Homemade Lavender and Dark Chocolate Macarons

I can't resist macarons.
If I see them at a bakery, I must have one of every flavour.
When my boyfriend asked me what I wanted for my birthday last year, I wished for macarons.
Instead of a pretty box from a patisserie I got a book, Parisian macarons by Sylvie Aït-Ali. (You can find a great tutorial video on the book's webpages) "Make them yourself." Food porn at it's best, dozens of colourful variations of the pretty little biscuit.

I found a recipe for a chili chocolate macaron but made own adaptation with lavender instead of chilli. I tried to make them a lavender colour but I was too afraid to muck the marenque up and didn't add enough colouring. It was also a challenge to find the right temperature and time for them but the last batch of four oven trays was close to a success. I will be making more macarons in the future and will post a recipe when I have perfected it. Meanwhile, enjoy some pictures!