International Recipe : Hazelnut Macaroons

This elegant macaroon is light-as-air and has a chocolate centre. Great with coffee.

Ingredients:

Chocolate Ganache:

• 500g cream (35% fat, can use whipping cream)
  
• 500g dark chocolate coverture, chopped

Macaroons:

• 945g egg white
  
• 200g caster sugar
  
• 2kg icing sugar
  
• 1.3kg ground hazelnut

Directions:

1. First, prepare the chocolate ganache filling. Boil the cream and pour a third of it unto the chopped chocolate.
2. Make an elastic mass by stirring the mixture continuously. Repeat the procedure until all the cream has been mixed in.
3. Rest in an air-conditioned room overnight to firm up before using.
4. To make macaroons, whisk the egg white until soft peaks form, then gently add the caster sugar and continue whisking to soft peaks.
5. Combine the icing sugar and hazelnut and fold this into the egg white gently.
6. Pipe or drop by spoonfuls onto a lined baking tray and bake in a preheated oven at 170 degrees C for 12 minutes.
7. When cool enough to handle, spread chocolate ganache on the flat surface of macaroon cookie and sandwich another cookie together. Store in air-tight containers.