Ispahan Macarons with Lychee

Raspberry purée/jam: Prepare the gelatin. Purée the raspberries and sugar and heat to 45°C. Add the gelatin to the warm purée and let it set. Pour into a gratin dish (I use a square ceramic one) lined with cling film, to a depth of 4 mm from the bottom. Cool for 1 hour at room temperature, then freeze for 2 hours. Remove the jelly and cut into 1.5 cm squares. Return the squares to the freezer.

Colored sugar: Heat the oven to 60°C. Put on nylon gloves. Mix the sugar with a few drops of coloring and rub it between your palms. Spread the sugar on a tray. Leave it in the oven to dry for 30 minutes.

Lychee-rose ganache: Dry the lychees. Purée and strain to obtain 240 g of purée. Melt the chocolate over a water bath and turn off the heat. Combine the cream and lychee purée and bring to a boil. Combine with the melted chocolate, adding it slowly 1/3 at a time until you get a uniform mixture. Add the rose essence and mix well. Transfer the ganache to a bowl, cover with cling film and refrigerate until set. (Note: it can turn out runny — the lychees need to be dried very well, or add gelatin.)

Shells: Mix the powdered sugar and almond flour. Pour the coloring into the first half of the egg whites and pour over them the powdered sugar and ground almond mixture; mix by hand until uniform. Boil the water and sugar to 118°C. When the syrup reaches 115°C, simultaneously start beating the second part of the egg whites to a foam. When the sugar reaches 118°C, pour it slowly into the second egg whites. Beat to a finished meringue and let the mixture cool to 50°C, then mix it with the flour mixture. Transfer to a piping bag and pipe the macarons. Sprinkle every second one with the colored sugar and let them rest. Heat the oven to 150°C and bake until done.