Mont Blanc Coconut Macaroons

No, I'm sorry if I got you excited but these are different from French macarons.

I admit I'm ahead of time. I usually make these for Christmas presents but don't think I would recommend that you make a Gateau Breton requiring 6 egg yolks and leave you stranded with 6 egg whites do you? Of course not Dear Reader. This is one of the standby recipes I use if I have a surplus of egg whites. However this only uses 3 of them, and if you are determinted to use all 6 egg whites, you'd do better making a pavlova (as long as they're totally egg yolk free) but in this case I was using my sister's kitchen and she doesn't have a beater or mixer.

UK food haul: icing tubes, sugar decorations, crystallised violets, silver balls (cachous), sugar flowers, jelly diamonds and Maldon Salt.

You can use milk or dark chocolate, I used white as I like the snow topped mountain look. And cachous are optional but obviously desirable, especially around Christmas time when things need a sparkle. I have to confess I went wild while in London at Tesco for their silver cachous. Priced at $6AUD at your local supermarket for 60grams, they were an incredible 9p-yes that's right, a whole 20c for a 30g box of them. Which confirms what I've suspected for so long, that we're completely rorted in Australia price wise. Which is of course why I bought 16 boxes of them ;)

Mont Blanc Coconut Macaroons

• 3 cups/250g shredded or dessicated coconut

• 1 1/3 cup white sugar

• 2-3 egg whites

• 125grams white chocolate

• silver cachous

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 180C degrees Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well to incorporate

Step 2 - Shape a cone in the palm of one hand with other hand and place on baking sheet with parchment

Step 3 - Bake in oven for 10 minutes (watch carefully as they can burn fairly easily). They will be fairly delicate until they are cold so handle carefully

Step 4 - When cool, melt white chocolate and using a teaspoon pour a little over each 'peak' so that it drips down the sides. Any extra in the bowl can either be strewn over the macaroons or eaten. Add a silver cachou to the top of each and wait until chocolate sets.