Chocolate Mint Macarons

Ingredients

60g egg whites

30g caster sugar

50g ground almonds

15g Dutch cocoa powder

110g icing sugar

Pinch salt

⅛ tsp tartar

Mint butter cream:                                          

125g Westgold Unsalted Butter, soft                              

70g icing sugar                                       

1 ½ -2 tsp peppermint essence

Green colouring

Mint ganache:

125g Westgold Unsalted Butter

70g icing sugar

1 Tbsp Dutch cocoa

70g dark chocolate (70%) melted

2 tsp peppermint essence

Method

Line 2 oven trays with baking paper. Take a 5cm glass or biscuit cutter and draw around the outside - this will be a guide to help you pipe even sized macarons. Place another piece of baking paper over the top of the circle stencils.

Beat egg whites to soft peaks, slowly tip in the caster sugar, then salt and cream of tartar.

Beat until stiff and the sugar is dissolved. Process the ground almonds, icing sugar and cocoa in a food processor until well combined.

Fold in ⅓ almond mixture to meringue to loosen, then 2^nd third, then remainder, carefully incorporating using a flexible spatula. The mixture should be smooth and gently flowing.

Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with an 8mm piping nozzle. Pipe onto the paper topped stencil. Slide of the stencil out from under the piped macarons – the stencil can be kept for next time.

Tap the tray on the bench lightly to bring any air bubbles to the top. Leave the macarons to dry – to test whether they’re dry, lightly touch the top with your finger and it should not stick (this can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on room temperature).

While the macarons are drying, preheat the oven to 160°C.  Bake for 12-13 minutes, then slip off the tray onto the bench when cooked. Leave to cool on the paper.

To make the butter cream:

Whip the Westgold Butter using an electric beater until light and creamy.

Add the icing sugar and peppermint essence to taste and beat again until light and aerated.

Add a few drops of green colouring. Spoon into a piping bag and join the macarons together and leave in a cool place to set.

To make the ganache:

Whip the Westgold Butter using an electric beater until light and creamy.

Add the icing sugar, cocoa, peppermint essence and melted chocolate and beat again until well mixed.

Spoon the ganache into a piping bag and join the macarons together and leave in a cool place to set.

Note: the butter cream and ganache recipes are both enough for 12 macarons. If you are wanting a half and half mix of butter cream and ganache macarons, halve the recipes.