French Macarons: Chocolate
Now for some chocolate macarons! I made a large batch of chocolate cookies and filled them with different things including chocolate ganache with caramel, strawberry jam, and vanilla buttercream.
FRENCH MACARONS: CHOCOLATE
~ 24 completed cookies
FRENCH MACARONS -
125 grams Almond Flour
200 grams Confectioners Sugar
25 grams Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
3 Egg Whites, room temperature
50 grams Sugar
Brown Food Coloring
Pinch Salt
1 1/2 teaspoons Lemon Juice*
*1/2 teaspoon lemon juice per egg white OR 1/4 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
FILLING -
25 grams Butter, softened
125 grams Bittersweet Chocolate, chopped
100 ml Heavy Cream
Sift almond flour, confectioners sugar, and cocoa powder into a large bowl. You will have some almond pieces remaining in the sifter - discard. Mix with a fork until all combined.
Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites being very careful not get any yolks in the whites. Discard the yolks or set aside for another recipe if needed. Place egg whites in the stand mixer with the whisk attachment and beat until frothy.
Slowly add the white sugar, salt, and lemon juice (or cream of tartar). And beat until you have stiff peaks. Add food coloring if desired. (I used 1 drop Blue, 1 drop Red, and 10 drops Yellow to make sure the meringue was not solid white when it was added into flour mixture)
Sift for a second time the almond flour, confectioners sugar, and cocoa powder mixture on top of the meringue. Gently fold until the mixture acts like lava.
Fill a piping bag with the cookie mixture. Use a 1/4" nozzle to pipe the cookies on to 2 parchment paper lined trays. Bang trays on the counter to get rid of any air bubbles.
Let trays sit for a minimum for 20 minutes while the oven preheats.
Preheat the oven to 145C (Fan-Heating) / ~300F
Bake one tray at a time in the middle rack of the oven for 25-35 minutes. When done remove from tray and cool on a wire rack. Repeat with the second tray. (I found that the chocolate took substantially longer than the plain cookies)
Cool completely before adding filling.
To make the filling, place diced chocolate into a heat resistant bowl - like pyrex. On the stove bring cream to a boil and then pour hot cream over chocolate. Mix until fully melted and smooth. Add in the butter and mix until smooth. Let sit until thickened.
Once all of the cookies and the filling are cooled, use a your thumb to gently remove some of the base cookie, and using a spoon place about a teaspoon of filling on the cookie. Place the remaining cookies on top of the frosted cookies and give them a twist to make sure they are secure.
Place in the refrigerator for about 24 hours before serving to assure they are fully set.