Coffee Macarons with Chocolate Filling

Need a little kick to upstart your morning? These little macarons will brighten up any sad day. It sure brightened mine. Here's to one of the better recipes for macarons that I've done.

This macaron is light with a wonderful coffee flavor and aroma. When adding the filling, just add a dab of chocolate ganache in between the two shells because you really want the coffee flavor to shine, not the chocolate.

The recipe says to use aged egg whites, but who has time to age egg whites when you need a macaron NOW? So it goes to say that I never age my egg whites, yet they still come out pretty good. Do it if you like, but it won't kill the macarons if you don't.

There aren't very many steps or ingredients that go into making a macaron, but every step requires great care and patience. So show it some love, and it'll reward you in return. First off, we start with the chocolate ganache. In a pot, pour the heavy cream until it's just bubbling at the edges.

Take it off the heat and add the chocolate. .

Stir until it becomes nice and smooth. Set aside to cool and thicken.

When making a macaron, the best results occur when you use a scale to measure the ingredients. A scale allows you to be precise every time. You can get a cheap one from Target like I did. Measure out all the ingredients before assembling. You'll thank me later.

Another tool for any baker wanting to make macarons: the silpat.

For the macaron shells, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the caster sugar gradually until the whites become stiff peaks. It should be glossy and incredibly thick. In a separate bowl, combine the ground almonds, powdered sugar, and espresso powder. Add half the dry mixture to the egg whites and fold gently.

Pour in the rest of the dry mixture into the eggs whites and continue folding until the mixture is JUST combined. It should be thick like "magma". Pipe out little circles onto the silpat and bake in the oven at 270F for about 18 minutes. I learned a little secret this time, use the convection oven setting if you have it. It made a world of a difference!

Allow the shells to cool before you try to remove them. Let them cool completely before you add the ganache in the middle. Enjoy!

Coffee Macarons with Chocolate Ganache by Italian Food Forever:

Ingredients:
For The Shells

90g Egg Whites (About 3) At Room Temperature And Aged For 3 Days

30g Caster Sugar

200g Powdered Sugar

110g Finely Ground Almonds

1 1/2 Teaspoons Instant Espresso Powder (Additional for Topping If Desired)

Directions:

1. Combine the almond flour, powdered sugar, and espresso powder.

2. In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, beat the egg whites until foamy. Slowly begin to add the granulated sugar until you have created a glossy meringue. Add the almond mixture to the meringues all at once, and quickly fold to blend and break up some of the air. Continue to slowly mix until the almonds are incorporated into the meringues and the mixture resembles lava. It should not take more than 50 strokes to accomplish this.

3. I find it best to test the meringue at this time but dropping a small spoonful onto some parchment paper. The mixture should smooth out, but not flatten completely and you shouldn't have a peak. If you have a peak fold the mixture a few more times. If the mixture has flattened completely you might have over mixed and removed too much air.

4. Once you have the right consistency, fill a pastry bag with a plain tip with the mixture. Carefully pipe circles 1in. circles 2 in. apart onto a silpat or parchment paper. In my experience, I've noticed that silpats produce better shells than parchment paper. 

4. Preheat the oven to 270 degrees F on the CONVECT setting. Bake the macarons for 15 to 20 minutes depending on how large you piped them. While baking they should rise with airy feet developing. Once baked remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Carefully remove from the parchment using a small metal spatula.

Chocolate ganache

INGREDIENTS:

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped 1 cup heavy cream

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Place the chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chopped chocolate, and whisk until smooth.
2.	Allow the ganache to cool and thicken before filling each macaron shell. Sometimes, I'll put it in the fridge for 10 minutes to help it cool faster.