Monstrous Macaroons

Yes, I made Halloween macaroons. You see, on my MA Journalism course we have 2 days of 'shorthand bootcamp' this week, and I felt we needed snacks to sustain us. Having not tried to bake macaroons before, I thought now was the perfect time to attempt them. I had delicious flavour combinations in mind: chilli-chocolate and lime, and pumpkin pie. But then this happened:

They're hideous! Don't get me wrong, they taste amazing, but macaroons are supposed to be smooth and glossy and perfectly round, not porous and pockmarked and cracked and misshapen. And these were my second attempt.

I don't know what I did wrong, but how could I ever face Mary and Paul with these monstrosities? This is a new baking low. I won't give you the recipe because it obviously doesn't work, but I will tell you that chilli chocolate ganache and white chocolate and lime ganache are both AMAZING and I have enough left over to either attempt macaroons again or make chilli and lime truffles. So I'll give you the recipes for those.

Chilli chocolate ganache:

180ml double cream

160g chilli chocolate

Melt the chocolate in a ceramic bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Once completely liquid: add the cream, stir until combined completely and leave to cool until set to a spreadable rather than pourable consistency. If desired add some chilli flakes but be careful! You want a touch of heat, not to blow someone's head off.

Lime and white chocolate ganache:

120ml double cream
140g white chocolate
zest of 1 lime
juice of half a lime

Use the same method as above, adding the juice and zest to the chocolate and cream mixture.

Bye
xxx