Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat mat. Sift together the almond flour and powdered sugar and set them aside.

Heat up a small pot of water on the stove to create a double boiler for the Swiss meringue. Whisk the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer over the double boiler until the sugar is fully dissolved and the egg whites are frothy (about 120F or 49C).

Remove the mixture from the heat and use the whisk attachment, on high speed, to beat the egg whites and sugar just until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. Add in the vanilla bean paste and mix for a few seconds, until it is fully incorporated.

Use a firm spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the meringue. This may take a while, just keep folding and pressing the batter against the wall of the bowl until the mixture is able to ribbon off and form a complete figure '8' without breaking. Don't over-mix.

Use a piping bag fitted with a medium circle tip, pipe out four 4-inch circles, 2 per lined cookie sheet. I just hold the pipe bag in one spot and slowly squeeze the batter out until it's pushed out to about 4 inches.

Rap the tray on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles from within the batter (use a toothpick to remove any air bubbles that are visible and won’t come out).

With the leftover batter, pipe mini macarons and sprinkle with sprinkles.

Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet while preheating the oven to 300F (149C) conventional (no fan). Bake one tray at a time in the center of the oven for about 25 minutes (the large ones). The macarons will darken to a light sand color.

Bake the mini macarons for only 7 minutes.

Remove them from the oven and allow the cookies to cool completely on the tray before picking them up.

Use the ingredients listed above to make a half batch of French buttercream. You can also substitute another type of buttercream like American Buttercream or Swiss Meringue Buttercream. You'll only need a half batch of those as well (half batch uses 1/2 cup (113g) butter).

Place the first macaron cookie shell, facing downward, onto a flat surface. Use a pastry bag with a star tip to pipe a layer of frosting onto the top of the macaron shell.

Place the next macaron layer on top and repeat with the rest of the layers. After you have your last layer of buttercream, decorate with your mini macarons. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Macaron cake is best served only slightly chilled. Remove the macaron cake from the fridge about 30-60 minutes before serving, so the frosting can soften a little.