Raspberry and liquorice cream buns

Start with the raspberry purée. Heat the raspberries in a saucepan until they form a purée. Press through a sieve to remove the seeds. Mix the raspberry juice and jam sugar in a saucepan. Boil for 4 minutes. Leave to cool completely. 

Mix the soft brown sugar, almond paste, salt and egg whites to form a smooth paste. Leave to rest in the fridge for 15–20 minutes.

Heat the oven to 180°C on the top and bottom heat setting. Dust a piece of greaseproof paper with icing sugar and roll out the cake mixture to a thickness of about 0.5 cm and cut out circles about 4 cm in diameter. Put the circles on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper and bake for about 7 minutes. Leave them to cool on the baking sheet.

Mix the water, sugar and glucose syrup in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and boil until the mixture reaches a temperature of 118°C.

Meanwhile, whip the egg whites with 1 tablespoon of sugar until fluffy. Pour the hot syrup slowly into the egg whites while continuing to whip them. Add the liquorice powder and continue whipping the batter at medium speed for another 6–8 minutes until it is light and fluffy. 

Fill a piping bag with a round nozzle with the meringue mixture and a piping bag with a small round, narrow nozzle with the raspberry purée. Pipe the meringue mixture onto the buns in stiff peaks. Carefully pipe the raspberry purée into the centre of the cream buns. Leave them to dry out in the fridge for about 30 minutes. 

Melt two-thirds of the chocolate over hot water. Remove the bowl from the hot water and stir in the remaining one third of the chocolate.  Dip the tops in the chocolate and sprinkle with freeze-dried raspberries. Put in the fridge to set.