While the sugar syrup is cooking, put the remaining egg whites into a stand mixer and start whipping into a meringue. Once you have stiff peaks, gradually pour in the sugar syrup once it has reached the right temperature.

Keep whipping until the meringue has almost cooled down. It should be around 50°C – check again with your candy thermometer.

Carefully fold the almond flour, sugar and remaining egg white mixture into the meringue. Fold gently but thoroughly.

If you like, colour the shell batter with a little gel food colouring. Transfer the finished batter into a piping bag fitted with a plain round tip.

Pipe small round macarons onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper, using a small glass to trace circles beforehand as a guide. Alternatively, you can use silicone macaron mats.

Once the whole tray is piped, carefully but firmly tap it against the table a few times. This releases air bubbles from the batter so the macarons bake up smooth and don't crack.

Leave the piped macarons on the tray or mat to dry for about one to two hours. The surface shouldn't feel sticky to the touch.

Bake in an oven preheated to 165°C for about 12–15 minutes, depending on your oven. My first tray wasn't quite done after 12 minutes, so I left the following trays in for 15 minutes and they turned out perfect.

Let the shells cool completely, peel them off the mat, and fill them the next day with your chosen cream. This time I went for a filling made from Swiss meringue and butter.

Put the egg whites and sugar into a Kenwood Cooking Chef stand mixer, since they need to be whipped over steam. I skipped the classic method and simply used the built-in induction heating on this brilliant machine, so it was just like whipping over a bain-marie.

If you don't have a stand mixer with heating, set up a bain-marie and whip the mixture in a bowl over simmering water. Whip into a very stiff meringue, then gradually beat in the softened butter to create a smooth, basic buttercream.

I divided the buttercream into two halves. Into one, I whipped just the vanilla seeds. Into the other, I folded in the chocolate ganache.

Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from the heat. Immediately break in the chocolate and let it sit for about five minutes. After that, whisk gently with a small whisk until smooth. Fold this ganache into the second half of the buttercream.

Chill both creams in the fridge for about an hour. Then transfer them into piping bags, fill the macaron shells and sandwich two shells together each time. Let the finished macarons rest again in the fridge, ideally until the next day, so the filling settles beautifully and the flavours come together.