Authentic Macarons Recipe Paris, France

First, prepare the baking trays. Line them with parchment paper that's marked with circles that are 3.8 cm (1.5-inch) wide and with a 2 cm (2/3-inch) spacing in between each (place the parchment paper circle-side down!).

Sift together the ground almonds and confectioners' sugar into a large bowl — best using a wide mesh sieve.

Place a bowl over a pan of simmering water and place inside the chopped cocoa solids chocolate, leaving it to melt until it reaches the temperature of 50°C/122°F.

Get the egg whites and divide them into two equally-sized portions. Add food coloring to one-half of the egg whites, as well as the confectioners' sugar and almond mixture, but do not mix. In a separate bowl, beat the remaining egg whites until soft peaks have formed and set aside.

In a small saucepan, slowly heat the sugar and the mineral water until the sugar has dissolved, then bring the syrup to a boil while tracking the temperature with a thermometer.

Once the temperature of the syrup has reached 118°C/244°F, slowly pour it into the egg whites while constantly beating until the egg whites have cooled to 50°C/122°F.

Combine the egg whites with the almonds, icing sugar, and egg white mixture, then mix and add the melted chocolate and stir. Once incorporated, beat the batter forcefully for about a minute using a wooden spoon.

Spoon the batter into a piping bag fitted with 10 mm (1/2-inch) plain tip.

Pipe the macaron batter onto the parchment-lined baking tray and into the designated circles.

Once you've used up all the batter, sprinkle the rounds with powdered cocoa just so that they are dotted with a few freckles.

Tap the baking trays against the working surface a few times and then leave them aside uncovered for half an hour until the shells get a skin layer on their surface.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F and bake each baking tray for 12 minutes, making sure to let the steam escape by quickly opening and closing the oven door twice during baking.

Once baked, remove from the oven and place the parchment papers with shells onto a work surface to cool.

To make the ganache, first, cut the butter into pieces and put the chocolate into a bowl.

Boil the cream and pour it over chopped chocolate in thirds, whisking after each pour. At first, the mixture will separate and appear grainy, but as you continue whisking, it will blend.

Once the chocolate mixture has cooled to 50°C/122°F, add the chopped pieces of butter and beat until you achieve a smooth consistency.

Pour the prepared ganache into a wide dish and cover it firmly by pressing the cling film onto the surface. Refrigerate until it's thick enough to pipe.

To assemble the macarons, first spoon the ganache into a piping bag fitted with a 10mm (1/2-inch) plain tip.

Pipe a generous mound onto a shell, top it with a second shell, and lightly twist to get the filling to spread evenly.

Store the assembled and covered macarons in the fridge for at least 24 hours before serving, as that will get the inside of the shells to soften.

When ready to serve, get out of the fridge and bring to room temperature.