Rose scented macarons

It's funny those things you put off. Pastry was the only area of the kitchen I never got round to in all the hotels I worked in, so I've taught myself over the last 10 years. Macarons were that thing that I was always scared to touch. But, then, like everything else, someone asks you if you can do it, and the answer is always 'yes of course!'. And so it was, a couple of years ago.

That first time, the first batch around midnight was a disaster, but the second batch at 2am turned out pretty good. It's all about learning from your mistakes. This time round they were simple - what's the big fuss - it's only meringue really.

Rose syrup to flavour the macarons. Also nice to flavour prosecco. Apparently.

I started this batch, above, at 5am on the day of the event (a wedding afternoon tea), only then realising I didn't have any ground almonds. Nightmare. This is when the Vitamix comes into it's own. Whole skinned almonds blitzed down even finer than the ground almonds you can buy. Result! The trick is being gentle with the folding, and sieving 4 times. Oh and a bit of patience......

I used this recipe and flavoured it with rose syrup which you can buy at asian food shops.

How far apart to pipe macarons? There's a handy template here - you just place your greaseproof paper over it and pipe into the circles - life made easy!