Take the egg whites out of the fridge to take the chill off before using.

Line the trays - I only ever use reusable silicone sheets, I’ve never found a reliably nonstick baking paper.

Blitz the icing sugar, ground almonds, cocoa in the food processor for about 90 seconds, give them a good mix to make sure there aren’t any clumps forming then give another 60 second blast.

Weigh 72g egg whites into a large bowl. Weigh the other 72g into the bowl of a stand mixer.

Sift your cocoa-nuts over the egg whites in the big bowl discarding any lumps. Mix with a spatula until it is well combined - it will take a while. It will be very thick and sticky.

Weigh your water and sugar into a small, heavy based saucepan and get the thermometer ready. Turn the heat onto medium-high and swirl to combine the sugar and water.

Start whisking the egg whites in your stand mixer on medium high and let it run until stiff peaks form. You may need to start the whisking off by hand or tip the stand mixer up to get the eggs to catch as there is such a small amount - obviously the second option could be a tad risky so beware!

Bring the sugar syrup to the boil, with the thermometer immersed in the sugar until you reach a temp of 118˚C. Turn the stand mixer back on and steadily pour the syrup onto the egg whites in a thin stream avoiding the whisk and the side of the bowl or it will solidify and form little shards of sugar. The egg whites will really increase in volume at this stage. Once all of the syrup has been poured onto the egg whites, leave the mixer running until the outside of the bowl has cooled. It will take several minutes.

Mix the Italian meringue into the bowl of cocoa-nuts-egg whites and use a firm motion with your flexible spatula. Stop as soon as there are no streaks left. Then use your spatula to draw a line through the mixture and start counting to 30 - the line should have disappeared in that time. If not, give it 3 more firm turns and try again. Go slow, over mixing will make them too runny.

Fill a large piping bag with the macaron mixture, cut an opening 5mm across and pipe out onto your prepared trays. Holding the bag vertically and keeping it still works very well - aim for about 2.5-3cm across and space at least an inch apart, if not two. A properly mixed mac mixture will smooth down and lose any nipple effect after standing for 30 seconds. If it doesn’t, it need a few more turns to mix it. (Might be worth trialling piping a little bit of the mixture before filling the bag with the full amount).

Tap the trays of macarons onto the counter top to knock any excess air out - just don’t be too heavy handed!

Leave for at least 30 minutes before baking somewhere cool until a skin forms on the outside. Preheat the oven to 160˚C WITH THE FAN ON. A fan oven makes better macs, Holly tells us.

Cook one tray full at a time for 12 minutes exactly - open the door and test by pushing the macaron a little (very gently) on the top - it should not move. If it wobbles, cook another 2 minutes and test again.

Now to be certain they are cooked, leave each tray to cool for 5 minutes then try to lift one of the central macs straight off the tray - if it doesn’t come off cleanly, pop t back in the oven for a few more minutes.

Cook the remaining trayfuls in the same manner.

Make the ganache by heating the cream in a pan until just starts to boil then pour over your chocolate drops/chopped chocolate. Leave for 5 minutes then stir until smooth and leave until thickens enough to be pipeable.

Sandwich together.

Try to leave for 2 days in the fridge before eating.