It’s #macaronmonday ! I wanted to try making a Macaron that I’ve never made before, so I made these Dark Chocolate Macarons!
And these things are definitely temperamental. Thanks to mighty_macaron and all her tips, I was able to get them right. Because you add cocoa to the shells, you need to decrease the dry ingredients a little. And they need to bake a few minutes longer. I baked them for an extra 2 minutes but it could have also gone 3.
I made a rich chocolate pastry cream to fill the middle. Pastry cream is one of my favorite fillings for Macarons. There’s something about that creamy, rich filling that makes them taste sooooo good! And adding chocolate to it? Omg, the best!
You guys, these are some of the best Macarons I’ve ever had!
If a macaron and a fudgy brownie had a baby, this would be their love child!
I only know because I had to have a little taste test…. but I only ate 1…. maybe 2….. Ok, I had 4… and that was IT!…. Alright, it WAS 5! I promise!
Thank goodness my husband was taking them to his job so I wouldn’t eat them all!
Recipe:
Macarons
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup almond flour
• 3 egg whites
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 tbsp cocoa powder
Chocolate Pastry Cream
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 3 tbsp Dark cocoa powder
Instructions
Macaron
1. Sift confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder and almond flour together, discarding any bits of almond flour that are too large to pass through the strainer.
In a large bowl, beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt on high speed until foamy, then with the mixer running, slowly add the sugar. When the mixture reaches soft peaks, add vanilla. Continue whipping just until mixture forms stiff peaks.
Gently pour the almond mixture over the whipped egg whites so they don’t deflate. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the almond flour mixture into the egg whites until the mixture holds a 10 count, meaning when batter falls from the spatula to the bowl it takes about 10 seconds until it fully blends into the rest of the bowl in the batter. This way, the almond mixture is fully hydrated but egg whites still retain some air. The mixture is thick enough to pipe without running everywhere, but the peak at the top of each piped cookie will fall on its own, making a perfectly smooth cookie. This takes about 45 turns, but depending on how aggressively you fold, it can be more or less.
Transfer the batter to a decorating pastry bag with a 1A tip. Pipe 1 inch rounds of batter onto the parchment lined pans, spacing at least 1 inch apart. Tap the pans hard on the countertop 4-5 times to release trapped air, and then let sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours or until the unbaked macaron form a skin and do not stick to your finger when touched. Allowing the macaron to crust over is what leads to their signature “feet.”
Bake for 19 minutes in a 275 degree oven on a shelf in the center of the oven, one pan at a time. There isn’t a great visual on how long to bake macaron. When underbaked, the centers can be wet. When overbaked, they start to brown slightly and become very crunchy instead of crisp on the top with a softer interior.
Cool the macaron completely on a cooling grid before sandwiching with your filling. Makes 36 to 48 sandwiched cookies.
Filling
1. Warm the milk in the saucepan. It should not actually be boiling. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt. Add the egg yolks and whisk them into the dry ingredients. This will form a thick paste.
Pour a little of the hot milk into the eggs and whisk to combine. Continue pouring the milk slowly into the eggs, whisking continuously.
When all the milk has been added to the eggs, pour everything back into the saucepan. Set a strainer over a bowl and place this near the stove.
Set the pan back over medium heat. Whisk constantly. When it has thickened to a pudding-like consistency, pause whisking every few seconds to see if the cream has come to a boil. If you see large bubbles popping on the surface, whisk for a few more seconds and then remove the pan from heat.
Stir the vanilla into the pastry cream and then pour the cream into the strainer set over the bowl. Cover the pastry cream with a piece of plastic wrap pressed right up against the surface of the cream and chill completely overnight.
