Additional Ingredients

For the filling

How to make Jubilee Macaroons

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1. These macaroons are made using the sugar syrup method which makes the most professional looking macaroons but does require a sugar thermometer. If you don’t have one, try the other macaroon recipes on Baking Mad.com which will also work well. Ideally you also need an electric stand mixer for this recipe. Please note this recipe uses red and blue Silverspoon Create Food Colouring which is the prefect consistency for adding to macaroons. The gold macaroons have been created by painted the uncolored mix with gold lustre. Please read the instructions carefully right through before you begin, these are not difficult to make, but you need to have everything to hand and have no distractions!
2. Line 2 baking trays with non stick baking parchment. Have ready three large piping bags and a plain 1cm wide piping nozzle.
3. Measure the egg whites very accurately, placing 60 grams in one large bowl and 60 grams in the mixing bowl of an electric stand mixer.
4. Place the icing sugar and ground almonds in a food processor and whiz until smooth, then sieve to remove any small grains of almond (this is not essential but will give you a smoother macaroon).
5. Tip the almonds and icing sugar into the first bowl of egg whites (not the one for the mixer) and beat until it forms a thick paste.
6. Place the granulated sugar into a small pan and add 50 ml cold water. Heat gently then bring to the boil, stir the syrup with the sugar thermometer, just once or twice to make sure the sugar has dissolved (do not stir too much or the syrup will crystalise, if any crystals form on the side of the pan wash them down with a wet pastry brush). Boil until the sugar thermometer reaches 110c, then start whisking the egg whites to firm peaks. Keep an eye on the syrup at the same time and as soon as it reaches 118c remove the syrup from the heat (do not take it to 120 firm ball as this is too far)
7. Trickle the hot syrup into the egg whites with the mixer running, until it is all incorporated and you have a smooth shiny meringue.
8. Place the meringue mixture into the bowl of almond mixture and using a large metal spoon fold the two together until smooth and it forms a thick ribbon. Divide the mixture into three bowls. Add about 1/2 tsp of red colouring to one bowl, and blue to the other until evenly mixed but do not overmix.
9. Place each mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1 cm wide plain nozzle (if you only have one bag you can wash the nozzle inbetween use for each one).
10. Pipe small macaroons about 2.5cm around onto the paper. They will not spread very much so can be fairly close to each other. Press the mixture out, keeping the bag close to the paper until the macaroon is large enough, then twist the piping bag and lift away quickly. Any little points on the mixture should disappear but if not, use a damp finger to soften them.
11. Allow the macaroons to rest on the work surface for 30 minutes, this will help them form a smooth surface and create the “foot’ when baked.
12. Preheat the oven to 170°C, 150°C fan, gas 3. Bake the macaroons for just 14 minutes. If the macaroons begin to brown, cover them with a sheet of baking parchment after 10 mins.
13. When baked, the macaroons should lift easily from the baking parchment. Place the sheet of paper and the macaroons on the work surface or cooling rack to cool.
14. To colour the gold macaroons, brush the cooled cream/white macaroons with gold lustre.
15. To make the filling: Whip the cream and use to sandwich the macaroons together with a little jam of your choice. These will keep for 1 day in the fridge, or for 2 days unfilled in a cake tin.

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