Making French Macarons - Part One!

Raspberry and Chocolate Macaron

After a long day at work, making macarons seemed to a great idea to relieve stress! I have only made these badboys once, and may I say they were an absolute FAIL! I made them with my Mum  around the same time I made my first giant cupcake two years ago.

Up until today, I had developed a macaron baking phobia if you may. But they taste sooo good and are sooo pretty! Surely I could have them on the Amaze menu! So with a lot of determination and plenty of self-belief I put my baking skills to the test once again (eek)!

Judging from the picture I think I did OK, and I will only give myself an OK as they are certainly not perfect! I am happy that my macarons have 'feet' and did rise. However, I am not so happy about the lumpiness of the outer shells and the very pale colour.

For my next batch there a few things I need to do differently:

• Process my almond meal for a little longer.
• Use powdered food coloring instead of gel.
• Take my time and breath a little!

And maybe, just maybe I may make the 'perfect' macaron.