For raspberry macarons, make the raspberry ganache. Microwave the frozen raspberries until fully thawed. Then blend until liquidised, and strain over a fine mesh sieve into a saucepan. Cook on a medium heat, string frequently until the mixture has reduced by half. It should weigh around 100g by this stage. Weigh to confirm, and transfer into a saucepan; bring the mixture to the boil.

Meanwhile, add the white chocolate and butter to a glass bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds to heat the chocolate; you don’t need to melt the mixture. Once boiled, pour the raspberry sauce over the chocolate. Wait one minute before stirring to combine. If the mixture isn’t fully combined use a stick blender to homogenise.

Season with a sprinkle of salt and citric acid to taste. Cool in the fridge for at least 4 hours before transferring to a piping bag with a 3mm round nozzle.

To make the shells, preheat the oven to 150°C fan-forced. Turn two large baking trays upside down and line with baking paper, trimming to the edges. Fit a piping bag with a 3.5mm round nozzle.

Prepare the macaron shells: In a bowl, mix 50g of egg white with the almond meal and icing sugar until combined.

Make the Italian meringue: in a clean saucepan, add the water, then the caster sugar. Bring to the boil, mixing with a spatula so no sugar sticks to the base. Once boiled, cease mixing and put a candy thermometer into the syrup.

Meanwhile, put the egg white in a stand mixer. Once the syrup reaches 116°C, beat the egg white on medium speed. When the syrup reaches 121°C, immediately turn off the heat and turn the stand mixer to low. You don’t want the egg whites to go past medium peaks, so timing is essential. On high speed, pour the syrup down the side of the stand mixer in a thin stream. Continue to beat on high for at least 10 minutes or until cooled to around 30°C. Add the food colouring gel until you reach the desired colour.

Make the shells: incorporate a third of the meringue into the almond meal, mixing with a spatula. Once combined, gently fold the remaining meringue into the mixture. It’s important to achieve the right consistency. You want the mixture to reach ‘ribboning stage’. This is when a thick ribbon falls from the spatula. The mixture should lose its shape as it falls back into the bowl but not appear liquidy. Once ribboning is achieved, transfer the mixture to a piping bag. Pipe 3cm dollops 6cm apart on the baking paper. Bake for 12 minutes.

Once cool, gently peel the shells free. Pipe dobs of filling onto the inside of a shell, gently sandwiching another on top so the filling almost reaches the edges. Store the filled macarons in the fridge overnight before serving, or transfer to the freezer.