Mojito Macarons

Place the mint leaves (washed and finely chopped) along with the lime zest into the 25 g (0.9 oz) of cold cream. Leave to infuse for a good half-hour.

Melt the white chocolate in a bain-marie.

Mix the infused cream with the honey and bring just to the boil.

When the cream is hot, add it to the melted white chocolate in 3 additions. Stir until the mixture is smooth.

Add the remaining cold full-fat liquid cream. Stir to combine.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or ideally overnight). If you’re in a hurry like me, 30 minutes to 1 hour in the freezer will do the trick.

The next day (or a few hours later), place the whisk attachments of the electric beater in the freezer for about 15 minutes.

Remove the ganache from the fridge and whip it like a chantilly cream. You should end up with a thicker, creamier whipped ganache.

Blitz the icing sugar and ground almonds together, then sift the mixture.

Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, adding the caster sugar in 2 additions and whisking at maximum speed to achieve the “bird’s beak” stage.

Gradually fold in the almond and icing sugar mixture using a rubber spatula (macaronage). The mixture should be glossy, smooth and fall in a ribbon.

Once the right consistency is achieved, divide the batter between two separate bowls.

Add the green food colouring powder to one of the bowls and fold in gently — be careful not to over-fold.

Transfer the white batter to one piping bag and the green batter to another.

Place both piping bags together inside a third, larger piping bag. Don’t hesitate to use a tall glass to hold the bag upright — that way you can use both hands.

Pipe small domes of about 3.5 cm (1.4 in) in diameter in a staggered pattern on a sheet of baking paper. To get even macarons, I use a template downloaded from Pure Gourmandise. Leave to form a skin for about twenty minutes. If after an hour the surface of your macarons is still not dry, there is a good chance they simply won’t crust at all. There can be several reasons for this… in any case, there’s no point waiting any longer. Bake them anyway, but be prepared for the fact that they may well not develop a “foot” 😉

Bake at 120°C / 250°F for 22 minutes. Once out of the oven, leave to cool completely before peeling the shells off. The shells are ready when they come away very easily.

Place very cold water with ice cubes in a bowl and soak the gelatine leaf for at least 10 minutes.

Heat the rum in a saucepan. When it begins to boil, add the softened, wrung-out gelatine. Stir until the gelatine is completely dissolved.

Pour the rum into a small square or rectangular silicone mould and place in the freezer to set.

Sort your macaron shells so that the ones you pair together are the same size.

Using a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle, pipe a small mound of whipped ganache in the centre of one macaron shell, then place a small piece of rum jelly on top. Sandwich with the second shell. (Note: the jelly is quite intense in flavour, so adjust the size of the piece to suit your taste.)

Refrigerate the macarons and wait 24 to 48 hours before enjoying them. The macarons should spend the first night in an uncovered container (to prevent them from becoming soggy), then close the box and keep them in the fridge for a further 24 hours. They will only be better for it.