Sieve the almond meal and confectioners sugar into a bowl. If using coarse almond meal, blend it first in a food processor along with confectioners sugar until smooth. Then sieve it. If you have a very powerful blender take care you don’t over-blend and heat the almond meal too much. Otherwise, the almond meal will become too oily and stick together.

Whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add in the white sugar, a tablespoon at a time, and keep whipping until stiff peaks form and you can't feel grains of sugar when you rub a little between your finger.

Tip approximately ⅓ of the almond mixture into the egg whites and fold it together. Don't whisk it in, use a spatula to fold it over itself until it is well incorporated. Add in the remaining almond meal and continue folding it until you achieve thick flowing ribbons. You should be able to draw an 8 in the mixture that dissolves back into the batter after 10 seconds.

Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1/4 inch round tip and line two cookie trays with parchment paper or Silpat mats. Use a dab of macaron mixture to keep the parchment paper stuck down on the tray. Pipe 1-inch (2.5cm) circles on the baking sheets. Once piped, bang the tray on the bench once or twice to remove any air bubbles.

Leave the macarons to sit out for about 40 minutes until they are no longer sticky when touched.
Preheat a standard oven to around 284°F - 300 °F (140°C -150 °C). If using a convection/fan-forced oven, start lower, at 266 °F (130°C ). You’ll need to test your own oven and find the exact perfect temperature that works for your oven.

Bake the macarons for around 15-17 minutes. Do keep an eye out as they bake, and tweak the oven temperature if needed. Once baked, remove them from the oven and leave them to cool completely before peeling off the baking paper. Sandwich together with your favorite filling. (See a basic ganache recipe in the notes below).

Macarons taste best after they have sat and 'cured' for 24 hours. This softens and flavors the shells better. Macarons can be stored in the fridge for up to a week or frozen for up to three months.