Chocolate Macaroons

Taken from How to be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson

(if you haven't noticed I have a new book!!) 

250g icing sugar

125g ground almonds

25g cocoa powder

4 large egg whites

25g caster sugar

for the ganache filling

90ml (6tbsp) double cream

150g plain chocolate, chopped

45g (3 tbsp) unsalted butter

1. Pre-heat oven 180*C/gas mark 4 line your baking sheets (I used whoopie pie tins….see pictures)
2. Sift icing sugar, ground almonds, and cocoa powder.
3. Whisk the egg whites until half-stiff, then sprinkle over the caster sugar and continue whisking until stiff, but not dry.
4. Gradually fold in the sifted ingredients
5. Fit the icing nozzle into the bag, sit it in a tall glass, turn the bag back to form a cuff and fill with the macaroon mixture. Pipe out 5cm rounds and leave to stand for 15 minutes to form a skin. (I don’t have piping bags so I used a Ziploc but was over zealous and didn’t think it through when I filled the small makeshift-piping bag with the batter. So, when I went to squeeze it out it all came out the top!!)
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes: you want them dry on top, but still chewy underneath (I think I baked mine too long as they were too dry)
7. When cool sandwich with the ganache (which I never made because I couldn’t get mine off the pans without smooshing them so I shoved them all in a Ziploc container)

To make the ganache: heat all the ingredients in a saucepan until the chocolate is just melted. Off the heat, whisk until thick, and when cool spread with a knife on the underside of one macaroon, than stick another macaroon to it.

trying to get them out of the pan...

all the macaroons smooshed in a ziploc container

I scraped up my pan... oops.

This was my first ever attempt at macaroons. Although a few bumps along the way, not using a proper piping bag, pan, and baking too long (I think?) they tasted good! I cut them into chunks like a cake or brownie and smothered in the double cream which was suppose to be for the ganache.