Chocolate macarons

Chocolate macarons

3 hours
Macarons are small crispy cakes made from Italian meringue. The shells are baked with cocoa and layered with a delicious dark chocolate ganache, giving the chocolate macarons a pleasant texture – crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Macarons require patience and precision, but you will be rewarded with small, elegant cakes that can be served for any occasion all year round. Serve the delicate chocolate macarons with black coffee, freshly-made tea, or champagne; it does not get any more French than a glass of champagne and a platter of beautiful macarons.
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https://www.arlafoods.co.uk/recipes/chocolate-macarons/

Instructions

Ganache
  • Finely chop chocolate and put it in a bowl.
  • In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring cream to a boil while stirring. Pour it over the chocolate and let it sit for approx. 3 minutes – without stirring. Then stir the ganache until it is homogeneous and smooth.
  • Cover it with cling film – right down to the surface to prevent condensation. Put the ganache in the fridge for approx. 2-4 hours or until you need it.
Macaron shells
  • Draw 60 circles with a diameter of approx. 2 cm on the back of 2-3 pieces of baking paper. Please note, that the macaron shells must be able to lie flat on the baking sheet. The circles should preferably be close to each other, as they do not spread outwards but only rise.
  • Sift almond flour, icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl – in a not too fine mesh sieve.
  • Add 2 egg whites and stir into a homogeneous mixture using a spatula.
  • Whisk the remaining egg whites in another bowl until stiff. Add 50 g of sugar and beat for approx. 1 min.
  • Bring the rest of the sugar and water to a boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Measure the temperature of the sugar syrup with a meat thermometer – it should be 118°C.
  • Pour the sugar syrup in a thin stream into a bowl with egg whites and beat on low speed – make sure to pour the hot syrup down the edge of the bowl, so it does not splash. Continue beating at low speed until the meringue has cooled.
  • Put half of the meringue into the almond mixture and stir well until it is uniform in colour. Carefully fold in the rest of the meringue with a spatula – be careful not to knock all the air out of the mixture.
  • Put the batter in a piping bag with a round piping tip and pipe out small shells inside your drawn circles. Pop air bubbles in the meringue batter by banging the baking tray hard against the table a few times. Let the shells dry on the kitchen table for approx. ½ hour – it is important that they get a dry surface so that they do not spread outwards during baking.
  • Preheat the oven to 150°C.
  • Bake one tray at a time in the middle of the oven for about 10 minutes. Let the shells cool on a baking rack.
Assembling the chocolate macarons
  • Put the ganache in a piping bag with a round piping tip. If the ganache has become too firm, you can warm it with your hands or leave it on the kitchen counter until it is ready.
  • Pipe the ganache onto the flat part of one half of the macaron halves and sandwich together with the other halves.
Enjoy!
Tips

If the chocolate macarons still have air bubbles after you have banged the tray against the kitchen table, use a toothpick to pop smaller air bubbles in the shells.

Tips

Make sure the oven temperature is not too high or that the batter gets overmixed, as this can affect the texture and look of the macaron shells, and they may spread outwards on the baking paper. Baked macarons should have ruffles around the edges of the shells. These ruffles are referred to as feet and prevent the macarons from spreading.

Tips

The chocolate macarons are ready to eat right away, but they can also be placed in the fridge for a day, so the ganache and cocoa shells can set when assembled. After this, they can keep in the refrigerator for approx. 5 days – preferably in a cake tin so they can breathe.

Questions about macarons

French macarons are a delicate sweet treat, perfect as a little snack between meals. With our recipe, you can enjoy delicious homemade chocolate macarons with smooth shells and a ganache filling whenever you feel like it. We have answered some of the most frequently asked questions about the French macaron, so you get the best result. Read below to find out more!

What is a chocolate macaron?
Chocolate macarons are a sweet confection made from an Italian meringue base with a slightly nutty flavour. Cocoa powder is added to the macaron batter to give the shells a chocolate-like look and flavour. The macaron is filled with a chocolate ganache made from dark chocolate and whipped cream.
How do you make a chocolate macaron?
There are four steps to making chocolate macarons at home: make the ganache, make the macaron shell batter, bake the shells, and assemble the macarons. It is quite simple broken down in steps. Prepare the ganache with dark chocolate and whipping cream and leave it in the fridge while making the macaron shells. Make the chocolate meringue batter, place it in a piping bag, pipe out small shells, and bang the baking tray against the kitchen table to pop any air bubbles. Let the macaron shells dry before baking for about 10 minutes at 150°C. After the shells have cooled, assemble the chocolate macarons with the ganache.
What does a macaron taste like?
Depending on the filling, macarons can taste very differently as most of the flavour comes from the filling. The shells have a nutty, sweet flavour and taste similar to meringue as both are made with sugar and egg whites. Macarons are slightly chewy with a bit of crunch to the bite, which plays well with the smooth filling that holds the macaron together. These chocolate macarons have a dark, intense chocolate flavour combined with the light and nutty macaron shell flavour.
Do macarons have to be refrigerated?
You can easily store the filled macarons in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days in a cool place. After that, they need to be refrigerated to maintain their texture and flavour. The macarons will keep well for about 5-7 days when stored in the fridge.
What is the difference between a macaroon and a macaron?
When it comes to the difference between macaroons and macarons, the 'o' makes all the difference. Though they share one vital ingredient – egg whites – they are entirely different in taste and appearance. A macaroon is a soft cake made with shredded coconut and dipped in dark chocolate, whereas the French classic macaron is far more delicate with its meringue-based shells, ruffled feet, and flavoured filling. One look and you will never mistake either of them again.
Can you freeze macaron shells?
You can freeze the macaron shells to use at a different time. Let the shells cool completely after baking, wrap in cling film, or stack them on top of each other in an airtight container, and freeze. If the bottom of the shells is sticky, place a piece of baking paper between the layers. You can freeze macaron shells for 1 month while retaining their quality and texture; any longer than that, it might affect the flavour. You can also freeze the macaron with the filling; just take it out 60 minutes before serving.

Ingredients

Ganache
Dark chocolate (approx. 55% cocoa)
175 g
Double cream
1¾ dl
Macaron shells
Almond flour (approx. 3 ¾ dl)
150 g
Icing sugar (approx. 3 dl)
150 g
Cocoa powder
4 tsp
Egg whites (approx. 120 g)
4
Sugar (approx. 1 ¾ dl)
150 g
Water
½ dl
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Chocolate macarons – a French classic

Discover another French classic with our recipe for delicious chocolate macarons filled with a rich, dark chocolate ganache. These delicate cakes have a nice chewy texture with a little bit of crunch. The chocolate macaron shells are made from a cocoa meringue base and have a smooth surface with small, ruffled feet around the edges. The paring of sweet, nutty shells with a rich bitter chocolate flavoured filling makes these chocolate macarons the perfect snack after a meal. Enjoy the small cakes with a cup of tea or black coffee or pamper yourself the French way with a glass of champagne!

Are you impressed with our recipe for chocolate macarons? Check out other sweet snacks with our recipes for creamy chocolate fudge, soft and chewy peanut butter cookies or chocolate chip cookies.

Enjoy a macaron with dark chocolate ganache

Our chocolate macarons are a true delight for all chocolate lovers out there. Filled with a smooth and decadent filling made with dark chocolate that is melted in warm cream, these cute bite-sized confections are simply impossible to resist. Though slightly bitter, the rich deep chocolate flavour balances the sweetness from the chocolate macaron shells, making it a perfect duet. It is a 3-step process, and you only need two ingredients to make this delicious melt-in-your-mouth ganache for your chocolate macarons.

Discover delicious variations

Macarons get most of their flavour from the filling, opening the door to various flavour combinations. Change up your chocolate macarons with a ganache made from white or milk chocolate or use orange peel to give the filling a citrusy note; the chocolate ganache will cut right through the sweet, zesty orange flavour.

White or milk chocolate ganache

Not everyone favours a bitter chocolate flavour. Fill the chocolate macarons with a ganache made with white or milk chocolate using the same method in the recipe. White chocolate ganache is much sweeter and creamier with a less intense chocolate flavour. If you still want the chocolate flavour but less bitter, the milk chocolate ganache is perfect as it is sweeter – but not as sweet as the white ganache – and creamier. It is important to note that milk and white chocolate have a higher milk content compared to dark chocolate, so you may want to adjust the amount of cream and add less of it to the chocolate than listed in the recipe.

Chocolate orange macarons

Orange and chocolate are a match made in heaven as the contrasting flavours – bitter and zesty – balance each other. Give the chocolate macarons a citrusy tang by adding orange peel to the cream and bringing it to a boil in the saucepan – use large pieces of peel so you can remove them. Remove the orange peel, pour the hot cream over the finely chopped dark chocolate, and stir until the ganache is smooth and uniform. The orange-infused flavour combined with the rich, intense chocolate flavour tastes heavenly.

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