French macarons with French buttercream

Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar together into a medium bowl through a medium mesh sieve, breaking up larger pieces by hand and discarding any that will not pass.

Process the mixture in a food processor for 30 seconds, scraping the sides, stopping short of almond butter.

Sift the processed mixture again.

Make these on a dry day; the tops have to air dry and egg whites do not whip well in humidity.

Separate three eggs one at a time into a spare bowl so a broken yolk cannot ruin the batch, and weigh out 100 g of whites.

Mix the whites in a very clean stand mixer bowl on medium about 30 seconds until they begin to foam.

Add a quarter teaspoon of cream of tartar.

Keep mixing on medium and add the granulated sugar a tablespoon at a time, slowly, so it melts into the whites.

Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract and scrape the bowl down.

Add gel food coloring now, before the almond flour goes in.

Mix on medium about six minutes to stiff, shiny peaks that hold a sharp point; do not run the mixer faster, which makes large bubbles that leave a hollow shell.

Fold the dry mixture in in thirds, cutting down through the batter with the spatula and bringing it up while turning the bowl.

Macronage: press the batter up from the bottom with the spatula in stages, forcing out air bubbles, until a ribbon holds a figure eight for 10 seconds and the batter is glossy.

Transfer the batter to a large piping bag with a 1A medium round tip.

Glue the parchment corners down with a little batter and pipe one inch dollops about two inches apart with the bag straight up and down, releasing and twirling to avoid a tail.

Keep the rounds off the edges of the pan so they bake in even heat.

Tap the pan to bring the large bubbles to the surface and flatten the tops.

Air dry about 40 minutes, until a dry film forms and a touch does not mar the surface; use a fan or extractor hood on a humid day.

Preheat the oven to 270 F and bake 16 to 18 minutes, rotating the pan 180 degrees after eight minutes.

For the buttercream, combine 100 g of granulated sugar and three tablespoons of water in a saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves.

Raise to medium high, bring to a boil and take the sugar to 240 F, the softball stage.

Whisk five egg yolks on medium until thickened and foamy.

Drizzle the hot sugar in slowly while mixing on medium low, then keep mixing on medium until the bowl is no longer warm; pack the bowl with frozen peas to speed it up.

Add the room temperature butter a tablespoon at a time on medium low.

Add a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of vanilla and mix five to six minutes until smooth and creamy.

Colour with a drop of violet and more pink.

Flip half the shells over and match them by size.

Pipe a ring of buttercream on the flat side, add a dollop of raspberry jam inside the ring and close the sandwich.

Rest a day or two so the filling softens the bottoms of the shells; they keep four to seven days refrigerated or up to two months frozen.