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Honey Orange French Macarons
Honey Orange French Macarons
These crowd-pleasing Honey Orange French Macarons combine comforting, zesty, and sweet flavors in a tiny, colorful package. This recipe includes a variety of resources to help you successfully make macarons, including a full French Macaron video masterclass!
This post contains affiliate links. Full disclosure is at the bottom of the article.
Some flavor combinations are matches made in heaven, which makes them perfect candidates to be turned into macarons. Strawberry and rhubarb, raspberry and matcha, milk chocolate and passion fruit, maple and pecan—all feature high on my list of favorite macaron flavors. I have a second macaron wish list―one with flavors I haven’t tried yet but that sounds delicious in my mind. That list is long, and I try to check one off the list whenever I have time.
Unsurprisingly, many of the macarons on my wish list are citrus-centric. These Honey Orange French Macarons combine sweet orange with honey in an aromatic and colorful way. There’s something comforting in such soft, mellow flavors, and this macaron has been universally top-rated by all who’ve had the chance to taste it.
Helpful Tips for Making Honey Orange French Macarons
- Hunt for small-batch, specialty honey: Varieties of honey vary widely in terms of flavor, depending on the flowers the bees gathered their pollen from. Regular honey (the cheapest variety) is made from a blend of different sources, making it taste delicious but unremarkable. If you can get your hands on a single-flower honey variety, I’d definitely indulge in using it in these macarons. Orange blossom honey is a real treat but read the label carefully before buying because most are artificially flavored and not worth your money. Clover honey is easy to find and lovely, as is wildflower honey. Or use whichever honey you can buy from a local producer. You can’t go wrong!
- Play with citrus varieties: I made these Honey Orange French Macarons with navel oranges, but they’d be absolutely lovely made with aromatic clementines or mandarins. Don’t hesitate to try Cara Caras and blood oranges too!
- Get ahead on the filling: This creamy honey orange filling needs to be refrigerated for several hours to firm up before you can pipe it into the macarons. You can make it up to 4 days ahead of time, so make sure to use this opportunity to get ahead! This will also spread out the work required by making macarons so you can concentrate on making the shells and assembling the macarons on a separate day.
FIRST TIME MAKING FRENCH MACARONS?
If this is your first time making macarons, prep, read, and watch before you start: Macarons are finicky to make, but if you set aside enough time so that you won’t be rushed, you can do it. I have a variety of resources available for you:
- A detailed step-by-step tutorial with photos to guide you through the process;
- A thorough troubleshooting guide that’ll help you understand mishaps, should they happen;
- And a 30-minute French Macaron Video Masterclass—which I highly recommend watching before you make macarons for the first time. There’s nothing like watching someone making macarons to learn how to make them properly—that’s how I learned over 10 years ago, and that’s how thousands of my students did too!
NEW: French Macaron Video Masterclass
Learn how to make perfect French macarons at home with my detailed video masterclass, now available to everyone for FREE and unlimited watching! This masterclass was previously hosted behind a paywall on an educational site where THOUSANDS of students rated it 5 STARS! It’s now available to all macaron lovers worldwide, for absolutely free ❤️
My detailed French Macaron Video Masterclass is divided into 14 handy lessons that will make you a macaron expert in no time. I designed my masterclass both for novice bakers who want to learn new skills, and for experienced bakers who are seeking to master a new and impressive dessert. Let me guide you through the essential equipment you need, the important steps to follow, the techniques to master, and the potential pitfalls to avoid. You can watch the videos on your own time, start practicing, share with other budding macaron makers, and ask me questions if you encounter difficulties along the way.
I’m confident that this video class will enable you to create perfect French macarons. Watch the class now!
If you enjoy my French Macaron Masterclass, make sure to “like” it on YouTube to allow other macaron lovers to discover it. Thank you and happy baking!
Honey Orange French Macarons
Ingredients
For the honey orange filling
- 16 g cornstarch
- 30 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 125 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
- 60 ml honey (variety of your choice, such as orange blossom, clover, or wildflower)
- 50 g granulated sugar
- 15 ml finely grated orange zest (about ½ an orange)
- 2 eggs
- 113 g butter, cut into cubes, room temperature
For the macaron shells
- 3 large egg whites, separated two days in advance, stored in an open container in the fridge (about 3.5 oz/100 g)
- 210 g powdered sugar
- 125 g almond flour
- 30 g granulated sugar
- 5 drops orange gel food coloring (optional)
- Gold sprinkles (optional)
To Assemble
- Tiny pieces of honeycomb (optional)
Instructions
- For the honey orange filling: In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch with the lemon juice. Set aside.
- In a saucepan set over medium heat, whisk the orange juice, honey, sugar, and zest together until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is bubbly around the edges (no need to boil). Remove from the heat.
- In a small bowl, whisk the eggs together, then gradually pour some of the hot syrup into the eggs, whisking constantly to incorporate. (This will gently warm up the eggs). Whisk the eggs back into the syrup, then whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Return to medium heat and cook until the mixture is thick like a soft pudding, about 3 minutes, whisking constantly so the mixture doesn’t stick to the bottom of the saucepan. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine-mesh strainer. Let the mixture cool until it is lukewarm.
- Pour the mixture into the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and process the mixture until it is smooth and emulsified, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple of times along the way, about 1 minute total. Pour the mixture in a container and let cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate overnight. (You can keep the honey orange filling refrigerated for up to 4 days.)
- For the macaron shells: Return the egg whites to room temperature at least an hour before making the macarons.In the bowl of a food processor, add the ppowdered sugar and almond flour, then process until the mixture is thoroughly incorporated, 30 seconds to a minute. Sift mixture to make sure no lumps or bigger bits of nuts are left.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a large bowl if using a hand mixer, whisk the egg whites on medium/high speed until frothy, about 1 minute, then slowly pour in the granulated sugar. After 2 minutes, add the gel food coloring, if using. Keep beating until the egg whites are stiff, dense and creamy, about 3 minutes more.
- Add the almond and powdered sugar mixture to the egg whites and, using a spatula, gently fold in the dry ingredients: slide your spatula all the way to the bottom of the bowl and comes back up to the top. Do this about 6 times to incorporate the dry ingredients, then keep folding for a total of about 14 times until no pockets of dry ingredients remain and the mixture drops from the side of the spatula in a slow, lazy ribbon. Start testing early to make sure not to overfold.
- Stack two baking sheets and line the top sheet with parchment paper. If you're not using parchment paper sheets, cut out the parchment paper so it fits exactly over the bottom of the sheet to make sure the macarons will lay flat. Slide macaron templates under the parchment paper, if using.
- Transfer the macaron batter to a pastry bag fitted with a ½-inch (1.25-cm) round tip. Pipe 1 ½-inch (3.8-cm) rounds of batter, evenly spaced but still close to one another as they will not expand much.
- Carefully slide the macaron templates off the baking sheets, if you used them. Lightly sprinkle the macaron shells with sprinkles, if using. Let the shells rest on the baking sheets for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 275°F (135°C) with a rack set to the middle position. Bake each sheet of macaron shells for 13 to 16 minutes, or until the shells are firm on their feet when you lightly tap on them with the tip of a finger.
- Let the shells cool completely to room temperature before assembling them, about an hour.
- To assemble the macarons: Pair same-sized shells together and set them side by side on a work surface. Transfer the honey orange filling to a pastry bag fitted with a round tip. Pipe some filling over half of the shells. Tuck a tiny piece of honeycomb into the filling of each macaron, if using. Close the macarons, gently pressing the second shell over the filling.
- STORAGE: Store the assembled Honey Orange French Macarons in an airtight container and refrigerate overnight before indulging. French macarons will keep, refrigerated, for up to 3 days. You can also freeze assembled macarons in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
- SERVING: Always bring these Milk Chocolate Miso French Macarons back to room temperature before serving.
Did you make this?
Tell me how you liked it! Leave a comment or take a picture and tag it with @foodnouveau on Instagram.
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Author: Marie Asselin
This looks so good! What a great combination of flavors!
I love this recipe. My only problem was I found the honey orange filling to be a bit thin. On my first attempt, I ended up cooking the eggs, ugh. My second attempt was better but the filling didn’t seem to set up completely and made eating the macaron a little messy. Any guidance would be appreciated. It was, however, a really tasty mess.
Hey Lisa! Sorry you ended up with messy macarons! The thickening agents in the filling are the cornstarch, the eggs, and the butter. The trio working together should be enough to thicken the filling properly. Did you make sure to measure out liquids very carefully? (Even just a tablespoon extra juice can change the result). Did you also make sure to refrigerate the filling at least overnight? If you did both and the filling still ended up too thin for you, you could try adding a bit more cornstarch (1 or 2 tsp), or a bit more butter towards the end (up to 1/4 cup more). I hope these tips will be helpful to you!
I love orange flavored desserts and these macaroons look so tasty.
This is one of my favorite macaron flavors! So aromatic!
Macarons are such a special treat! These look absolutely beautiful and sound so delicious with the honey orange. I cannot wait to make these!
Please reach out if you run into any issues while making macarons, I’ll be happy to help!
Not only are these gorgeous cookies but temptingly tasty as well. I’ve made orange and honey cheesecake so I knew I was going to love these going in. Mine may not look as professional as yours but they sure tasted great!
I always say homemade macarons are perfect, whatever their look! Taking the time to make such an elegant dessert deserves praises every time. I’m happy you loved these, Linda!
This recipe looks wonderful and I love the flavor combination! Cannot wait to make it this weekend ;)
Let me know if you have any questions along the way!
Wow! These honey orange macarons look incredibly delicious and yummy! The color it gives makes it enticing and tempting! Kids will definitely love this in an instant!
These honey orange macarons are always the first to go when I serve macarons to families and kids! They just love the bright color and zesty-sweet flavor.
These macaroons were such a hit! We all loved the orange flavor and they are perfect all year round. I want to make these look like little pumpkins the next time I make them!
Such a great idea! Mini pumpkin macarons would be so incredibly cute!
I love that you do these classes. Making macarons is definitely a learned skill. I tried once they didn’t turn out as I expected. I think honey and orange macarons would be a tasty combination too.
Thanks Bernice! I hope you’ll give macarons another chance someday soon 😉
These macarons are so pretty! That orange color is amazing! I wish I had more patience to make these little guys!
Macarons do require some patience to make, but I find them so rewarding! It’s definitely not the kind of dessert you make in a hurry. I hope you’ll give them a try someday Ann!