Step 1

Add the ground almonds and powdered sugar to a food processor and pulse 5-6 times until the almonds and sugar are well combined. Pour into a medium sized bowl.

Step 2

Seperate the 2 eggs, saving the yolks for another recipe and adding the whites to another bowl with the salt. Whip your egg whites until they become foamy in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer.

Step 3

With the mixer on high slowly sprinkle in the ¼ cup of sugar. When the egg whites are at the soft peak stage add the strawberry essence and colouring. Whip again until they reach stiff peaks.

Step 4

Add half of the egg whites to the dry ingredients and fold together until combined. Add the remaining egg whites and fold together until you can make a figure 8 in the bowl without the mixture breaking.

Step 5

Spoon the macaron batter into a piping bag with a small round tip and pipe 1 inch rounds about an inch apart on a lined baking sheet. Rap the sheet on the work surface 5 times to remove any air bubbles and leave to set for 30 minutes.

Step 6

When you can touch the macarons without smudging them place into a 150C | 300F oven for 15 minutes. Cool completely before filling.

Step 7

Add the butter to the bowl of your stand mixer or a large bowl if you are using a hand mixer. Mix on medium speed for about 5 minutes or until light and fluffy and doubled in volume.

Step 8

Add the sugar a cup at a time, mixing well in between each addition until well combined.

Step 9

Add the vanilla essence and milk and give the buttercream a final mix.

Step 10

Pipe 1 Tablespoon worth of buttercream on one of the macarons and top with another, pressing until the buttercream reaches the edges. Continue with the remaining macarons.