French macarons are a type of sweet confectionery made with meringue. There are two ways to make macarons and both can be quite reliable but I guess you can choose which method works best for you. In this recipe I show you the Italian method French almond macarons.

For the other method to make French almond macarons you can watch the tutorial on how to make French  macarons. Sometimes macarons are confused for macaroons which are totally different. To find out the difference between macarons and macaroons you can watch a tutorial I made showing how to make coconut macaroons.

Ingredients

• 90g ground almonds
• 90g icing sugar
• 1 large egg white
• pinch of salt

For the meringue

• 90g caster sugar
• 25 ml water
• 1 large egg white

Method

• Prepare a baking tray with baking paper and draw circles with a circle template and put to one side.
• Add the ground almonds, icing sugar, one large egg white and the pinch of salt into a bowl and mix together into a paste and put to one side.
• In a separate bowl, whisk you egg white until soft peaks form
• Put the sugar and water into a pot and put it on the stove and let it come boil until it turns into a syrup (71 Celsius on a sugar thermometer.
• While whisking the egg whites pour the the syrup quickly before it sets into the whisked egg whites until the mixture reaches room temperature and the mixture is nice, thick and glossy.
• Fold one third of the meringue into the almond mix and mix well until smooth, then carry on adding more of the meringue until it is all used up and of a piping consistency.
• Transfer the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large circle nozzle and pipe onto the prepared baking tray.
• You can pat the tips down with a a wet finger dipped in water.
• Tap the tray down onto your work surface a few times and let it set until a crust forms (for about 30 minutes to an hour)
• Pre-heat oven for about 5-10 minutes to 140 Celsius then bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes
• Remove from the oven and leave on the baking tray for about 10 minutes and then remove carefully , with a spatula, and let them cool completely before decorating.