Beat egg whites on low speed in a medium mixing bowl until it reaches soft peaks. Turn the mixer on high speed, gradually add caster sugar and beat until it reaches stiff peaks and becomes shiny.

Sift the almond flour and icing sugar over the meringue. Work the small lumps through the sieve with your fingers. Set aside the almonds that don't pass through for another recipe.

IMPORTANT TECHNIQUE: Fold the almond mix carefully into the egg whites. Slowly fold the mixture until it loosens a little and becomes smooth. This takes around 30-40 mixes. Take care not to overmix, the mixture should flow like lava and a streak of mixture spread over the surface of the rest of the mixture should disappear after 30 seconds to a minute. It takes practice to get this technique right.

Fill a piping bag with the macaron mix fitted with a number 5 nozzle (around ¼ inch thick ). Slowly pipe a round macaron for the base and a circle with a hole in the center for the top of the donut macaron.

Place your stencil (link above) on a thick bottomed baking tray. Lay parchment paper over it. Remember that the mix spreads once piped so leave room for it to spreed. Continue with the whole sheet unitl the mix is gone. Gently tap your baking sheets on your bench top to remove any extra bubbles from your piped shells.

Leave shells on in a dry area to dry for about an hour, so that when you press the surface it is dry and not sticky.

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F (temperature varies depending on your oven).

Bake for 15 minutes, depending on the size of your shells. Remove from the oven and cool on the tray for a few minutes, then gently remove from the sheet and place on a wire rack to cool completely. If they do not remove easily from the tray that means they need more baking.

For the jelly buttercream, beat butter until smooth in a medium mixing bowl with an electric mixer and then add icing sugar and beat on high until light and fluffy, around 4 minutes. Add raspberry jam and beat until combined, you can adjust to taste. When smooth, scoop into a piping bag and chill in the fridge.

To make the donut glaze mix together the icing sugar and water to make a smooth, glaze. If too thick, add a drop of water at a time to get desired consistency. Color your glaze if desired to make colorful donut varieties.

Assembling the macarons: Drizzle your glaze over the top part of the donut macaron and decorate with sprinkles. As the glaze sets, pipe the raspberry buttercream around the bottom shell of the macaron leaving space in the center. Add a drop of raspberry jelly in the hole to make a jelly center.

Place the top of the donut macaron ontop of the jelly base and press gently.

Once assembled with filling, eat within 24 hours. These macarons make fantastic gifts! 🙂