Raspberry macarons with dark chocolate ganache

 When I go to a cafe or cake shop with friends, I often opt for a macaron because they are something I never cook. Traditionally gluten-free and coming in such a wide variety of colours and flavours, they are a perfect accompaniment to an espresso coffee.

Macarons became very popular in Australia in the early 2000s, thanks to a successful MasterChef contestant whose "special dish" was macarons. He went on to open a chain of patisseries and have his own TV specials that focused on desserts. I had always thought that they were difficult to make, and contestants often seemed very stressed about getting them right.

Last year, I was in Paris and was able to undertake a cooking class dedicated to these bite-sized delicacies. We made chocolate and pistachio macarons. With just a few simple tricks, they are simple to make at home and experiment with flavours and colours.

There is no need to purchase a special baking tray - although many exist in the cooking specialty shops. Practice and good technique with your piping skills will get you similarly sized shells to pair up. All you need is a flat baking tray, baking paper or a Silpat liner, and a piping bag with a small plain nozzle. I use a size 12 nozzle.

The most surprising tip I learned at the cooking class was that older egg whites are best and should be separated and left uncovered in the fridge for up to 48 hours before baking. This allows the egg whites to evaporate some of the moisture. Once you are ready to start, weigh the egg whites. This determines how much sugar and almond flour you need. If you are using liquid colouring or flavours, these need to be added with the white sugar so that they are incorporated well into the meringue.

Almond flour is not almond meal. Not only is almond flour a finer grind texture, but almond meal is made from unpeeled almonds, while the flour is made from blanched ones.

The most important step in the mixing of the macarons is achieving "macaronage". Macaronage is the stage in preparing French macaron shells where the batter is worked until smooth, shiny and flowing. Depending on the consistency of the meringue, the weather (humid weather will make the batter absorb water from the air, which can make the batter seemingly softer), how much food colouring you’ve added, and the method you are using, it will affect how long you should fold the batter. If the meringue is softer, the batter will take less time to come together. If you add a lot of food colouring, it will make the batter runnier as well, so all of these are things to take into account. The batter should be flowing off the spatula slowly. If you grab some batter with the spatula, you should be able to draw several figure 8s with the batter that’s flowing off the spatula without having it break up. Even after the batter breaks up, it will still continue to flow slowly off the spatula. Focus on the word *slowly*. If the batter is just running non-stop at a fast speed, it means it’s been overmixed, or it can mean the meringue was too soft to begin with.

You can let the meringue sit for up to 30 minutes before piping, but it is best to pipe straight away. Once you have filled one tray, bang the tray on the bench to remove air bubbles and then let the tray sit out to dry - until touching the tops, the shell is not sticky. This is usually 35-45 minutes. If you are adding toppings to the top halves as I am in this recipe, add them here before the shells dry out. This drying step helps ensure that the shells form a "foot". This shows you had the right texture in the mixture and dried them sufficiently. It also shows the shell will be crisp on the outside and smooth inside - perfection!

My teacher also assured the class that unfilled cooked shells could be frozen. I haven’t tried this - we ate them all! The only limit is your imagination regarding the flavour and colour combinations you can try. I have also used freeze-dried black cherries instead of raspberries to make delicious black forest macarons.

Bon appétit!

Makes 24

• 100 g egg white, room temp

• 100 g white sugar

• 100 g almond flour

• 100 g icing sugar

• 20 g freeze-dried raspberry powder

• 10 g freeze-dried raspberry pieces (optional)

Ganache:

• 100 g dark chocolate, broken into small pieces

• 40 g salted butter, room temperature

• 60 g cream

Place egg whites in a large bowl and whisk on medium speed until fluffy. Add white sugar in three batches and continue whisking until incorporated. Turn the mixer to high and continue whisking until stiff peaks form.

Sift together almond flour, icing sugar, and raspberry powder. Add dry ingredients to the meringue and mix on the lowest speed using a flat beater for 10 seconds. Increase speed to medium for another 10 seconds. Check for "macaronage" - the mixture should form a ribbon when dropped from a spoon. If not quite there, carefully fold the mixture by hand until macaronage is achieved. Don't overmix!

Line trays with baking paper. Using a piping bag with a small round nozzle, pipe an even number of biscuits, leaving room for each to spread slightly. They should be about the size of a 20 cent piece. Sprinkle raspberry pieces on half the biscuits. Bang the tray on the bench to remove air pockets. Allow to dry out at room temperature for 30-45 minutes until the mixture no longer sticks to your finger.

Preheat oven to 145°C fan/165°C.

Bake on the lower shelf of the oven for 15 minutes (17 minutes if using a Silpat mat). Allow to cool on the tray completely before lifting off.

To make the ganache:

Heat the cream until it boils. Place the butter and chocolate into a bowl. Pour the boiling cream over the chocolate. Mix together until the chocolate melts. The ganache will thicken as it cools.

To assemble the macarons:

Pair up the biscuits, matching size. Pipe ganache onto the bottom of one biscuit, making sure the ganache doesn't go over the edge of the shell. Add the top shell and gently twist to spread the ganache equally across the shell.

Refrigerate overnight and enjoy!