help enjoy these final Summer moments. This Sparkle looks an adorable delight.
Bake ideas include this Drizzle Cake from Delicious Magazine.
Or this lovely Cobbler, great for the upcoming Autumnal months.
If you fancy something a little more straight forward, these Watermelon, Blueberry & Mint Skewers from Grace & Greens look delightfully refreshing.
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Blueberry & Mint Macarons
The filling for these elegant, minty macarons comprises of a sumptuous, velvety Italian meringue buttercream, flavoured with a blueberry & mint puree.
I have chosen Italian meringue buttercream to make this recipe easier. There is nothing to be scared of, because you will have already made it to make your shells! It’s exactly the same recipe, but with some butter.
I have piped these in some frilly patterns for next level aesthetics. But you can make life easier for yourself and simply place a spoonful in between your shells.
Level: Advanced
Time taken: 2-3hrs hands on time, but overnight rests for the finished macs.
Makes: Around 50 macaron shells (so 25 macarons)
Specialist equipment needed: a sugar thermometer, 3x silicone mats (versions with a macaron guide are helpful), stand mixer, piping bags and tips (I use Wilton 2A. If you want frilly filled macs, you will also need a Wilton 2D)
Ingredients
For the shells:
For the ‘paste’
150g ground almonds
150g icing sugar
55g egg white (I like to use a carton as they whip quicker, they are available in most supermarkets)
A small squeeze of food colouring, I use Colour Splash in Blue
For the meringue
55g egg white
Half a tsp cream of tartar
140g caster sugar
27g water
For the puree
200g blueberries (fresh or frozen)
20g caster sugar (golden, if you can get it)
4x small sprigs of mint, leaves removed and roughly chopped
Squeeze of lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
For the Italian Meringue Buttercream
55g egg white
Half tsp cream of tartar
140g caster sugar (golden, if you can get it)
27g water
pinch of salt
225g unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into cubes
Your shells:
Begin with your almond paste. Sift your icing sugar and ground almonds into your mixer bowel and add your egg white. Whisk until well incorporated.
Transfer your paste to another bowl and cover.
Now, move on to your meringue. Clean up your whisk and mixer bowl.
Add your egg whites and cream of tartar and begin whisking at a low speed.
Place your water and 130g of caster sugar into a small pan. Keep aside 10g of sugar for later.
Put your saucepan on a medium high heat and cook. Do not stir it! You can swirl it round if you need to cover any sugar with the water.
With your sugar thermometer, test the syrup. Once it reaches 105°C, increase the speed of the mixer and add the remaining 10g of sugar. This will help stabilise the meringue.
When the sugar reaches 118°C - known as ‘softball’ stage, reduce the speed of your mixer and gently pour the sugar into the whisking egg whites.
Turn your mixer back up and mix for around ten minutes. Add your blue food colouring.
Once your meringue is velvety and thick, fold in your almond paste to make a ‘macaronage.’ I give my almond mixture a good mix to soften it first (it will have stiffened a bit as you make your meringue) before adding it to the meringue.
Then I follow the Le Corden Bleu technique: You make a slow circle in the mix and then strike through the middle, repeat this until you have the right consistency.
This is the hardest bit of macaron making. Undermix and you get big lumps of almond paste in your macarons, overmix and you get runny, flat macarons with spread feet. Just go slow, and if unsure, test it by placing a small amount on your silicone mat. You will see clearly if there are lumps and you need it to hold its shape relatively well. While it will spread a little, if it runs too much, you have over mixed.
At this stage, I like to rest the batter. Even for five minutes or so. I have noticed it helps ensure smooth macarons.
Grab your piping bag and tip and use a spatula to spoon in your macaronage. Don’t fill your bag up too much! The more you press on your macaron mixture, the higher the risk of an over mixed batter. I find it best to only half fill your bag and then refill as needed.
Pipe them onto a silicone mat, with your piping bag held up straight. Mats with a macaron guide are extremely useful. Or there are print out templates you can find online and place underneath your mats.
There are some great piping videos on youtube and I like this one from Shinee D.
Once you have piped, you need to ‘tap’ your macarons to get out any air bubbles. I find this hugely therapeutic. Pick up your tray and simply drop it onto the top. I tend to do this at least twice, ensuring I don’t go too hard so the macarons retain their circular shape. You can pop any final air bubbles with a toothpick.
Once piped, leave them to rest for around half an hour.
Once rested, bake at 130°C fan/266°F for 14-16 minutes. I only put one tray in per oven, as the bottom tray often cracks. If you only have the one oven, start a little conveyer belt with the first batch you piped going in first.
About five minutes into baking, rotate your tray.
Leave to cool before peeling off your silicone mats.
Filling
Meanwhile, start on your blueberry & mint puree.
Place your blueberries, sugar, squeeze of lemon juice and mint leaves into a saucepan. If you are using fresh blueberries, you will need a splash of water.
Place them on a medium heat and leave to bubble for around five minutes, before giving everything a good mash with a potato masher or fork.
After another five minutes, take it off the heat and push it through a close knit sieve. You may need to give your blueberries a good old squidge with a spoon to get all that juice out. You should end up with at least 100g of puree. Add you half tsp of vanilla paste and give it a good stir.
You Italian meringue buttercream
Just as you did with your shells, clean up your whisk and mixer bowl.
Add your egg whites and cream of tartar and begin whisking at a low speed.
Place your water and 130g of caster sugar into a small pan. Keep aside 10g of sugar for later.
Put your saucepan on a medium high heat and cook. Do not stir it! You can swirl it round if you need to cover any sugar with the water.
With your sugar thermometer, test the syrup. Once it reaches 105°C, increase the speed of the mixer and add the remaining 10g of sugar. This will help stabilise the meringue.
When the sugar reaches 118°C - known as ‘softball’ stage, reduce the speed of your mixer and gently pour the sugar into the whisking egg whites.
Keep a watch on the temperature of your meringue. Just before it hits 34°C you’ll want to chuck in your butter cubes.
Whisk on a medium speed until your butter is fully incorporated, before adding a pinch of salt and 2-3 tbsp of puree, checking for flavour as you go (You can use the remaining puree as a sauce for pancakes, or on yogurt).
At this point, I like to change to a paddle attachment and turn down the speed to medium low. I find it makes for a more velvety buttercream.
After around ten minutes, your buttercream should be super smooth. Simply place in a piping bag with either your Wilton 2A tip to keep it smooth, or use a Wilton 2D tip for frills. Pipe a small dollop into the centre of your mac, leaving a gap around the edge.
Gently press your macs together, et voila!
Cover them, and place back in the fridge overnight, so the macs can mature and take on the flavours.
Take them out of the fridge for around twenty minutes before enjoying. Filled macarons last around five days covered in the fridge.
Until next time…
Have you heard about the Bake Experiments Recipe Index? An easily searchable one stop shop for all Bake Experiments recipes and experiments.
This time last year… Baking Books you will actually use
The Flavour Thesaurus P. 344
Skye Alexander, The Kitchen Witch. p. 137 & p. 178
Lia Leendertz, The Almanac, a Seasonal Guide to 2025. p. 52
Lovely post, Shell! This is definitely “advanced” for me 🤓. I will leave the macaron making to more skilled hands but think about blueberry and mint combos of other varieties.
Not even mentioning the perfect flavour combo - these macarons are just so pretty.