Lockdown baking: Easy Macaron Recipe (No flour needed)

Lots of you have been getting in touch with recipe requests and I am glad to see that many of you are also baking in the evenings when the kids are asleep. We all have different ideas of what a relaxing activity is, and for many of you, a chance to bake alone seems to be the one. Perhaps its a form of lockdown stress relief, perhaps you're just thankful to get something baked without 20 requests to lick the spoon!

Lots of us are struggling to find ingredients at the moment, with the main shortages being flour, eggs and yeast. This macaron recipe is a great one for any of you who have eggs but not flour, as these use ground almonds.

Macarons are considered a notoriously tricky treat to make, and I must admit that I have yet to make these at home with the little buns. We used this recipe in the bakery to make macarons whether they were to be sold individually or used on top of cupcakes. If you follow my tips as well as my recipe, these will come out perfectly.

Macrons 101:

There are a few things to remember when making macarons, all of which will increase your chances of macaron success.

- Your almond meal (ground almonds) needs to be very very fine. If it is coarse or grainy, your macarons will not rise. If needed, give them an extra bit of a blitz in a food processor or Nutri-bullet. Be sure to sieve them when adding to the batter.

- Your eggs should be at room temperature. If you forget to take them out, before they are needed, submerge them in tepid water for 5 mins before breaking.

-You will need to make your macaron mix a bit brighter than the colour you desire as macarons fade as they are baked.

- The best way to fold your mix before piping is by hand. Be ready with your spatula or wooden spoon.

- It is imperative that you leave your piped macarons to set for at least 30 minutes before putting them in the oven. This will help them to rise up and gain "feet" rather than spreading horizontally.

Now for the recipe! You will need:

- 3 room temperature egg whites

- 50g of white caster sugar

- 200g icing sugar

- 120g of finely ground almond flour

- 1/4 tsp of salt

- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar

- food colouring

For the buttercream filling you will need:

- 75g unsalted butter

- 200g icing sugar

- vanilla extract

- Raspberry jam

Preheat your oven to 150 degrees c and grab your mixing bowl, making sure it is totally clean, dry and grease free. Pour the egg whites into this bowl and start to slowly whisk them. Gradually increase the speed until the egg whites are frothy. When your egg whites are pale and form peaks, then you are ready to add the sugar to your egg whites. Carefully pour the sugar into the egg whites in a steady stream, while the mixer is on a low speed.Once all the sugar has been incorporated, continue whisking quickly until the meringue reaches stiff peak form.

Sift the almond flour and icing sugar into a bowl, mix together and then add this to the meringue mix. Add food colour while bearing in mind that the macarons will fade in colour when they are baked.mBe gentle as you fold, but mix it enough to ensure that it has all combined and that there are no lumps of the mix. This process is called “macaronage” and is crucial to the process. Place your piping nozzle into your piping bag and gently fill the piping bag using your rubber spatula.

Fan Ovens can sometimes lift baking parchment during the baking process, leaving you with curved macarons, so try to secure your parchment by piping a small dot under the sheet to stick it in place on your baking tray. Wrap the piping bag around your fingers and make sure that you have a good firm grip on your macaron mixture. Pipe 1 inch diameter circles of your mixture on to the parchment, ensuring that you flick the nozzle in a circular motion when you pull away, rather than pulling straight up. This movement will ensure that you do not have little peaks on each macaron shell.

Once your circles have been piped, lift up your baking tray and bang it on the table a few times, allowing any air bubbles to come to the surface and be expelled. It is then crucial that you leave your macarons for at least 30 minutes (preferably an hour if you have the time) so that they form a firm and shiny coating. Once they have a “skin” they are ready to be baked.

Bake the macarons for approximately 14 minutes, setting an alarm for halfway. At the halfway point, open and immediately shut the oven, allowing the moisture to leave the oven. This will improve the texture of your macarons. Once the top of you macaron is dry, they are cooked. Once they are done, remove the baking parchment with the macarons attached and slid it on to a wire rack. Once the macarons have totally cooled, gently peel the parchment away from each macaron.

To fill the macarons, I like to use a mixture of jam and buttercream. Taking your favourite raspberry jam, push it through a strainer to make sure to eliminate any lumps or seeds. Make your buttercream by combining the icing sugar and butter and a touch of vanilla extract. Using a large round open nozzle, pipe the buttercream on to half of the shells in a blob. Spoon jam on to the other half. Gently bring a jam covered shell together with a buttercream covered shell and voila - you have a berries and cream macaron!