Blueberry Macarons

Preparation Time: 1½ -2 hours

Cooking Time: 18 minutes

Makes: 21 Macarons

Ingredients:

For the meringue mix:

2 egg whites
35g granulated sugar
40g water (40ml)
120g granulated sugar

For the dry mix:

150g ground almonds
150g icing sugar
2 egg whites
Blue food gel (Wilton)

For the ganache:

A pot of blueberry jam

  1. Put 2 egg whites in a bowl and whisk until foamy.
  2. Gradually add 35g granulated sugar to the egg whites and keep whisking until stiff peaks form. You should be able to hold the bowl over your head, upturned, without the whites falling out.
  3. Pour 120g granulated sugar into a heavy-based saucepan and add 40g water. With your saucepan on a medium-high heat, boil the sugar until it reaches 239-240F.
  4. Once the sugar syrup has reached the right temperature, becoming very thick in consistency, very slowly add it to the egg whites and continue to whisk gently. Do not overbeat or add too much syrup at any one time or the mixture will be runny and irretrievable. The meringue should have stiff peaks with a glossy sheen.
  5. Sift 150g ground almonds and 150g icing sugar together into a big bowl.
  6. Add the other 2 egg whites to the almond and icing sugar mixture and gently mix until you get a thick paste.
  7. Dip a toothpick into a pot of blue food gel and swirl in the paste to spread the colouring around the mixture. Add more than you think you will need as the macarons will pale when baking in the oven.
  8. Gently fold the meringue into the paste using a fold-press-turn motion. The mixture should end up like a pancake batter and drop off the spatula. Try not to overfold as this will prevent the macaron shells from retaining their shape in the oven.
  9. Spoon the combined macaron mix into a piping bag and pipe out circles onto a silicone non-stick baking mat, placed on a baking tray. I like to count to three when piping to guide me towards getting a uniform shape and thickness for each macaron.
  10. Drop the baking tray a couple of times to flatten out the macarons and get rid of air bubbles.
  11. Let the macarons rest for an hour or until they are completely dry to the touch. You should be able to run your finger over each macaron surface without it sticking to your finger.
  12. Pre-heat the oven to 150C/130C Fan/Gas Mark 2.
  13. Once the macarons have fully dried out, put them on the middle shelf of the oven for 18 minutes. Feet should begin to develop on each of the macarons as they rise.
  14. Take the macarons out of the oven and leave them to dry for 10 minutes on the silicone mat.
  15. Scoop 4tbsp of blueberry jam out into a saucepan and gently heat over a low temperature until the jam has thickened considerably and sticks to the back of a teaspoon.
  16. Peel the macaron shells from the silicone mat and arrange them, underside facing upwards, into two rows.
  17. Spoon the jam reduction into a piping bag and carefully pipe onto the underside of one of the rows of macarons.
  18. Top each shell with another from the second row and twist together until the ganache spreads all the way to the edge of the shell. Serve immediately or store for a few days until all the macarons have been gobbled up by your friends.