and so the blogging begins…

A few years ago, my sister Ellie bought me the Ladurée Sucré cookbook, and my life hasn’t been the same since. I’m pretty sure that discovering Ladurée has an epiphany-type effect on a lot of people, but for me, it was a call to baking arms.

There were more than a few tears and tantrums over cracked shells and uneven feet, and my boyfriend definitely gained a few pounds, but eventually something clicked and I have been (*mostly) merrily piping away since.

I’ve tried out dozens of flavour and colour combinations, but here’s a picture of some of my faves – salted caramel topped with flaked almonds. Deelish.

Recipe below – enjoy:

Equipment:
Baking trays
Baking parchment
Small and medium saucepans
Piping bags and 8mm nozzles
Pallet knife

Macaron Shells:
275g ground almonds
250g icing sugar
6 medium free range egg whites
210g caster sugar
A handful of toasted flaked almonds

Salted Caramel Filling
125g double cream
175g caster sugar
5g sea salt (fine)
175g unsalted butter

Macaron Shells:
Add your egg whites to a clean, dry bowl and begin whisking with an electric hand-held whisk (you could also use a free-standing electric mixer with a whisk attachment for this). Once they’ve frothed up (20 seconds or so) add one third of the caster sugar and continue whisking until dissolved (another 20 seconds or so).

At this point, add another third of the caster sugar and whisk for a minute, before adding the last third of caster sugar and whisking for final minute – your whites should now be stiff and beautifully glossy!

Whizz the almonds and icing sugar in a food processor to obtain a smooth powder, sieve this into the egg white mixture and gently fold in with a spatula until you have a smooth and even consistency.

Transfer the mixture into a piping bag and pipe small rounds onto a baking tray covered in parchment (drawing around a small circular stencil can help guide you to perfection!)

Sprinkle over the toasted flaked almonds and set the macaron shells aside for 30mins to form a slight crust.

Bake at fan oven 100 °C for 25-30mins (checking regularly). The finished product should have tiny “feet” at the bottom and a smooth shell. Set aside to cool completely.

Once cool, gently peel the shells away from the parchment paper and match up evenly sized pairs.

Salted Caramel Filling:
Heat the double cream in a small saucepan until it comes to the boil. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Weigh your sugar into a larger pan and heat over a medium flame. Stir occasionally to ensure an even caramelisation.

Once the sugar becomes a coppery coloured liquid, remove it from the heat and pour in the warm cream, continuing to mix as you do so.

Let the caramel cool to around 45°C and add the salt and butter, a few pieces at a time.

You’ll soon be able to tell if your caramel is either too hot or too cold to incorporate the butter – but don’t despair – a little extra time to cool or a quick re-heat will help!

Transfer the caramel into a shallow container and allow to cool completely before storing in the fridge.

Once you’re ready to assemble your macarons, remove the caramel from the fridge and whisk using a hand held electric whisk to form a light and fluffy frosting.

Pipe a small blob onto one half of your macaron shell pair and sandwich together.

They’ll taste even more delicious after 12-24 hours in the fridge, once the shells have absorbed all that caramel goodness.