To make the salted caramel. Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan over a gentle heat and swirl the pan at times until the sugar is dissolved.  If crystals form on the side of the pan then add a little more water and brush down the sides with a wet pastry brush.
Once the syrup starts to boil then stop swirling and allow to cook until the colour changes from golden to amber.  Remove the pan from the heat, carefully add the butter and then whisk gently  before adding the cream and then the salt.
Allow to cool and then chill until the caramel is firm enough to use.

To make the macarons, place the icing sugar and almonds into the bowl of a  food processor and process for a minute or so.   Tip the almond mixture into a sieve and shake over a bowl.  Discard any small pieces of almond that are left in the sieve.

Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until foamy and then gradually add the caster sugar while continuing to beat until the mixture is thick and glossy.

Sift the icing sugar and almonds into the egg white and fold together.  You need to fold until the mixture softens enough that when you make a peak it collapses onto itself. The mixture should be soft enough that if you make a peak it will collapse down onto itself.

Spoon the mixture into a piping bag and pipe small circles onto a baking paper lined cold tray.

Preheat oven to 150 C and leave the macarons to rest while the oven is heating.
Bake for 15 minutes until firm. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Once cold, sandwich macarons together with salted caramel.

For best results leave macarons in an airtight container in the fridge for 24 hours before eating...