How to make the perfect macarons

Follow these steps to create your own raspberry and cinnamon macarons.

Prep, serve and mix

Grease 2 oven trays; line with baking paper. Beat egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add caster sugar; beat until dissolved. Fold in sifted icing sugar, ground almonds and cinnamon, in 2 batches. Don’t overmix.

Fill the bag

Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 2cm plain tube. Don’t overfill the bag with mixture; around two thirds full is ideal.

Piping rounds

Holding the bag upright, pipe 4cm rounds about 2cm apart on trays. To ensure they are the right shape, pipe in small spirals, holding the tube close to the paper while you’re piping.

Tapping trays

Once you’ve finished piping the rounds, drop the trays on the bench to make the mixture spread slightly. Just pick up each tray a little off the bench, then drop it. Repeat a couple of times.

Testing for dryness

Stand the macarons at room temperature for 30 minutes or until they feel dry. Gently touch the surface of the macaron with the flat part of your finger; it should feel like a light skin has started to form. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 130°C.

Bake and fill

Bake for 20 minutes; cool on trays. Make Raspberry rose butter cream by beating butter and sugar until pale. Push jam through a sieve, then add to butter mixture. Beat in rosewater until combined. Spoon into a piping bag and pipe onto the flat side of a macaron, then sandwich together with another.

Enjoy! You can make these extra special with cinnamon sugar. Simply mix 2 tablespoons icing sugar with ½ teaspoon cinnamon, and dust macarons at end of step 4, and again when filled.