Praline Macarons
[Vegan, Grain-Free]

To Make the Macaron Shells:

1. Place the chickpea brine into a small saucepan and place on the hob over a medium heat. Simmer until it reduces to about 1/3 of the original mixture. Once reduced, set aside to cool.
2. Place the chickpea brine into a mixing bowl and whizz up on high until frothy. I use a stand mixer with a balloon whisk attachment but you can use a hand mixer. This will take around 5 minutes.
3. Once frothy, add in the golden caster sugar a little at a time while the mixture is still mixing on high. The mixture will turn thick and glossy.
4. Add in the cocoa powder and vanilla extract, then whisk until combined. Make sure the mixture is thick and glossy! It should resemble marshmallow fluff at this stage!
5. Fold in the ground almonds and icing sugar with a rubber spatula.
6. Line a baking tray with grease proof paper.
7. Transfer the mixture into a piping bag and pipe 3-4-inch round circles on the lined tray, then swirl the tip off to one side.  Repeat for all of the batter, making sure to space out the macarons.
8. Tap the tray firmly against counter 2 or 3 times to release any air bubbles. Allow the macarons to rest at room temperature for 2 hours.
9. Place the macarons into the middle of a cold oven, shut the door and immediately heat the oven to 210°F.
10. Bake the macarons for 20 minutes.
11. After 20 minutes, turn off the oven and leave the macarons in the oven with the door closed for 15 minutes.
12. After 15 minutes, open the oven door and leave the macarons to sit for 15 minutes. (Doing this helps to bring down the temperature of the macarons slowly so they don't collapse in quick temperature changes. )
13. Allow them to cool fully before filling.

To Make the Praline Filling:

1. In a bowl or stand mixer, cream the butter on high then add in icing sugar, cocoa powder and ground hazelnuts. Add milk if needed.
2. Transfer the filling into a piping bag.
3. Once the macarons have cooled, add a swirl of filling to one macaron shell and press another on top to create a sandwich.
4.  Repeat for all of the macarons.