How to make your own chocolate mint macaroons

What better way to make the most of warm days ahead, then with some chocolate mint macaroons. The recipe for this French treat may be long, but the results are worth it.

What you’ll need:

• 165g almond flour
• 165g caster sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 150g granulated sugar
• 4 eggs
• ½ tsp. tartar cream
• 4-6 drops green food colouring
• 235ml cream
• 2 tbsp. light corn syrup
• 11 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 tsp. peppermint extract

What you’ll need to do:

1. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Sift almond flour, caster sugar and salt a bowl and then set aside.
3. Whisk together granulated sugar, egg whites and tartar cream by hand to combine. Then with an electric mixture whisk for ten minutes, until the mixture is meringue is glossy with stiff peaks.
4. Then add the dry mixture to the egg white mixture and fold using a large spatula until both mixtures are smooth and shiny. Fold in food colouring into the new mixture. The batter should be nicely firm and drip slowly from the spatula.
5. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a ½-inch round tip and pipe one-inch rounds on prepared baking sheets. Rap bottom of each sheet with hand to release trapped air.
6. Let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Check for slight crust to form – macaroons should not stick to finger when lightly touched.
7. Preheat oven to 110°C. Bake one sheet at a time for 15 minutes, rotating halfway through.
8. Increase temperature to 180°C and bake for an additional 9 minutes.
9. Let macaroons cool on sheets for 2-3 minutes and transfer parchment sheets to a wire rack to let cool completely before filling. Use an offset spatula to remove from sheets.
10. Now it’s time to work on the ganache (sauce between the macaroon shells). Place chopped chocolate in a medium heat safe bowl and set aside.
11. In a small saucepan, bring cream, corn syrup, and pure mint extract to a boil over medium high heat.
12. Remove from heat and immediately pour over the chocolate. Allow chocolate to sit for two minutes before stirring until smooth. Add butter and stir until fully incorporated and the chocolate is shiny.
13. Allow to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Transfer ganache to a pastry bag fitted with a ½-inch round piping tip.
14. Pair together shells of like size and shape before starting to fill.
15. Pipe a generous layer of ganache on the flat side of half of the shells and sandwich with the matching shells flat side down.
16. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.