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 granulated 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 stand mixer with the whisk attachment, at 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.

Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar mixture over the meringue and use a firm spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the meringue.

Do this until the mixture is able to ribbon off and form a complete figure '8' without breaking. This may take a while, just keep folding but don't over-mix so test the figure '8' every 5-10 folds.

Using a piping bag, with a small circle tip, pipe out 1 1/2 inch size circles onto a lined cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Rap 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).

Allow the cookies to rest while preheating the oven to 300F (149C) conventional (no fan). Bake one pan at a time in the center of the oven for 13 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and allow the cookies to cool completely on the pan.

Pipe a border of buttercream around the edge of half of the macarons and then fill with salted caramel. Place the other half of the macarons on top and refrigerate them for about 30 minutes or so.

To make the glaze, combine the caramel sauce with the powdered sugar and whisk until it’s completely smooth. Dip the top of the macarons in the glaze or drizzle some on top of the macarons. Top with a pinch of sea salt flakes.