Lemon Dream

Macaron Base:

• Eggs, sugar, and almond essence are whisked together with an electric mixer. 
• The butter is melted and set aside.
• Crush the macarons - you can use a rolling pin and roll it over the bag a few times. 
• Stir in wheat flour, crushed macarons, and melted butter into the batter. Stir with a spatula until everything is well combined. 
• Pour the cake into a mold about 18 x 18 centimeters lined with baking paper.
• Bake the macaron base in the oven for 20 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius (392 degrees Fahrenheit). Check with a wooden skewer if the cake is baked through - there should be no raw batter sticking when the skewer is pulled up.
• Let the macaron base cool.
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• Soak the gelatin sheets in plenty of cold water for about 15 minutes.
• Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod with a small, sharp knife. "Mash" the vanilla seeds with a bit of the sugar and then mix in the rest of the sugar. 
• Take 3 tablespoons of cream and set it aside.
• Whip the rest of the cream and the homemade vanilla sugar into a light foam with an electric mixer.
• Take the gelatin out of the water and squeeze it free of liquid.
• Pour the three tablespoons of whipping cream into a small bowl and place it in the microwave. Heat the cream for about 20 seconds, it should not boil!
• Take the cream out of the microwave and melt the soaked gelatin in the warm cream. Cool the mixture until it is slightly warm.
• Fold the almost cold gelatin mixture into the whipped cream - stir it well together.
• Pour the vanilla cream over the macaron base in the mold and place the mold in the refrigerator. 
• Let it chill for about 1 1/2 hours until the vanilla mousse is semi-firm.
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• Whisk eggs, sugar, and lemon juice together in a small saucepan over medium heat - it should not boil, just heat up. 
• After a couple of minutes of whisking, add butter in smaller pieces. Continue whisking until it starts to thicken. 
• When you think your lemon curd has the right consistency, try taking a bit on a spoon and let it cool (you will quickly sense if the cream will have the right consistency when cold). If the cream on the spoon becomes firm after about a minute, the cream is done. 
• Pour your lemon curd into a silicone mold with small round cavities, so the cream becomes molded in a ball shape. 
• Place the mold in the freezer for about 4 hours, or until the lemon curd balls are completely frozen.  
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• Soak the gelatin in a bowl with cold water for 10 minutes.
• Pour water and sugar into a saucepan and bring the syrup to a boil. Boil until the sugar is dissolved.
• Remove the saucepan from heat as soon as the sugar is dissolved. Wring the gelatin free of water and add it to the syrup. Stir in the syrup until the gelatin is dissolved. 
• Finely chop the white chocolate and put it into a tall jug along with the food coloring.
• Pour the syrup over the chocolate and food coloring. 
• Blend the chocolate and syrup together with an immersion blender.
• Keep the immersion blender down in the jug all the time. Avoid moving the immersion blender up and down too much, as this will create air bubbles in the glaze.
• If there are some air bubbles in the glaze, the jug can be gently tapped against the table to pop the bubbles.
• Let the glaze cool to 34-35 degrees Celsius (93-95 degrees Fahrenheit) or until it begins to thicken. It's important that it cool down before pouring over the cake, as it will run down the sides of the cake if it's too warm.  
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• Take the macaron base with the semi-firm vanilla mousse out of the refrigerator.
• Take the mold with the lemon curd balls out of the freezer and press them out of the mold.
• Press the lemon curd balls into the mousse; they should stand in neat, straight rows. 
• Place the cake back in the refrigerator. Let it sit until it is completely set (about 3 hours). 
• Take the cake out of the refrigerator and pour the glaze over it. 
• Put the cake back in the refrigerator until the glaze has completely set (this takes about two hours). 
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