In my opinion, macarons are the epitome of a classic, elegant French dessert. If you’ve been following my culinary adventures, you’ve probably noticed how very keen I am on serving individual, miniature portions and that’s exactly what I adore about macarons. They’re made of a sweet meringue (egg whites, sugar and almond flour) sandwiched around a flavored filling of some sort. For this version, I used chocolate ganache (heated heavy cream poured over finely chopped exquisite, high-quality chocolate).
Cooking (and by extension baking) is an expression of love. I think the person who receives your baked goods will appreciate your effort and feel special. And that’s my favorite part; I take pleasure in seeing the ones I love happy.
1. Info for Chocolate Macarons
- Cook Time: unavailable
- Total Time: unavailable
- Servings: 20
- Calories: unavailable
2. Ingredients for Chocolate Macarons
- 1 cup whole almonds, blanched (see tips)
- 1¾ cups + 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 4 egg whites
- 4 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 2½ tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1¾ ounces toffee salted caramel chocolate (or any high quality chocolate), finely chopped
3. Directions:
3.1 For the almond flour
Coarsely chop the almonds then grind them with a food processor or spice grinder (I use the VitaMix Dry Blade Container) until they turn into a powder. Make sure you stop before it turns into almond butter. The result should be a fine white mill. Set aside or bake a few minutes in the oven to ensure a dry product (see tips).
3.2 Sifting the flour
Gather 20 tablespoons almond flour. Using a coarse-mesh tamis (or sieve), sift the almond flour, cocoa powder and powdered sugar. Remove and discard the solids (about 1 tablespoon).
3.3 For the egg-whites
Place the egg whites in a mixing bowl. Whisk until you get soft peaks then, adding 1 teaspoon granulated sugar at a time, whisk until stiff peaks form (don’t over-mix or it will become grainy). The egg whites should stick right up. Using a spatula, gently fold the almond flour mixture and a pinch of red food coloring into the egg whites until just combined and smooth (don’t over-mix).
3.4 For the chocolate ganache
Make a “double boiler” (a pot filled with hot water, covered with a piece of cloth) and place a stainless steel bowl filled with the chopped chocolate on top. Make sure the bowl circumference is larger than the pot, so there isn’t any splatter of water in the chocolate. Slowly melt, stirring frequently. Turn off the heat and add ¼ cup cream. Stir well until uniform. Let cool to room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator until ready to assemble.
3.5 Preparing the baking pan
Preheat oven to 325°F. Using a pencil, draw 20 spaced-out 1½” circles on 2 parchment paper sheets (I used a “1-tablespoon” measuring spoon). Flip the sheets and line 2 baking pans with the parchment paper.
3.6 Baking the macarons
Fit a pastry bag with a 5/8″ round-shaped tip and spoon the macaron batter filling into the bag. Pipe the macaron batter into the circles, using the drawn circles on the parchment paper as a guide. Using the tip of your finger, make sure there are no air bubbles. Let set for 20 minutes. Once they’re sticky but dry to the touch at the top, they’re ready to bake. Bake for 15 minutes. Transfer to cooling racks and let cool to room temperature.
3.7 For the chocolate filling
Whip the remaining cold heavy cream. Add the chilled chocolate ganache. Transfer to a small piping bag, then to a bowl and set aside in the refrigerator until ready to assemble.
3.8 Assembly
Once cooled, gently lift the halved shells from the parchment paper. Pipe the filling onto the flat side of half of the cookies and top with the other halves, forming a cookie sandwich. Be very gentle as the shells are very delicate and can break very easily.
Enjoy!
4. Tips and advices:
- Little reminder on how to blanch almonds: Place the almonds in a saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil for about 2-3 minutes. Drain and remove the skin.
- You can buy ready-made almond flour. You can use Bob’s Red Mill brand flour or the flour at Trader Joe’s (but it isn’t white almond flour; the nuts aren’t skinned). I prefer to make it myself. Remember to get a little more than 4.5 ounces of whole almonds to get the correct amount of almond flour.
- To guarantee a dry product, spread the almonds (once turned into almond flour) onto a baking pan and bake in the oven at 300°F for 10 minutes.
- If coloring the macarons, it’s important to use powdered food coloring so as not to change the texture of the shells. You can find red food coloring powder in most Indian markets.
- I used Belgian chocolate I bought from my local market. I loved the added toffee and salted caramel already incorporated in the chocolate for the ganache.