Va Va Voom !!!.....Vanilla Macaroons!!!

I was very tempted to give these macaroons a touch of loveliness from the garden but I have been told , by a qualified aromatherapist friend of mine, that I should be careful with such things as not all flowers are advised to be used on edible goods. In fact .........some can be quite dangerous............Eek!!! So, I will go forth with a little more care and endeavor not to poison my fellow followers...


Thinking back, it was possible I could have wiped out an entire population of guests over ten years back when I got married. The hotel did a beautiful display of fuchsia coloured rhododendron flowers on our wedding cake , it looked fabulous and continues to be one of my most favoured memories from the day, apart from the gentleman in question of course;)

I hope you like these macaroons...You could decorate with some lavender petals.

They make a gorgeous display ..........I think they look Va Va Voom.........do you ?!!

Makes 16

75g ground almonds
115g icing sugar
2 large egg whites
50g caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Filling


55g unsalted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
115g icing sugar

The ground almonds are best processed with the icing sugar to create a super fine dry mixture that is easy to fold into the meringue.

These give the macaroons a slightly chewy texture and nutty flavour.

Place the egg whites in a large bowl and whisk until holding soft peaks. Gradually, whisk in the caster sugar to make a firm, glossy meringue. Whisk in the vanilla extract. At this point, you can add your food colouring.

Using a spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the meringue.

Pour the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1 inch nozzle. Pipe around 32 small rounds onto the prepared baking sheets. Tap the baking sheets firmly onto a work surface to remove air bubbles. Leave at room temperature for 30 mins. Preheat oven to 16 degrees celcius.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10 - 15 mins. Cool for 10 mins then carefully peel the macaroons off the baking paper. Leave to cool completely.

To make the filling, beat the butter and vanilla extract in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Gradually, beat in the icing sugar until smooth and creamy and use to sandwich pairs of macaroons together....

Et Voila !!