140g/5oz ground almonds
275g/9¾oz icing sugar
25g/1oz cocoa powder
4 free-range egg whites, beaten until stiff peaks form
75ml/2½fl oz whipping cream
75g/2½oz mascarpone cheese
25g/1oz icing sugar
1 vanilla pod, seeds only
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
For the macaroons, blend the almonds, icing sugar and cocoa powder until very fine. (The finer the better - a spice grinder is a great way to achieve this.)
Fold the egg whites into the mix. Place into a piping bag and pipe 3cm/1in circles onto a sheet lined with baking parchment. Leave to set for 15 minutes.
Place in the oven to bake for 7-8 minutes with the door slightly ajar.
Remove the macaroons from the parchment to cool. To do this without them sticking or tearing, lift one corner of the parchment and pour some just boiled water onto the tray. As the water hits the base of the parchment the macaroons will lift off easily.
For the filling, whisk the cream, mascarpone, icing sugar and vanilla seeds together in a bowl. Spread the filling onto one macaroon, then sandwich with another macaroon. Repeat with all of the remaining macaroons until all are used up.
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