Macaron shells

• In a food processor, pulse the ground almonds and icing sugar. Sieve to discard any large pieces, ensuring the final weighed quantity is after sieving.
• Mix the first part of egg whites with the food colouring and add over the ground almonds without mixing.
• Heat up the water and sugar up to 118C over medium heat. When the syrup reaches 115C start whipping your egg whites up to medium peaks. When the syrup reaches 118C, start adding it slowly into the meringue, mixing continuously until it reaches hard peaks. Let the mixture cool down to 50C before incorporating it into the almond mixture.
• Now we need to macaronage. Fold the mixture in over itself with a spatula, pushing it from the middle towards the edges of the bowl. Stop when the mixture resembles the texture of lava and can create a continuous ribbon that doesn’t break off the spatula.
• Place the mixture into a piping bag and pipe dollops of 3.5cm in diameter on a lined baking sheet, leaving a minimum of 2cm between each macaron.
• Gently tap the baking sheet onto your work surface to remove any air. Let the macarons air dry for a minimum of 30 minutes, or until the surface is not sticky anymore.
• Pre-heat the oven to 150-160C (with fan) or 170-180C without fan. Place the macarons in the middle of the oven and bake for 12 minutes. Throughout baking, open the oven door twice very quickly to let some of the steam out.
• Once baked, slide the shells with the baking paper off the tray (to stop cooking) and let them cool on the work surface.
• After filling the shells, let them rest in the fridge for 24 hours, then remove at room temperature 2 hours before serving.