It is best to make these a day before you want to serve them. Two days before, take the egg whites out of the fridge and leave them, covered, on the kitchen bench.

Line two oven trays with baking paper.

In an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the caster sugar and keep beating until the sugar has dissolved. If you are only making one colour, add the food colouring with the sugar.

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir through the almond meal and icing sugar (after sifting them at least twice).

If you are making two colours, divide the batter in two and stir through the food colouring.

Keep mixing the batter until it is smooth and runs from the spoon.

Scoop the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a round tip and pipe 36 4cm rounds onto the two trays. Leave about 2cm between each round. Gently tap the tray on the bench then set them aside for 20 minutes or until you can touch the tops without the batter sticking to your fingers.

While the rounds are setting, pre-heat the oven to 130C fan-forced.

Bake the rounds for 20 minutes then stand them on the tray out of the oven for 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool.

While they are baking, make the ganache by melting the chocolate with the cream. Divide it in two and stir the raspberries through one and the lemon juice and zest through the other.

Match the rounds with one of a similar size and lay them out so that the one to be on the bottom is upside down.

Dollop the filling onto the macarons and sandwich them together.

It's best if they can then be refrigerated over night. Take them out of the fridge and bring them to room temperature to serve.