delicious UK – April 2018

PHOTOGRAPHS: KATE WHITAKER. FOOD STYLING:

LOTTIE COVELL. STYLING: TONY HUTCHINSON

British cookery expert Debbie

Majorturnsherhandto

traditional macaroons, tweaking

therecipeuntilshefindsthe

definitiveversionwithasweet

crunchandasoft,yieldingcentre.

Then,overthepage,shewhipsup

ahazelnutversionsandwiched

with indulgent chocolate ganache

THE MASTER

RECIPE...

MAKES16.HANDS-ONTIME15MIN,

OVEN TIME 20-22 MIN, PLUS COOLING

MAKE

AHEAD

Themacaroonswillkeep

for 2-3 weeks in an airtight

jar or tin somewhere cool.

• 100g whole blanched almonds,
  plus 8 to decorate


• 150g golden caster sugar


• 60gfree-rangeeggwhites(about
  2mediumeggs,oruseTwoChicks
  Egg White, twochicks.co.uk, from
  large supermarkets)


• 2 tbsp ground rice or fine
  semolina


• ¼ tsp almond extract

YOU’LL ALSO NEED...

• Disposable plastic or nylon piping
  bag fitted with 1.5cm plain piping
  nozzle


• 2 sturdy baking sheets lined with
  ricepaperornon-stickbaking
  paper (see Debbie’s tips for
  success, right)

1 Heattheovento150°C/130°Cfan/

gas2. Using a small sharp knife,

splitthe8extraalmondsinhalf

lengthwaysand set aside.

2 Puttheremaining100gblanched

almondsinafoodprocessorand

whizz until they’re coarsely ground.

Scoopout 30g and set aside. Add the

sugarto the remainder in the

foodprocessorandwhizzbriefly

untilthenutsareveryfinelyground.

3 Puttheeggwhitesinaclean

mixing bowl and, using an electric

hand mixer, whisk for about

15secondsuntilthey’refoamyand

aerated.Stirinthenutandsugar

mixture, the reserved coarsely

ground nuts, the ground rice or

semolina and the almond extract.

4 Spoonthemixtureintothepiping

bagthen,holdingthenozzle1cm

above the baking sheet, pipe about

1½ tbsp mixture for each macaroon

to make 16 in all, leaving plenty

ofspaceinbetweentoallowfor

spreadingduring baking.

5 Putanalmondhalf,roundedside

up, in the centre of each macaroon

and bake for 20-22 minutes or until

goldenbrownaroundtheedgesand

pale golden in the centre. Slide the

biscuits, still on the paper, onto a

wire rack and leave to cool.

6 If you’ve used rice paper (which

isedible),cutaroundeachmacaroon

toremovetheexcess.Or,ifyou’ve

usednon-stickbakingpaper,liftoff

the macaroons. Store in an airtight

jar or tin (see Make Ahead).

PER MACAROON85kcals, 3.5g fat

(0.3g saturated), 2.2g protein,

11.2g carbs (9.6g sugars), trace salt,

0.1g fibre

44 deliciousmagazine.co.uk

MACAROONS

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