Cut the butter into pieces.

Chop up chocolate and put in mixing bowl.

Bring cream to the boil. Pour it over the chocolate in three batches, mixing between each pour.

As soon as the temperature of the mixture is 50°C, gradually add the butter. Incorporate it in three batches, each time pouring in a third of the liquid while gently stirring with a spatula or whisk until the ganache is smooth.

Pour into a baking dish.

Cover the surface of the ganache with cling film.

Keep in the refrigerator until the ganache has a creamy texture.

Sieve together the icing sugar and ground almonds.

Melt the chopped cocoa mass in a bowl in a bain-marie (double boiler) at 50°C.

Mix the colouring into the first batch of egg whites. Fold them into the icing sugar/ground almond mixture, but don’t stir.

Boil the water and sugar at 118°C. It will form a syrup. As soon as the syrup reaches 115°C, simultaneously start to whisk the second batch of egg whites into peaks.

Pour the sugar cooked to 118°C over the beaten egg whites. Whisk and cool to 50°C before adding to the icing sugar/almond/egg white mixture. Mix and add the melted cocoa mass, making the mixture sink.

Pour into a piping bag with a round no. 11 nozzle.

Line baking sheets with greaseproof paper. Using a piping bag fitted with a nozzle about 1.2cm in diameter, shape rounds of the shell mixture about 3.5cm in diameter, spacing them every 2cm on the baking sheets.

Put tea towels on your work surface, then tap the baking sheets on the work surface. Sprinkle the shells with cocoa powder. Allow the shells to crust (dry) for at least 30 minutes at room temperature.

Preheat oven to 180°C. Slide the baking trays into the oven. Bake for 12/13 minutes, opening the oven door twice during that time.

When you take trays out of the oven, slide the shells onto the work surface and let them cool.

Pour the ganache filling into a piping bag with a round no. 11 nozzle.

Generously fill half the shells with ganache.

Place an empty shell on top of each filled shell.

Keep the macarons in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Take them out of the fridge 2 hours before you want to eat them.