Chocolate Macarons

I was always perplexed seeing these beautiful macarons everywhere. And now I am able to make some not-so-bad (look wise) macarons. Long way to improve – Need to learn the basics in piping and drawing circles of same size.

Ingredients:

Macaron Batter :

Powdered Sugar             --   1 cup
Powdered almonds       --   ½ cup
Unsweetened powder  --   3 tbsp
Large egg whites            --  2
Granulated sugar           --   5 tbsp

Chocolate Filling:

Heavy cream                  --  ½ cup
Light corn syrup           -- 2 tsp
Bittersweet or semisweet chocolate -- 4 ounces
Butter                                 --   1 tbsp

Preparation of macarons:

Line two baking sheets with parchment/foil paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip ready.

Grind the powdered sugar with the almond powder and cocoa so there are no lumps. If you have whole almonds, grind it along with granulated sugar, so that you get fine powder. If you try to grind almonds separately, it releases oil and becomes a paste. So take care.

Beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold peaks. Add the granulated sugar and beat until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes.

Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites. When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white,scrape the batter into the pastry bag/zip loc.

  

Pipe the batter on the lined baking sheets in 1-inch (3 cm) circles (about 1 tablespoon each of batter), evenly spaced one-inch (3 cm) apart. I was not able to make all in the same size and hence had to adjust it while sandwiching. Tap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top and let it rest for 15 - 20 minutes. This helps to flatten the macarons and develop the foot.

Meanwhile preheat oven to 350º F .Bake the macaroons for 15-18 minutes. Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet.

To make the chocolate filling:

Heat the cream in a small saucepan. When the cream just begins to boil at the edges, remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let sit one minute, then stir until smooth. Stir in the pieces of butter. Let cool completely before using. I did not have enough chocolate in hand and hence the consistency of the filling was a lightly thin. You can see in the clicks that the sandwiched macaroons are sliding down. :)

Assembly:

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.

Store in an airtight container.

Recipe Courtesy: http://www.davidlebovitz.com