I got my greedy paws on some crystallised violets while in London (along with a load of other things that Nigella talks about but are impossible or cost prohibitive to buy in Australia). They sat here for a while with no real destination in mind until one night when I was separating egg whites from yolks and I thought what better to make than some Violette Macarons.

In France Violet is a very popular flavour, when we recently visited, I often saw it popping up on menus and in cakes. I’m sure some people would find it too “soapy” tasting, which is quite true. Indeed the lollies above are very soapy tasting and strong. You could always combine Violet with another flavour if the idea of eating Violets seems a little odd. Violet and Blackcurrant or berry would be gorgeous together. To fill them I used white chocolate ganache as I had some in the fridge although of course a buttercream is more traditional. I adapted Nigella’s Pistachio Macaron recipe because I am clinging onto it for dear life as that was the only one that worked for me.

Crystallised Violets £2.59

As you can see I still have some problems with Macarons, namely the “frilly foot” that comes and goes. Also making them all the same size is a challenge although I always find a match for each half. It’s more a matter of making each macaron the same size. But as they say, they still taste very good going down!

Violette Macarons

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