-- Macaroons
100 g ground almonds
100 g Chelsea Icing Sugar
80 g egg whites
30 g Chelsea Caster Sugar
Gel food colours (optional)

-- Hazelnut Buttercream
135 g hazelnut praline paste
95 g unsalted butter at room temperature

- Macaroons
Mix the Chelsea Icing Sugar and ground almonds together with a whisk. Sieve the mixture to remove any big lumps of almond. Put aside and prepare the French meringue.

With an electric hand mixer whisk the white eggs.
When bubbles form on the side add 1/3 of Chelsea Caster Sugar and keep whisking.
When waves are forming on the top add another 1/3 of caster sugar.
Keep whisking and when the meringue is almost ready add the rest of caster sugar to obtain a fluffy firm meringue.
Add a little food colouring if desired and mix 30 seconds to incorporate the colour well.
Pour the meringue onto the dry ingredients.
With a silicon spatula crush the meringue onto the dry ingredients until well incorporated.
Pour the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle.
Pipe into a baking tray covered with parchment paper.
Incline the piping bag by 45 degrees to avoid a peak on the top of the shell.
Drop the baking tray on the bench a few times to level the piped mixture and remove air bubbles.
Bake 15 minutes at 150°C or until a nice cracked 'foot' is formed around the bottom.
Cool down 2 minutes on the tray and then transfer onto a rack and leave to cool 30 minutes.
Match up similar sizes macarons into pairs. Pipe the cream into the centre of one macaron shell.
Put the complementary shell on the top and to close the macaron twist both shells in a reverse movement.

-- Hazelnut Butter Cream
In a stand mixer add butter and hazelnut praline paste, mix for 1 - 2 minutes until you obtain a creamy hazelnut paste. Store in the fridge before piping onto the macarons.