French Chocolate Macarons

French chocolate macarons, a sweet little masterpiece from France, are delicate cookies with a crunchy exterior and airy interior. They have a chewy texture and can be filled with anything from frosting and ganache.

Most people feel afraid to make these delicate cookies and think these are impossible 🙂 But hey – don’t worry, with this step by step recipe, you’ll be able to ace it every time!

Between you and me – macaron is a cookie – but, since I was trained in Belgium. I have to give you a proper definition which is: macaron is a cookie-like dessert made of almonds, sugar and egg whites. There, now myPastry Chefs will be pleased with me!

These Chocolate french macarons are very delicious and easy to make at home, you just need some patience and need to follow some instructions very precisely. Today I am using a french meringue method to make these macarons, where egg whites that are whipped with sugar until they reach stiff peaks. The dry ingredients (almond flour and powdered sugar) are then folded into the meringue to form a batter.

Can I Make My Own Blanched Almond Flour to Make Macarons?

You can buy always some good quality blanched almond flour, however, if you prefer to make your own almond flour, I’ll teach you how to do that and it is not that much complicated.

First, you need to blanch the almonds. Put raw almonds into boiling water and leave them to boil for one minute. Strain them and cool them under cold water. At this time you will notice that the skin is a bit wrinkled.

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Pinch the almonds, one by one, and the skin will peel off. Discard the skins, and put blanched almonds on a baking tray and leave them in the oven at 100°C (212°F) to dry out. Be careful – they shouldn’t change color! Once completely dry, put them in the freezer to cool down.

Weigh the almonds (the amount of almond flour in your recipe) and put them into a coffee grinder and ground to a fine consistency. Be careful not to grind too long because if the almonds heat up too much, they will start releasing the oil and you will get a very oily and clumpy mess.

So, the answer is yes, you can make your own almond flour, however, it takes some time and effort.

Which Egg Whites to Use For Macarons?

The fresh egg whites are not the best option when making macarons. Why not?

Well, the egg whites contain a lot of water and some protein. When the egg whites are freshly separated from the egg yolks, its protein bonds are strong. You can see that – the egg white is firm and it holds itself, it is difficult to break it down. If the egg whites sit in a bowl for a couple of days you will notice that they became pretty liquid and not so firm as they were before. Those, liquefied egg whites are the best for making macarons!

Just separate the egg whites a day before making the macarons in a bowl and cover it with cling wrap. You can store it in the refrigerator and before using, bring these to room temperature.

French Meringue Method:

This is the easiest way to make macarons and always get good results. You need to measure accurately blanched almond flour, a high-quality dutch processed cocoa powder, and powdered sugar and grind all together in a blender or food processor, so there are no lumps.

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Then sift the mixture into a large bowl and discard the larger lumps.

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In a clean and dry bowl take egg whites. Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites at medium speed. At the first stage, the egg whites start becoming frothy. Later they begin to rise. When the egg whites double in volume and hold their shape. While whipping, beat in the granulated sugar until very stiff and firm peaks are formed, about 2-3 minutes.

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Finally, fold the dry ingredients into the meringue in two batches and mix with a spatula.

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How Long and How Thoroughly do I Stir the Mixture?

How do you know how much to stir the mixture when folding the ingredients? Now THAT is the million-dollar question! Proper mixing of the ingredients is one of the most important steps when making macarons. If you don’t mix the batter enough, you will end up with a rough meringue cookie, usually pointed on the top. Mix the batter too much, and when you pipe macarons, they will spread way more than they are supposed to and lose their round shape. Neither is a good thing.

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Seems too complicated? Don’t worry, it’s not! The batter has to be smooth, shiny and when stirred, it has to slowly become smooth on the surface, that’s all! The consistency of the batter should be like when you lift spatula, the batter will fall down like ribbon form and it will sink back into the mixture in about 20 sec itself.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2-inch, 1cm) ready. Scrape the batter into the pastry bag (standing the bag in a tall glass helps if you’re alone). Pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1-inch (2.5 cm) circles evenly spaced one-inch (2.5cm) apart.

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Drying and Baking Macarons :

Tap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the countertop to flatten the macarons, and remove air bubbles with the help of toothpick if necessary.

Before you put these macarons shell into the oven, you will need to let them dry for a while. This step could take from 30 minutes up to a couple of hours, depending on the humidity. The easiest way to check if they are ready is to gently touch them with your finger. If your finger doesn’t stick to macarons, and you can feel a thin crust on the top, they are ready to go!

If you are using the conventional oven (electric or gas) bake them at 130°C (266°F) for about 20 minutes. Every now and then open the door shortly to let the moisture out. That way you will prevent crackling. When they don’t stick to the surface anymore, they are done.

If you are using a convection oven with fan bake these at 140 – 160 °C for about 10 minutes. Every now and then open the door shortly to let the moisture out. Let cool completely then remove from the baking sheet.

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Chocolate Filling:

In a small saucepan heat the cream and instant coffee if used. When the cream just begins to boil at the edges, remove from heat and pour over the chopped chocolate. Let sit one minute, then stir until smooth. Stir in the butter. Let cool completely before using it.

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Spread a bit of batter on the inside of the macarons then sandwich them together. Let them stand at least one day before serving, to meld the flavors. Serve macarons at room temperature.

There, enough talking, let’s enjoy making some delicious chocolate french meringue method macarons! Bon appétit!