Photo: Pabo76 / Flickr

Are they cakes, or are they biscuits? Either way, this light and airy piece of confectionary is real treat at teatime – or any time – if it’s made properly. Bakeries and patisseries offer plenty of different varieties and flavours, but start off with a basic macaroon recipe and learn to do it just right before moving onto more complex things to impress your guests and treat yourself.

The basic recipe

Take 50g of egg whites and colour with your choice of food colouring, then add 130g of caster sugar and beat the mixture until it’s stiff. Next, mix 100g of icing sugar with 100g of ground almonds and add this to your beaten mixture – you should get a smooth, glossy texture – and spoon into a piping bag. Squeeze out evenly sized blobs onto a baking tray, then bake in an oven preheated at 150°C for about fifteen minutes – or until they’re firm but still have their colour.

Fill them up

Photo: norwichnuts / Flickr

Leave what you’ve made to cool in the fridge. You’ll sandwich your macaroon disks together next, but first decide what it is that you want between the two sides. Butter cream is a deliciously rich option, or you could opt for lemon curd for something a little more tart. Use a piping bag again, this time to pipe dollops of your filling onto one of your disks before sandwiching another on top.

If at first you don’t succeed…

Macaroons are notoriously difficult to get perfect, but your simple macaroon recipe will give you a head start. After that, it’s up to you, and the secret’s in getting the timing just right. Be prepared to produce a few imperfect batches, then, once you make your first perfect batch, show them off to all of your friends – or keep them all for yourself!

Tags: baking, recipe