Rosewater, Pomegranate and Raspberry Macarons

Yaaay! Exams are done and dusted for this year and I'm so happy now because I can bake more, post more and sleep more! Here's an adapted recipe for Rosewater, Pomegranate and Raspberry Macarons from Jo Seagar that I made a while ago but hadn't yet got around to posting! Macarons have a bad reputation of being very difficult to make, however they are quite the opposite! The trick is not to rush when adding the caster sugar as you need it to be completely dissolved to get a smooth surface when the macarons are baked. Also, leaving the macarons to dry for at least 40 minutes after piping ensures you will get the perfect "pied" (as the French call it) at the base of your macarons when you bake them. In French bakeries, they leave their macarons overnight to dry but I could never be expected to have that kind of patience.

Rosewater, Raspberry and Pomegranate Macarons

1 cup ground almonds

1 1/4 cups icing sugar

3 egg whites

Pinch of salt

1/3 cup caster sugar

1 T Rosewater (or to taste)

1 batch raspberry buttercream (regular buttercream with freeze-dried raspberry powder and 2T of Pomegranate molasses)

Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper and spray with non-stick baking spray and wipe off the excess, or evenly coat the baking paper with vegetable oil.

Place the ground almonds and icing sugar in a food processor and grind until it is very fine and powder-like, then sieve this powder into a separate, clean bowl to sift out any bits

Place your egg whites and salt in a clean and dry metal, glass or ceramic bowl. (anything other than plastic as this could be harboring unwanted flavours and/or nasty bits that you do not want in your mixture!) Whip until soft peaks form. Then very, very, very slowly add the caster sugar, 1/2 teaspoon at a time until it is fully dissolved in the egg whites. (This step is paramount to getting a nice, smooth finish to your macarons so do not rush! You can test to see if the sugar is dissolved by rubbing a bit of mixture between your fingers to feel for any grittyness) By the time all the sugar is dissolved, you should have firm, glossy peaks.

Add half of the almond and icing sugar mix, rosewater and pomegranate molasses to the egg white and fold in. Add the other half and mix until a smooth, glossy, thick-dripping mixture is formed. 

Using a piping bag with a 1cm tip, pipe small circles 3cm in diameter of mixture onto the prepared tray, leaving about 3-4 cm in between each one. If your macarons have peaks, these can be dabbed with a wet finger to flatten. Tap the trays a couple of times on the bench to release any air bubbles and leave to dry for 40 mins - 1 hour. (You will know they are dry when they are no longer sticky when lightly dabbed with a dry finger) At this point, you should pre-heat your oven to 130ºC.

Bake for 20-30 minutes. Allow to cool before filling with pomegranate and raspberry buttercream.