The amazing, master macaron and cake artist Nicholas Ang of The White Ombre taught us to make macarons. Here is the recipe that he uses to make the shells. (See also the video with Nicholas Ang: "Live! Teddy Bear Macarons with Nick Ang")

INGREDIENTS
- 150 grams Ground Almonds (5.3 oz - or ground hazelnuts)
- 150 grams Confectioners Sugar (5.3 oz)
- 55 grams Egg Whites (1.9 oz (weight not fluid oz))
- 60 grams Water (2 oz (weight not fluid oz), about 4 tablespoons)
- 165 grams Granulated Sugar (5.8 oz, about 7/8 cup)
- 55 grams Egg Whites (1.9 oz (weight not fluid oz))

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to between 155 – 160 Celsius (311 - 320 Fahrenheit).

Sift together the ground almonds and icing sugar using a fine sift.

In a large bowl, combine the sifted almonds and powdered sugar as well as the egg whites and stir till well combined. Mixture should be thick and pasty.

In a heavy saucepan mix the water and sugar. Bring to a boil and continue to boil until it reaches 115 C (239 Fahrenheit) (use a candy thermometer). At the same time, whip the remaining egg whites (last ingredient from the ingredient list) on high speed till foamy. Reduce the speed to medium and carefully pour the hot sugar mixture between the spinning whisk and the bowl, and continue whipping at high speed till the bowl feels cool/slightly warm, but not hot.

With a firm spatula, combine the ground almond mixture and the meringue mixture together with any desired coloring, carefully folding till the mixture flows like lava and is able to flatten out by itself. Try to keep the mixture together and not spread it all over the bowl too much as the mixture will dry out. Under-folding will give a shell that is not smooth, over-folding will give a shell that is too flat.

Fill a piping bag with a small piping tip (No. 8 or 10 for large areas and No. 3-5 for small details) and pipe the mixture onto the parchment in the desired shapes.

Lightly tap the tray till the tops of the macarons have smoothed out. Leave the tray uncovered for at least 30mins at room temperature till a skin forms on the surface. The macaron will look matte and not shiny.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Leave the shells to cool at room temperature completely (at least 10 minutes) before assembly.

NOTES
When using ganache or buttercream filling, macarons can be refrigerated for up to a week or left out at room temperature for up to three days.

Macarons freeze extremely well in airtight containers.

To defrost macarons, leave in airtight container and place in the refrigerator until thawed.