Easter Mini Macarons Recipe From Bonne Maman ♥

*This recipe and image is courtesy of Bonne Maman, makers of delicious preserves, served in their iconic gingham topped jar.

Easter is one of my favourite times of year - flowers in bloom, baby animals, sunshine and an occasion where we gift each other chocolate - what's not to love?! I've begun searching for some Easter inspiration in terms of crafts, DIY and recipes already and came across this delicious one for Easter Mini Macrons by Bonne Maman - makers of my favourite jam.

Macarons are absolutely delicious! These mini macarons are crispy on top yet chewy and fruity inside, coming in all the pretty pastel colours of spring. Serve in an Easter themed Bonne Maman jar for a lovely homemade gift idea for family and friends or as a delicious and fun serving when entertaining over the Easter weekend or wanting something fun and yummy to treat the kids with.

For extra Easter fun with little ones, you could paint a farmyard animal or Easter bunny and simply stick on top of the jar lid.

This recipe from Bonne Maman makes about 50 shells, or 25 macarons and is sure to be a sweet treat for everyone who gets to sample them!

Ingredients
2 large egg whites
150g icing sugar
65g ground almonds
40g caster sugar
Gel colouring
For the buttercream
30g unsalted butter, softened
40g icing sugar
1 tsp Bonne Maman Conserve, e.g. Raspberry, Apricot or Fig
Gel colouring, e.g. red, orange or green

Method
1. Put the egg whites in a clean, medium-sized bowl and leave at room temperature for 10-15 minutes.
Meanwhile, put the icing sugar and ground almonds together in a blender and whizz together for 1-2 minutes until a fine powder. Sieve this powder onto a plate, discarding any rough pieces of almond that may remain in the sieve.

2. Heat the oven to 150C, fan oven 130C, gas mark 2. Using an electric whisk, beat the egg whites into very soft peaks. Slowly add the caster sugar, whisking all the time until the egg whites become very stiff and shiny.

3. With a spatula or large metal spoon, fold about a third of the almond mixture into the meringue, with 3-4 drops of the gel colouring. Fold until just mixed in.

4. Fold half the remaining almond mixture into the bowl until just mixed. Now, fold the remaining almond mixture in and keep folding and stirring until the mixture looks like loose wet sand and you can make a figure of eight with the mixture with the spatula or spoon.

5. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment and either pipe out small even rounds of mixture or drop even-sized amounts from the tip of a teaspoon.

6. Bang the baking sheets on the work surface to get rid of any air bubbles, then leave them at room temperature for an hour. This allows the macarons to form a skin on top before baking.
Bake for about 10-15 minutes, depending on size. They should be firm enough to lift easily off the baking sheets. Cool on a wire rack.

7. For the buttercream beat together all the ingredients until smooth making your own colours and flavourings. Chill for 30 minutes before spreading a little on the base of half the macaron shells. Sandwich together with the remaining macarons and smooth off the filling. Chill for about 1 hour before serving.

*Top tips*

• Blending and sieving the almonds and icing sugar helps create the traditional smooth macaron tops.
• Make the mixture slightly stronger in colour than you want it, as it fades on cooking.
• Any left-over buttercream will freeze for your next batch of macarons or cakes.
• The macarons should be left to chill after filling to allow the centre to soften and become chewy. They freeze well for up to 2 months. Allow 30 minutes at room temperature to thaw.

I hope you enjoy this delicious recipe from Bonne Maman if you decide to make it. The macarons would make for very tasty and pretty treats this Easter.