Nut-Free French Macarons

1. 1

   Preheat oven to exactly 150C.

2. 2

   Sift the dry ingredients together.

3. 3

   Discard the rougher bits of cereal.

4. 4

   Put the ingredients for the meringue into a bowl and beat using an electric mixer until it is so stiff that you can turn the bowl upside down and see no movement.

5. 5

   This will take about 10-12 minutes depending on your mixer.

6. 6

   If you are using any colouring or flavouring, add to the meringue now and beat for a couple more minutes.

7. 7

   You should colour it stronger because the colour will fade while baking.

8. 8

   Sift the dry ingredients into the meringue and fold until incorporated, turning the bowl as you do so.

9. 9

   (The folding motion is important: scrape the sides and bottom and turn it towards the middle.)

10. 10

    Be careful not to overmix or undermix the batter, or the Macarons will not turn out nice.

11. 11

    The end product should be smooth and not runny (lift the spoon up and check if the batter is still thick.

12. 12

    The ribbon should sink slowly into the batter).

13. 13

    Pipe circles of batter onto a cookie sheet lined with non-stick baking parchment, spaced well apart.

14. 14

    Rap firmly on counter several times to let the macarons set (this will prevent it from getting cracked.

15. 15

    Note that the circles will spread slightly when you rap it on the counter, so make sure you have enough space reserved between the circles.

16. 16

    ), then leave on counter for twenty minutes or so until they form a soft crust.

17. 17

    Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the Macarons come off the paper easily.

18. 18

    Pair even sized Macarons together.

19. 19

    Add a dollop of your favourite filling (Nutella, jam, chocolate ganache etc) and sandwich together.

20. 20

    I used caramel buttercream.

21. 21

    Serve warm or keep in refrigerator :)

* Per serving · 4 servings · Values may vary.