English macaroons

Classic English macaroons: chewy, intensely almondy and with natural cracks and holes along the surface. Rustic but sublime!

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English macaroons are a very different beast to the more elegant French macarons, and are so much easier and quicker to make. They have a real charm of their own and are a taste of my childhood baking journey!

These macaroons are, I think, especially great at Christmas, as they give a gloriously sticky marzipan vibe. You can even add some festive flavours such as finely chopped dried cranberries to the mixture, a grating or two of orange zest or even a little cinnamon (no more than half a teaspoon!) if you wish.

Years ago I made what was apparently a social faux pas in a restaurant while being served French macarons with the coffee at the end of the meal. Now I referred to them as “macaroons”……oops!

The waiter, bristling with petulant superciliousness, exclaimed “they are macarons, sir”.  All done with a guttural pronunciation that could well have been from an episode of ‘Allo, ‘Allo!

That told me!

Rice paper on the bases?

You can simply use a double sheet of greaseproof for the tins: having 2 layers helps prevent the bases getting too dark. If the baked macaroons are then left to cool fully on the tins while still on their greaseproof, they will be able to be removed easily with the help of a palette knife being run underneath.

However, you can use edible rice paper, but as the rice paper is prone to getting too dark, it is best place this onto greaseproof too to protect the underside slightly. Once the macarons have been baked and cooled, you can simply cut around the bases of the macaroons.

Nutty variations

While almonds are traditional, I have made these many times with different nuts: walnuts and pistachios work really well, as does a mixture of nuts. But the inclusion of the almond extract really adds a flavour kick.

Storage

Baked macaroons keep well in an airtight container for a week or so, but they – and indeed the batter itself – can also be frozen.

Using macaroons in other dishes

Macaroons are excellent used in desserts such as St Émilion au Chocolat.

They also make a fabulous alternative to a sponge base for trifles and the like: wonderful when doused in rum, sherry, Amaretto and the like!

Recipe: English macaroons – makes about 15

• 110g ground almonds
• 2 medium egg whites
• 150g golden caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon almond extract (not essence)
• a few slices of almonds, pieces of walnuts or halves of glacé cherries to top, optional
•  about 30g melted chocolate of choice to drizzle over, optional

You will also need a couple of solid, flat baking trays, each lined with either a double sheet of greaseproof paper (to prevent the bottoms burning). However, ideally go for 1 sheet of greaseproof paper with a single sheet of edible rice paper on top.

(1) Preheat oven to 170°C(fan) and line the baking trays as above.

(2) Whisk the egg whites on a high speed for about 30 seconds until slightly foamy. Add the sugar in one go, along with the almond extract, and whisk well on a high speed for about 30 seconds more to create a loose meringue that just holds its shape: the sugar will not have fully dissolved, which is what you want!

(3) Add the almonds and beat well with either a wooden or a metal spoon to incorporate, to give a soft batter (as in the picture below). If adding other ingredients such as dried cranberries, orange zest etc…you can mix them in now.

(4) Place teaspoonfuls of the batter a little apart onto the baking trays: this can be done in batches as the batter will sit quite happily while the earlier macaroon batches bake. If you wish, you can pop a slither of almond, a piece of walnut or – for a proper retro finish – half a glacé cherry on top of each!

(5) Bake for about 9 minutes until there is just a little golden-brown around the edges. Leave to cool on the tin while still on the paper. They will be squidgy inside which is perfect, and will firm up a little as they cool. You can bake them 2-3 minutes further if you prefer them darker and slightly less squidgy inside.

• if using rice paper: simply cut around the bases of the cooled macaroons, leaving the rice paper underneath.
• if not using rice paper: run a palette knife underneath the cooled macaroons to remove them.
• if using melted chocolate: either drizzle it over or dip the macaroons into it and leave the chocolate to set.