Italian-style macaroon shells |

Preparation time: 60 min

Preheat your Oven at 290 °F

• Realisation

  1ʳᵉ step

  Gather the powdered sugar and almond powder in a food processor, blend, making sure the mixture appears to you as a single color. Then pass the powder through a sieve.

  Pour the first quantity of white into a bowl, add the powder and mix well with a spatula.

  It's precisely at this point that you can add powdered coloring (ideally) if you wish.

  Italian meringue

  Pour the second half of the egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer. Whip at medium speed.

  In a saucepan, pour in the water and then the sugar, place over high heat, bring to the boil, then cook until it reaches a temperature of between 118°C and 121°C max, (244°F and 245°F). While the sugar is cooking, increase the speed to whip the egg whites.

  When the sugar reaches around 119°C, stop cooking and immediately pour the sugar gently over the whites, which won't stop turning.

  Leave the meringue to cool.

  Mix

  Gradually fold the Italian meringue into your first mixture (almond/sugar/white) using a spatula. Then, ideally, use a horn to macerate the mixture. This will give the mixture the desired texture and shine.

  All that's left is to poach the shells on a baking tray with baking paper.

• Baking

  Poke (lay) the macaroon dough evenly onto the baking trays. Once the tray is full, lightly tap it over its entire surface. This will even out the shells and remove any air bubbles.

  Leave the shells to dry on the counter for a good twenty minutes, then gently touch them with your fingertips. If your finger remains clean, you can put them in the oven.

  Allow an average of 12 minutes, then turn the tray and leave for a further 10 minutes.

  Make sure they're cooked through.