Chocolate Ganache Filled Macaroons Recipes

CHOCOLATE MACARONS

Steps:

• The chocolate ganache filling needs about 2 hours to set, so I recommend making it first! It can also be made up to a week in advance.
• Place 120g of semi-sweet chocolate and 20g of unsalted butter in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
• Pour 120g heavy cream into a heat-proof bowl and heat in 15 second intervals in the microwave until it just begins to bubble (this usually takes me about 45 seconds). If you don't have a microwave, heat the cream over a medium-high heat in a saucepan until it starts to bubble and steam.
• Pour the heavy cream over the chocolate and butter. Make sure all the chocolate is submerged beneath the cream. Let the mixture sit for a couple minutes.
• Use an immersion blender or a spoon to mix the ganache until the mixture has come together and is smooth.
• Press a piece of plastic wrap flush against the ganache to prevent a skin from forming. Place the bowl in the fridge to chill for about 2 hours.
• Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon mats. Set aside.
• Pour 110g of aged egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk and mix on a medium speed until the surface of the egg whites is covered in small bubbles. Add in a pinch of cream of tartar and continue to mix until it reaches the soft peak stage where you can see the whisk leaving faint tracks in the egg whites.
• Gradually add 110g of granulated sugar into the eggs and mix on a medium speed for 30 seconds. Increase the mixing speed to a medium high speed. Keep mixing until stiff, glossy peaks form.
• Sift 126g superfine almond flour, 126g powdered sugar, and 14g of cocoa powder into the meringue, then fold the ingredients together with a rubber spatula. Use a circular motion that sweeps around the edge of the bowl and then pull through the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is getting mixed together.
• Fold until a thick ribbon of batter runs off the spatula when it is lifted. You should be able to draw a couple figure 8's with the batter running off your spatula when it is the right consistency. If the stream of batter breaks before you're able to this, you may need to stir it a bit more.
• Pour the batter into a large piping bag fit with a medium-sized round piping tip and pipe 1 3/4-inch rounds on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1-inch apart.
• Pipe one pan at a time and bang the pan firmly on the counter a few times to release air bubbles, then pop any remaining air bubbles that come to the surface with a toothpick.
• Let the macarons rest for 30 minutes, or until they develop a skin. The macarons should look matte once the skin has formed. While the macarons rest, preheat the oven to 315 F / 157 C.
• Bake one tray of macarons at a time on the middle rack of your oven for 18-20 minutes and rotate the pan halfway through to help them bake evenly.
• Remove the pan from the oven and let the macarons cool on the pan (about 15 minutes), then gently remove them from the silpat mat.
• Place the chilled ganache in a small piping bag fit with a large round piping tip. It should be thick enough to scoop into the piping bag and hold its shape.
• Pipe a thick dollop of chocolate ganache on one macaron shell. Gently press a second shell on top of the ganache to create a sandwich.
• If desired, drizzle some melted chocolate on top of each macaron.
• Place the finished macarons in the fridge in an airtight container to mature overnight. When you're ready to enjoy them, let them sit at room temperature for 10-20 minutes and enjoy!

CHOCOLATE FILLED ALMOND MACARONS

Steps:

• For the ganache: Combine the chopped chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pot with 1-inch of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth. Stir in the cream, vanilla and salt, and then remove from the heat. Set aside until cooled and thickened, stirring occasionally, 30 to 45 minutes.
• For the cookies: Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a small glass or cookie cutter (1 1/4 to 1 1/2-inch wide), trace 15 circles on each piece of parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches between each round. Flip the parchment over; the lines will be visible through the paper but you will not have to pipe directly onto the ink. Fit a pastry bag with a round tip about 1/4-inch wide.
• Sift the confectioners' sugar and ground almonds into a bowl and discard any larger nut chunks. (If you have more than a tablespoon of bigger chunks, grind those until powdery and then resift.) Combine the egg whites and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or in a large bowl with the whisk attachment of a hand-held electric mixer). Whip on medium-low speed until frothy, and then add the granulated sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high and whip until very soft peaks form. Add the almond extract and a few drops of food coloring if using. Whip until stiff peaks form. Fold about one-third of the sugar-nut mixture into the egg whites until blended, and then fold in the remaining two-thirds. The batter should be a bit fluid but not runny. It should slowly drip off the spatula and sit on top of the batter in the bowl for a bit before eventually oozing back into it. If it seems a bit stiff at this point, fold once or twice more until it relaxes, although be careful not to over fold. This correct texture is the key to the macaron and it is better to have a stiffer batter than a looser one.
• Transfer the batter to the prepared pastry bag. Holding the bag perpendicular over the baking sheet, squeeze until the batter fills a circle drawn on the paper. Release the pressure on the bag and pull towards you to prevent a pointy tip on the center of the cookie. Repeat with the remaining circles. Gently flatten any points on the cookies with a damp fingertip.
• Firmly rap the baking sheets against the counter to release any air bubbles and let stand at room temperature until the tops of the cookies no longer feel wet, 10 to 15 minutes. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until the macarons are slightly crisp and the bottoms release from the parchment paper, about 15 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through the baking time. Cool on the sheet 5 minutes, and then peel off the cookies and cool completely on a wire rack.
• To assemble the cookies, spread a thin layer of the chocolate ganache on the bottoms of half of the cookies, about 1/4 teaspoon per cookie. Top with a second cookie, gently pressing to squeeze the ganache to the rims.
• TIP: The weight of the batter in the pastry bag will force some of the batter out. To stop this, you can stick a mini marshmallow at the end of your pastry tip to block to the batter from running out the end.
• TIP: You can use store-bought almond meal in place of the whole almonds. Sift 2/3 cup with the confectioners' sugar and, if necessary, grind the larger chunks and sift until a tablespoon or less of larger chunks remain in the sifter.
• TIP: You can also spoon the batter onto the parchment lined baking sheets. The cookies may not be as perfectly round but will still taste great.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE

Steps:

• Bring cream to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour cream over chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Let stand for 2 minutes. Add butter, then whisk mixture until smooth. Let cool, stirring often. Use immediately.