Macaron Jardin d'Été

Rinse, dry, and zest the lemons into a bowl.

Add sugar and rub together with zest.

Add eggs and lemon juice.

Cook over a bain-marie until the mixture reaches 83–84°C, whisking occasionally.

Cool the bowl over an ice bath to 60°C.

Incorporate butter, whisking until smooth, then blend for 10 minutes.

Cover directly with cling film and refrigerate overnight.

Melt cocoa butter and mix with the prepared lemon cream.

Add almond powder and mix thoroughly.

Refrigerate until needed.

Preheat oven to 100°C.

Dice fennel into 1 cm cubes.

Caramelize butter and Muscovado sugar in a pan.

Add fennel cubes, lemon juice, and freshly ground black pepper.

Spread on a lined baking sheet and dry in the oven for 30 minutes.

Let cool, then blend into a fine paste.

Sift icing sugar and almond powder together.

Mix food coloring into half of the egg whites and pour over the dry ingredients.

Heat water and sugar to 118°C; when it reaches 115°C, start whipping the remaining egg whites.

Pour cooked sugar syrup over whipped whites, beat until cooled to 50°C.

Fold meringue into almond-sugar mixture.

Pipe 3.5 cm rounds onto lined baking sheets, leaving space between.

Tap trays on the counter and rest shells at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Repeat the same method as for the yellow shells, adjusting the colorings as specified.

Preheat oven to 180°C convection.

Bake macarons for 12 minutes, briefly opening the oven twice to release moisture.

Cool macaron shells on work surface.

Pipe lemon cream onto yellow shells, add a ball of caramelized fennel paste, top with a small dot of lemon cream.

Cover with a green shell, pressing lightly.

Refrigerate assembled macarons for 24 hours, then let come to room temperature 2 hours before serving.