Christmas gingerbread spiced macaroon with egg nog filling Recipe

Preheat the oven to 150'C.

Pass the almonds and icing sugar through a medium sieve to remove any lumps.

Whisk the egg whites with 150g of caster sugar. Whisk until you have a semi-stiff and glossy meringue.

Stir in one third of the dry ingredients. Once incorporated, repeat with the second third and then the final third. Add the spice mix and work the mixture with a spatula until it is smooth, shiny and a dropping consistency.

Fill a piping bag with the macaroon mix and pipe the macaroons onto a lined baking tray. Tap the tray on your work surface to smooth out the tops and remove any large air bubbles. Leave the macaroons to dry for 15 minutes at room temperature. They are ready to cook when the surface is touch-dry. Transfer to the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. The macaroons are cooked when the top is firm. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, lift the macaroons from the baking parchment and turn them over. Allow to cool thoroughly before filling.

Mix together the egg, caster sugar, vanilla pod and the cornflour.

Place the milk in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Once boiling, add the milk to the egg mixture a little at a time. Add the cognac and stir in. Return to the pan and whisk over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until goes to a thicker paste. Allow to cool. Once it goes completely cold fold the cream cheese and turn to a smooth paste.

Pipe the eggnog cream on to half of the macaroon shells. With the other half sandwich the two together to finish.