Happy birthday hubby!! There’s always a good reason to make and eat cake but for those extra special moments the big guns come out.. Or tiny delicate fiddly messy guns in this particular case . Yes, the perfect day to make macaroons. After a thorough google session it appears that many have tried and failed before me, oh dear. Not one recipe gets full marks and most comments range from “not exactly l’audree standards” to “total disaster”… Oh well, I’m up for a fight! Remebering I once read a macaroons recipe for dummies in one of my Delicious mags AND not unimportantly was able to find it, I started my shopping list. Next thing I remebered was that we actually live in a very small village in the middle of up North. Pre-ground almonds? Noooooo, sorry. Food colouring? What? Icing sugar? Sure! In tiny sprinkle packages… Where’s a good Waitrose when you need one? But who am I to dissapoint my dearest on his 31st? And no, I’ll probably won’t ever try to grind 200grams of almonds by hand in a mini pestel and mortar ever again. After a good hour of swearing I finally had my almond and icing sugar mixture fine enough to put through a sief. And to be honest the final result was not bad at all for a first attempt, even if blue is the only colour I had left in my inventory. Hip hip hoooray!

The recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/fan140°C/gas 3. Whizz the icing sugar and ground almonds in a food processor to a very fine mixture, then sift into a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt to soft peaks, then gradually whisk in the caster sugar until thick and glossy. (At this point you can stir in flavour extract, such as peppermint or lemon, and corresponding colouring such as blue or yellow, to your meringue mixture, depending on what kind of macaroons you want – see chef’s tip. Or divide the meringue among different bowls if you want to make more than one colour.)
3. Fold half the almond and icing sugar mixture into the meringue and mix well. Add the remaining half, making sure you use a spatula to cut and fold the mixture until it is shiny and has a thick, ribbon-like consistency as it falls from the spatula. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm plain nozzle.
4. Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper. Pipe small rounds of the macaroon mixture, about 3cm across, onto the baking sheets. Give the baking sheets a sharp tap on the work surface to ensure a good ‘foot’. Leave to stand at room temperature for 10-15 minutes to form a slight skin. This is important – you should be able to touch them lightly without any mixture sticking to your finger. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.
5. Meanwhile, make the filling/s (unless making chocolate macaroons – see chef’s tip). In a bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy, then beat in the icing sugar. (You can now add flavouring or nuts, and colour – see chef’s tip.) Use to sandwich pairs of macaroons together.