Instructions

For the Macarons

1. Place the almond flour, powdered sugar and cocoa powder into a food processor and pulse it 10-12 times to break any big pieces of almond.
2. Sieve (a tool similar to a strainer) this mixture into a bowl and discard any large chunks.
3. In another clean bowl, take the egg whites and start to whisk it with an electric whisk until it starts to get frothy.
4. Now start adding one tbsp of sugar gradually into the whipping egg-whites.
5. Add the next spoonful of sugar once the previous one is fully incorporated into the egg whites.
6. Keep the speed of the whisk at low to medium during this entire process.
7. Once all the sugar has been added, sprinkle the cream of tartar over the meringue and whisk it for a couple of minutes until it is fully incorporated.
8. Now add approximately one-third of the meringue into the dry mixture.
9. Using a spatula, mix this evenly to form a thick paste.
10. Now add the remaining egg whites and start to gently fold it into the batter.
11. Once most of the egg whites are mixed into the batter, start to test making a figure 8 with the batter after every fold.
12. When the batter is ready, you should be able to drop the batter from the spatula into a figure 8 without the batter ribbon breaking.
13. Place the batter into a clean piping bag fitted with a round nozzle.
14. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
15. You can use a stencil or draw rounds on the paper to help you pipe the macarons. Keep the ink side down before piping.
16. Now start piping dollops of batter into the middle of the circles.
17. Tap the tray on the work surface 4-5 times to knock any extra air bubbles trapped in the batter.
18. Now let the piped macarons sit at room temperature for around 15-45 minutes until a film forms on top of the macarons.
19. Bake the macarons at 160 degrees Celsius (or 320 Fahrenheit) for about 18-20 minutes.
20. Let these cool to room temperature before removing from the parchment paper.

For the Salted Caramel Ganache

1. Add the sugar to a heavy bottom
   pan and place it over medium heat.
2. Once the edges of the sugar starts to melt and change color, give it a stir and let it cook until all the sugar has melted completely.
3. Now take it off the heat and stir in the butter, followed by the cream.
4. Once the butter and cream are fully incorporated, add the chocolate that has been chopped into small pieces.
5. Stir it until all the chocolate is evenly mixed.
6. Add the salt and give it another mix.
7. Let it cool to room temperature
   and then let it cool in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.
8. Add the ganache into a piping bag.
9. Now flip half of the macarons over so that the base is facing up.
10. Pipe a big dollop of the caramel ganache on these flipped macarons.
11. Place the remaining macarons on top of the ganache, pressing down gently until the ganache spreads to the edges. Enjoy the macarons and store in an airtight container.