Whittlebury Park’s Head Pastry Chef, Ben Clark, has shared his recipe for an Irish cream and chocolate macaroon. These delicate and light creations would make a luxurious addition to a summer picnic, accompanied with a glass of fizz!

Ingredients

Macaroon:

285g ground almonds

285g icing sugar

30g cocoa powder

110g egg whites(first quantity)

300g caster sugar

75g water

110g egg whites(second quantity)

Ganache

220ml double cream

250g milk chocolate, melted

125g soft butter

50g Irish cream 

Method:

Mixthe ground almonds, icing sugar and cocoa powder together and put through a drum sieve.Mix the first quantity of egg whiteswith the almonds, icing sugar and cocoa powder to make a paste.

Put the sugar and water into a pan and bring to the boil, until it reaches 118ocWhen the syrup mixture is at 114oc, start whisking the second quantity of egg whites.When the sugar syrup has reached 118oc, pour into the whisked egg whitesand whisk until cold. This will become “Italian meringue”.

Scrape the almond paste mixture down from the sides of the bowlthen add the whippedItalian meringue inthree stages gently to avoid over mixing.Once folded in, pipe onto trays using a round tipped nozzle into 10 pence sized dropsand leave to crust over for 10 mins and then cook at 140oc with no fan for 10-14 mins.

Whilst the macaroons are resting and cooking make the ganache and set in the fridge, this could also be prepared the day before.

For the Granache – Boil the double cream and Irish cream and pour into the melted chocolate. Whisk in the softened butter, chill then beat again until smooth. Pipe a small amount of filling and sandwich between two shells