Hazelnut Macaroons with Vanilla Buttercream and Chocolate Macaroons

by Ana-Maria Chira

Hazelnut Macaroons with Vanilla Buttercream and Chocolate Macaroons

(Adapted from a Waitrose recipe)

Memories... What are they? They feel like a gentle waft of air, they remind me of the beauty found sometimes in a detail and that the imponderable weighs sometimes the most in life.  A tapestry of beautiful little things, like the treasures we collect in a box when children, sometimes weighing no more than a gentle breath. They are linked with nothing, other than us and the splendid details in which life, with its intrinsic beauty, likes to lose its trace... 

For me cooking and baking is about memories, of family, of childhood, of places we travel to ... and about sharing these memories with you and others. These macaroons are lovely wrapped up and taken to a friend as a gift or if left on a plate in the kitchen, the kids will make them just disappear. 

Makes about 25 filled macaroons

Ingredients:

For the macaroons

175 g caster sugar

70 ml water

65 g egg whites

175 g whole roasted hazelnuts 

175 g icing sugar

65 g egg whites

For the vanilla butter cream:

140g butter, softened

280g icing sugar

1-2 tbsp milk

few drops of vanilla essence

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 140C. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2.To make the Italian meringue, place the caster sugar and water in a small saucepan and heat until 114C. Put 65 g egg whites in a large food mixer with the whisk attached and whisk until stiff peaks form. Gradually pour the sugar syrup on the egg whites while the food mixer is running until you have a thick, glossy, stiff meringue.

3. Blitz the whole roasted hazelnuts in a food processor until very finely ground,

4. In a large bowl add the ground roasted hazelnuts, icing sugar and 65 g egg whites and mix until it forms a paste.

5. Gradually add the Italian meringue to the hazelnut paste and place the mixture in a piping bag. Cut the end of the piping bag to a 1cm whole.

6. Pipe the macaroons roughly the size of a 10p piece in straight lines leaving a 2cm gap in between each macaroon. 

Place in the oven for 14 minutes.

Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before transferring onto a cooling rack. When completely cold, sandwich the macaroons together in pairs with the vanilla butter cream

To make the filling, beat the butter until creamy, then add the 1/2 of the icing sugar and beat until smooth. Add the remaining icing sugar and one tablespoon of the milk and beat the mixture until creamy and smooth. Beat in the milk, if necessary, to loosen the mixture. Stir in the vanilla essence and stir to combine.

Chocolate Macaroons
Replace the hazelnuts with 175 g ground almonds and 2 tablespoons of sifted cocoa, then continue with step 4. Use Nutella Chocolate Spread to sandwich the macaroons together.