Vanilla Macarons

Vanilla Macarons Ingredients (For 25 Macarons)

100 g egg whites100 g granulated sugar100 g almond flour100 g powdered sugarA pinch of saltRed food colouring (3 drops)1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Steps

1.Preheat the oven to 148C and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.Heat a small pot of water over medium-low heat until it steams. In a large bowl combine egg whites and roughly 3 tablespoons of the granulated sugar. Place bowl over steaming pot.2.Whisk egg whites and sugar continuously for 1 minute until sugar melts completely and egg whites become white and frothy. Remove from heat. Whisk on high speed while slowly adding in the remaining sugar. Add the food colouring and vanilla essence and continue to whisk for another 3-4 minutes, until stiff peaks form.3.Next, sift together the almond flour, powdered sugar, and salt twice, then gently shake the mixture into the meringue bowl. Whisk on medium speed for 5 seconds (just enough to combine the almond flour mixture with the egg whites)4.Use a large spatula to hand-mix the batter for the remainder of your mixing. You’ll want to gently fold the mixture with your spatula, scooping up the batter from the outside of the bowl and gently twisting it into the center in a circle-like manner. You’ll know to stop mixing when you can make a figure-eight out of the dripping batter without the batter breaking.5.Once your batter is the correct consistency, scoop it into a large pastry bag fitted with a 1 inch tip. Pipe silver dollar-sized circles onto prepared baking sheets, keeping about 1.5 inches between each meringue. Bang baking sheet on counter two times to remove any air bubbles.6.Let the macarons air dry for 15 to 30 minutes or until dry to the touch. Pop them into the prepared oven for 13 minutes, then allow to cool completely before removing from baking sheets.7. Prepare the vanilla buttercream and pipe onto the shells before fixing together. Best results achieved overnight and left in the fridge!