Strawberry macaroons recipe

Think these French patisseries are too tricky to make yourself? Think again. They may not be the simplest of things to bake, but they are not nearly as hard as you think! With this simple and easy recipe, you’ll have a batch of delicious strawberry macaroons ready to be devoured in under an hour. Macaroons are very fashionable and can be very expensive to buy but are really quite cheap if you make them yourself. So, get in the kitchen and try whipping up a batch of homemade strawberry macaroons. With their delightful pink crisp shells sandwiched together with a rich strawberry cream, everyone will want to come over for tea. If you want to add an extra special touch, try sandwiching them with chocolate ganache or dusting with cocoa powder to serve. Everyone will love them as a sweet afternoon treat but you can also make them to offer as lovely homemade gift!

Ingredients

• 125g ground almond
• 250g icing sugar
• 3 medium eggs
• A few drops of pink food colouring
• 85g caster sugar
• 40g butter, at room temperature
• 3tbsp strawberry jam

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 150°C/300°F/Fan 130°C/Gas Mark 2. Line two large baking sheets with baking parchment. Place the ground almonds and 175g of the icing sugar in a food processor and blitz until fine.
2. Using an electric hand mixer, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks. Then gradually add the sugar a tbsp at a time, whisking well after each addition, until thick and glossy. Add a few drops of pink food colouring and whisk until combined.
3. Fold through the ground almond mixture until just combined then spoon into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm round nozzle. Pipe 2.5cm rounds onto the prepared baking sheets, then tap the baking sheets twice on the work surface to release any air bubbles (this will stop the macaroons from cracking.)
4. Leave on the side to form a skin so that when you touch them lightly they don’t leave mixture on your finger. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes then leave to cool on their trays.
5. Whisk the butter and remaining icing sugar together until light and fluffy. Push the strawberry jam through a fine sieve then whisk into the butter cream. Spoon into a piping bag and pipe small circles onto one macaroon half and sandwich together with another.