I was actually inspired to do these macarons by two different things. First, my visit to Montage Resort in Laguna Beach. Secondly, a video on Instagram, where I saw people making these. I wanted to keep these macaron on the tropical side, so I filled with with kaya, which is a Malaysian coconut-egg jam, though it’s basically just coconut custard, and I infused it with key lime peels and juice just to give it that nice citrus flavor. That and I needed to use up the leftover egg yolk, since I used only the white for the filling.

This recipe makes 5 macaron sandwiches

For the actual macaron shell:
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg white
Red, indigo, and blue gel food colorings

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. In a bowl, whisk the egg white and granulated sugar into stiff peaks. Sift the almond flour together with the confectioner’s sugar. Fold together the almond mixture with the whipped egg white. Separate out the batter into four, and dye each part with one of the food colorings, leaving one fourth completely white. Transfer all four batters into a piping bag, swirling them together before piping. For the seashells, pipe onto a parchment sheet lined baking tray, four rows, side by side, creating a fan-like shape. Gently tap the baking tray against a surface to remove all bubbles and allow the batter to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before baking. Bake for 8 minutes, then rotate, then bake again for another 7 minutes. Cool completely before removing from the tray.

For the key lime kaya:
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon coconut milk powder
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon key lime juice
zest of 1 key lime

Bring lime juice, water, zest, and coconut milk powder to a simmer. Whisk the egg yolk and sugar together. Temper with the lime-coconut milk, and then whisk the entire mixture over heat for about 3 minutes. Pass through a sieve and cool completely before using.

Assembly:
Pipe the kaya on top of one of the macarons and then garnish with edible pearls if desired. Sandwich on the other macaron.