Makes 12 Macarons

Macarons shell
75gr Ground almonds
75 gr Icing sugar

75gr Caster sugar
55gr Egg whites
14gr Water
0.2 gr Orange colorant
0.2 gr Green colorant
1/8 tsp Garam masala

Cardamom/Cilantro white chocolate ganache
4oz (113gr) White chocolate
1/4 cup (65ml) Whipping cream
1 tbsp Cilantro chopped
4 cardamom pods (crushed)

-To make the macarons, begin with the ground almond base. Place all of the ingredients in the bowl of a food mixer and mix together until the sugar and almonds are really fine.
-Sift them through and set aside while making the Italian meringue.
-Place the egg whites in a clean bowl of a standing mixer and start whisking on a low speed.
-Meanwhile, place the caster sugar and the water in a pan over a medium-high heat to create a syrup. Heat through until the syrup reaches ‘soft ball’ stage, or 118°C (244F) on a sugar thermometer.
-As the thermometer reaches 105°C, increase the speed of the mixer to get a soft peak.
-As soon as the sugar syrup reaches 118°C, reduce the speed of the mixer and slowly pour the hot syrup down the side of the bowl into the egg white mixture. Once all of the syrup has been added, increase the whisking speed again for 1 minute.
-Split the meringue and almond powder mix into 2. One for each colour shell. Add the Garam masala to one of the mix.
-Add the green food colouring and orange to each meringue and whisk gently until the meringue has turned an even colour and has cooled to blood temperature – it should be thick and fluffy
-Gently fold the Italian meringues into each almond base a third at a time (the orange into the Garam masala one), mixing gently with a spatula until each third is fully incorporated before adding the next
-When the mixture is smooth and shiny, transfer to  piping bags with a plain 1cm nozzle and pipe 4.5cm rounds onto baking trays lined with silicone paper. Set aside to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow a dry skin to form.
-Preheat the oven to 130°C (300F).
-Once the macarons have dried, bake in the oven for 14–15 minutes – the discs should be just starting to peel off the paper. Allow to cool completely before filling.
-To make the ganache filling, place the cream, cilantro and cardamom in a pan over a medium heat and bring to the boil.  Meanwhile, place the chocolate in a bowl.
-Remove from the heat and sift the hot cream over the chocolate in the bowl. Leave for 30 seconds to start melting the chocolate then begin blending to create a smooth mixture.
-When ready to assemble, pipe mounds of the ganache filling onto half of the discs then sandwich together with the remaining plain halves, pressing down gently so that the ganache just spreads to the edges.
-Et voilà, Bon Appétit!