Three Tier Multi-Colour Macaroon Cake

If you have a friend or family member who likes cake but who also likes macaroons and you can't decide which to make them...why not give them both in this three tier multi-colour macaroon cake. You can choose any colour of macaroon you like, I quite fancy making another one with a rainbow of macaroons and it looks quite impressive without being too difficult!

This cake is based on a design by the cake decorator Zoe Clark, she made hers with 4 tiers and with a slightly different shade of yellowy/peach on the extra tier.

To make the macaroons I used the Italian meringue method, which I have been reliably informed is the best method. The first batch I made were the pink ones, I think the egg whites may have been slightly overbeaten in this batch as the mixture was very stiff and I couldn't get rid of the peaks. However, with a bit of practice the peach and yellow macaroons came out a lot better. You can find recipes for macaroons on the internet and in many recipe books but here are my top tips for macaroon making.

Top tips for making macaroons:

1. When heating your sugar and water make sure you use a heavy based saucepan and have a thermometre on hand as the temperatures need to be very precise.
2. Mark out circles on your greaseproof paper using a circular cutter as a guide to give your macaroons a uniform size. Don't forget to turn your paper over to use it, otherwise the pencil will come off on the macaroons!
3. To pipe, don't try to go round in a circle. Just hold the nozzle still and pipe, the shape will form on it's own. When you reach the edges of your circle template, stop putting pressure on the piping bag and quickly swirl the nozzle to avoid a peak. This can be achieved with a flick of the wrist.
4. When you have finished piping your macaroons, tap the tray on the counter top to get rid of any ridges or peaks.
5. Once piped, leave your macaroons for around 30 minutes before putting them in the oven. They should form a skin over the top.
6. Finally, whilst cooking your macaroon should grow in size and a little foot should develop around the base of each macaroon as you can see above.

Mad About Macaroons

Yesterday I attended a much anticipated Macaroon course at Cakes 4 Fun in Putney. It was a great day of Macaroon madness! When we arrived we watched a demonstration of how to make the macaroons using the Italian method, before setting to work on 3 batches of our own. By lunchtime we were surrounded by trays and trays of macaroons, raspberry, lemon and chocolate. On top of that our lovely tutor made us pistachio, as well as some cinnamon flavoured macaroons. Before they went in the oven we were able to add some decorations to our pink macaroons, including little coloured balls (dragees), pink sugar and royal icing flowers.

In addition, we then made some Swiss meringue buttercream to which we added a variety of flavours. At the end of the day we all ended up with:

• Lemon macaroons with lemon curd buttercream
• Chocolate macaroons with ganache
• Raspberry macaroons with raspberry jam buttercream (white chocolate ganache also goes well!)
• Cinnamon macaroons with buttercream
• Pistachio macaroons with pistachio paste buttercream

If you consider that a single macaroon at that well-known French macaroon patisserie costs £1.40…then all of a sudden this course seems like extremely good value. We left at the end of the day with around 50 macaroons… which would cost you about £70 if you bought them in a shop… and they were just as delicious but with the added satisfaction of being homemade!

So what were the top tips from the day?

• Use the Italian method rather than the French method
• Don't bother to draw out circles to pipe your macaroons
• Leave your macaroons to rest for at least 30 minutes once piped before putting in the oven - until they go dull and form a skin

So what did I do with all my macaroons? Well I popped a few in these fab Christmassy gift bags and gave them out with my Christmas cards today, along with yesterday's biscotti! Although, I may have also sampled one or two myself!! ;-)

I would thoroughly recommend this course if you have a penchant for Macaroons…although, I already have a little bit of a Macaroon addiction and I’m sure being able to make them at home can only make it worse!