Marvellous Macaroons

The perfect macaroon is a thing of sheer beauty and elegance. This recipe reveals the secret to achieving perfection every time and it's a lot easier than you might imagine. The key is to be very precise with your measurements and take your time completing each step - follow these rules and you'll be amazed with the results.

I like to make these for special occasions as they are great as gifts or as an after dinner treat. They're also a good way to use up spare egg whites if you've recently made ice cream or custard. So make these and impress your friends, family and yourself with a taste of French patisserie heaven.

Marvellous Macaroons

Makes 30

For the pâté à macaron:

60g unsweetened chocolate, ideally 100% cocoa solids

185g icing sugar, sifted

185g ground almonds

2 medium free-range egg whites

For the Italian meringue:

2 medium free-range egg whites

1 drop lemon juice – do not be tempted to use more than this or the egg whites will become too stiff

185g caster sugar

3 tbsp water

For the ganache filling:

100ml whipping cream

100g dark chocolate

Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3 and place two unlined baking trays on the middle shelves.

For the pâté à macaron, melt the chocolate in a bowl suspended over a pan of simmering water – do not let the bottom of the bowl touch the water.

In a large bowl, mix the icing sugar, ground almonds and egg whites to form a paste. Fold in the melted chocolate and set aside.

For the Italian meringue, whisk the egg whites and lemon juice in a kitchen mixer on a medium speed. Meanwhile, place the sugar and water in a small pan and cook over a high heat until it has reached 117C/242F or the ‘soft ball’ stage. Reduce the speed on the mixer to its lowest setting and pour the sugar syrup onto the firmly whipped egg whites. Take extreme care when you do this as the syrup will be very hot and will burn your skin if it splashes. Increase the speed to high and continue to whisk for 2-3 minutes.

Fold the Italian meringue mixture into the pâté à macaron until it reaches the ribbon stage – this is when a spoonful of the mixture poured back into the bowl sits like a ribbon on the surface. Do not over-mix or the macaroon will crack when cooked. Place the mixture in a piping bag fitted with a 8mm/¼in nozzle.

Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper and pipe on 3cm/1in discs, at least 2cm/¾in apart. Remove the heated baking sheets from the oven and carefully slide the greaseproof paper with the piped macaroons onto them (pre-heating the baking trays kick-starts the cooking and forms the distinctive 'collarette' on the base of the macaroons). Bake in the oven for eight minutes and then leave on a cooling rack until completely cold.

For the ganache, place the cream in a small pan and bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the chocolate until the mixture is smooth then place the in a piping bag fitted with a 8mm/¼in nozzle. Pipe about one teaspoon of ganache onto the flat side of a cooled macaroon and top with another macaroon to make a sandwich. Repeat with the remaining ganache and macaroons and store in a single layer in an airtight container in the fridge.