Chocolate Macarons with Caramel Cream

Macarons are popping up everywhere this month, as Minko from Couture Cupcakes is holding an event called Mad for Macarons in May.



Now that I'm busy discovering the world of home-made ice cream, I seem to have plenty of egg whites left over. This is good news for macaron bakers!
For these chocolate ones, I used the same recipe that I used for my coffee ones - I just replaced the coffee powder with cocoa powder. While they didn't really taste that much of chocolate, they looked chocolatey.
The other minor change I made, was to sieve the ground almonds into the bowl with the icing sugar and cocoa powder. There was a tablespoon or so of ground almonds that were too large to go through the sieve, I ground these up finely and sieved again.

The filling was made from double cream, which had been whipped to firm peaks with a couple of tablespoons of dulce de leche, although any creamy firm caramel will do.

Chocolate Macarons with Caramel Cream
Recipe adapted from Serious Eats

225 grams icing sugar
125 grams ground almonds
1 level tablespoon cocoa powder
110 grams egg whites (about 4), brought to room temperature
30 grams granulated sugar
Pinch of salt

1 small pot of double (heavy) cream
1-2 tablespoons dulce de leche

Sieve the ground almonds into a large bowl, any left in the sieve should be ground finely, if you have a grinder, and sieved again. This makes for a smoother macaron, but if you don't have a grinder, it doesn't really matter - it's just aesthetics. Add the icing sugar and cocoa powder, then put to one side.

In a large clean, dry bowl, whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they become foamy and stiff. Gradually add the granulated sugar, whisking well after each addition, until the mixture is stiff and shiny.

Gently fold in the almond mixture, using a large spoon or spatula, until incorporated. The mixture should be shiny and firm, but with a bit of 'flow' to it. Don't over-mix it or it will be too runny.

Fill a piping bag with a 1cm round tip and pipe the mixture onto Silpat or baking parchment. Tap the sheets gently to remove air bubbles and let dry at room temperature for about an hour or so before baking.

Bake in a preheated oven, 160º/325F for about 10-12 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to keep the door ajar slightly, and rotate the baking sheets after 5 minutes for more even baking.

Remove from the oven and leave to go cold. Peel off the Silpat or baking parchment.

Whip the cream to stiff peaks and gently fold in the dulce de leche to taste. Pipe or spoon onto half the macarons and top with the other half before serving.

Note: I didn't bother to keep the door ajar this time and they were fine.

(Printable Recipe)



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