A dessert recipe for Mother’s Day: macarons with sakura cream

When it comes to Mother's Day, most people take the easy route: take mum out for a meal and/or shower her with chocolates and flowers. I'm proposing something that takes a little more time and effort: a plate of home-made macarons. It is one of the more difficult French pastries to master but this detailed recipe should help you get it right - and even if the macarons have some flaws, your mother will appreciate the effort.

The perfect macaron is one that is slightly risen, light and moist with a little 'frill' at its base (which is also called a pied, or foot). With only a few ingredients, the recipe seems simple but there are key details that will aid success. The icing sugar must be pure sugar - with no other ingredients, such as cornstarch - check the label to make sure. Use commercially ground almonds, rather than attempting to make your own. Most recipes call for the icing sugar and ground-almond mixture to be sieved but I don't bother with that; instead, I grind them together in a food processor.

The egg white should be 'aged', which removes (by evaporation) some of the moisture and makes the meringue more stable. Separate the eggs, reserving the yolk for another dish. Make sure there's no grease (such as the yolk) in the white, or it won't whip up fully. Put the white in a wide, shallow bowl and leave it uncovered at room temperature for four to eight hours.

It's crucial to get the consistency of the finished batter right; if you lift the spatula from the bowl, the mixture should drip off slowly and briefly remain on the surface before sinking gradually into the rest of the batter. When you pipe some of the mixture onto a baking tray, it should spread only slightly.

Macarons have a tendency to stick to parchment paper, so it's better to pipe the batter onto reusable, washable silicone- coated tray liners. To ensure the macarons are a consistent size, use an indelible pen to trace circles onto the tray liner, then flip it over so the marked side faces down (you will be able to see the marking through the liner). Leave about 1.5cm between the circles. After piping the macarons, leave them at room temperature so they dry out slightly - they're ready when the surface goes from glossy to slightly matte. This takes about 30 minutes on a dry day, longer if it's humid (if it's very damp, put the macarons in a room with air conditioning). It can take practice to get the baking time and temperature right - it depends on your oven and the size of the macarons.

This recipe is from the book Macaron by Pierre Herme.