Malteseroons

Eek! I tried to post this recipe before but wasn't logged in and I'd forgotten to add the filling ingredients. Crossed fingers this one works...

1. 1

   Put the icing sugar, almonds and maltesers into a food processor and whizz until you have a very fine powder, stopping to loosen any clumps occasionally. Sieve the powder into a large bowl, discarding any bits.
   
   Whisk the egg whites (use your kitchenaid if you're lucky enough to have one!) until they are just starting to hold their shape. Then add the caster sugar in 2 batches and whisk until stiff peaks form.
   
   Fold one-third of the egg whites into the dry mix using a metal spoon to start things off, then very carefully fold the rest of the egg whites in using a figure-of-eight motion. It will gradually loosen, and you should stop when the mixture is smooth but still forms a ribbon on the surface when you fold then very slowly sink back in - less stiff than meringue for a pavlova, but still gently holding its shape or you will end up with very flat, squashed malteseroons!
   
   Pour the mixture into a piping bag with a large nozzle (about 8mm-1cm - it will be easiest to fill and get rid of air bubbles if you put the bag into a jug with the edges over the jug sides) and pipe even rounds of about 2cm onto a tray prepared with baking parchment. They will probably spread to about 3cm, so leave space between them. You can flatten any peaks with a wet fingertip, and if you have no piping bag you can do all of this with a spoon - they will be funny shapes but taste just as good. If you have time, leave them to stand for 45 mins to 1 1/2 hours for a thin skin to form (some people don't think this is necessary).
   
   Pre-heat the oven to 130C fan (or 140C/280F/Gas Mark 1). Bake the macaroons one tray at a time on the middle shelf for 12-15 minutes, but keep an eye on them after 10 or 11 to make sure they don't burn... changing the macaroon size or the oven you cook in (or even the weather) can affect the cooking temperature and time slightly, so perhaps put the smallest tray in first to test it out. Leave to cool then ease them off the parchment gently, using a knife if needed.
   
   Blitz the second packet of maltesers, and mix into the marscapone with the icing sugar. Find 2 macaroon halves of similar size, and sandwich together with 1-2 tsp of the filling.
   
   If you can resist, leave them in the fridge for a day before eating.
   
   Variation: Add 4tbsp good quality raspberry jam (and/or a slug of raspberry liquer) to the marscapone for raspberry malty goodness! If you do this, you might want to add a couple of drops of red food colouring to the egg whites before whisking in the caster sugar.