A macaron is a meringue-based sandwich cookie that is tinted with food colouring, that's filled with jam, ganache or buttercream.
Ingredients
125g ground almonds
200g icing sugar
3 free-range egg whites
2 tbsp caster sugar
½ tsp cream of tartar
pinch red powdered food colouring
For the chocolate filling
200g dark chocolate, chopped
200ml double cream
1 tsp brandy
15g unsalted butter
For the raspberry jelly
420g raspberries
35g caster sugar
4g gelatine leaves
Method
Blend the ground almonds and icing sugar in a food processor until well combined. Set aside. Using an electric whisk, slowly whisk the egg whites in a large bowl at a low speed until stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed. Slowly whisk in the cream of tartar and caster sugar until the mixture is smooth and glossy, increasing the speed of the whisk as the mixture stiffens. Gently fold in the food colouring and blended ground almonds and icing sugar until the mixture resembles shaving foam.
Spoon the macaron mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm round nozzle. Pipe 5cm circles onto the baking tray lined with greaseproof paper or a Macaron silicon mat. If a peak forms, wet your finger and smooth it down. Sharply tap the bottom of the tray to release any air bubbles from the macarons, then set aside for 60 minutes (the macaron shells are ready to go in the oven when they are no longer sticky to the touch).
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 160C°. Bake the macarons in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until cooked through. (When you have 6 minutes left, open oven door all the way and close – this will prevent macarons from turning out hollow, letting all that extra air out).
Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 5 minutes. Carefully peel away the greaseproof paper and set aside to cool completely.
Meanwhile, for the chocolate filling, heat the double cream and chocolate in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth and well combined. Add the brandy and butter and stir until smooth, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool completely.
To prepare the raspberry jelly: Soak the gelatine leaves for 15 minutes in cold water to soften.
Using a hand blender, blend the raspberries and sugar to a purée. Strain the purée to remove the pips. Heat a quarter of the purée to 45ºC. Drain and dry the gelatine and add to the hot purée. Stir and add the rest of the raspberry purée.
Pour it into a gratin dish lined with cling film to a depth of 4mm. Allow to cool for 1 hour at room temperature then put the dish in the freezer for 2 hours. Turn out the jelly and cut it into 1.5cm squares. Return the jelly squares to the freeze
Use the filling to sandwich the macarons together then chill in the fridge for 30 minutes
Place the raspberry jam into a small piping bag fitted with a round tip. Pair up each macaron shell with another of an equal size. Pipe a ring of chocolate cream on one half of the shell, then a blob of the compote in the middle. Place the second shell carefully on top. Repeat with the rest of the macarons. Macarons are best chilled overnight to allow the flavours to meld, but can also be eaten immediately.
NB: Filling - Make sure that the meringue wafers are completely cool before adding fillings. Experts recommend sticking to ganache because it won't melt like buttercream. Add a thin layer, and don't overfill the cookies.
NB: You do not need to add chocolate as you can only add a fruit jam.
Key to macarons
Slam the baking sheet a few times to remove air pockets from mixture after piping
Let the mixture rest for 45min to an hour before baking after removing air pockets
Let them rest for more than 30 min before removing them from the parchment paper
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