Photography: Isobel Wield
Is there a finer pairing than tea and cake? Tea and macarons, perhaps
Named in honour of Mary Elizabeth Grey, the wife of the original Earl Grey, Lady Grey is a black tea scented with oil of bergamot as well as lemon and orange oils. Invented in the 1990s, it is great served alongside these moreish raspberry macarons.
Makes about 30
220g icing sugar
160g ground almonds
4 large egg whites
A pinch of salt
95g caster sugar
Red food colouring gel
200g high fruit content raspberry jam
How to make
1 Line 2 or 3 baking sheets with baking parchment and draw 4cm circles (spaced a little apart) as templates so that all the macarons come out the same size.
2 Blitz the icing sugar and almonds in a food processor until very fine, then push the mixture through a fine meshed sieve. Set aside.
3 Whisk the egg whites and salt together until stiff and glossy. Add the sugar, about a third at a time, beating each time until the eggs are stiff and glossy and all the sugar has been incorporated.
4 Carefully, but thoroughly, fold the almond mixture into the egg whites, until fully incorporated but still light. Fold in enough food colouring to achieve the desired pink colour.
5 Spoon the mixture into a large piping bag and pipe circles onto the parchment, following the circles you drew earlier.
6 When all the macarons have been piped, take hold of the baking sheet and tap it firmly on the work surface 2 or 3 times to knock out any air bubbles.
7 Preheat the oven to 140C/120C Fan/Gas 1-2 and leave the baking sheets to stand for 30 mins.
8 Bake the macarons for about 15 minutes, until the shells are crisp and they have grown little ‘feet’ underneath. Remove them from the oven and set aside to cool. Once completely cool, sandwich with the raspberry jam and serve. For one pot of tea Use 5 tsp of Lady Grey tea and allow to brew for 5 minutes. Serve with a slice of lemon.
This recipe is taken from Tea & Cake by Liz Franklin (Ryland, Peters & Small). Photography: Isobel Wield. It’s one of several tea and cake pairings we have featured in our April issue.
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