Macarons

Macaron Shell

Bring the egg whites to room temperature and place into a very clean mixing bowl.

Sieve the almond flour and icing sugar into another medium sized mixing bowl and set aside.

Beat the whites on a medium to high speed until they start to come together, than add the cream of tartar. Whisk for a further 30 seconds then slowly add the sugar until it is all incorporated. If you have food colouring add it now, then continue mixing until you have a stiff peak and there is a glossy shine to the egg.

Remove 1/3 of the egg and add to the flour and sugar mix (You can be quite rough at this stage) once incorporated add another 1/3 of the mix and fold in more gently, once incorporated add the remaining 1/3 of the mix. At this stage it is important to note the consistency of your batter. It should be ribbon consistency. This means it should fall off the spatula relatively easily and it can form a figure 8 in the mix.

If the mix is too stiff you will need to keep mixing the egg to remove some of the air. If you do not the macarons will have peaks.

Place the mix into a piping bag along with an 8-10mm piping nozzle

Place baking paper or a silicon mat onto a sheet tray then pipe out 1-1.5inch rounds

Leave to sit for 45 minutes then place into a pre heated oven at 150 for 12 minutes.

(if using a silicone mat let them sit in the oven on the tray for a further 15-20minutes once the cooking has finished as silicon does not transfer heat as effectively as metal)

Buttercream

Dice the butter into 1-2cm cubes the bring the butter to room temperature.

Sieve the icing sugar.

Place the butter into a mixing bowl along with the icing sugar, milk, vanilla paste and salt (food colouring if required). Use a whisk attachment and mix on medium to high until light and fluffy. This should take around 5-10 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl down every couple of minutes. Place into a piping bag with a 5mm nozzle add pipe in the middle of the macarons.