Ultimate chocolate macarons filled with silky smooth chocolate ganache. Simply the best!
For some odd reason, chocolate macarons have been the biggest challenge for me. It took me numerous trials to create a recipe that worked for me beautifully at the time. I even re-tested like 4 times just to be sure.
My first trial ended with these beauties, followed by another 5 batches. My freezer was bursting with frozen macarons, not all of them in their prime shape, but they all taste delicious.
Then you guys were having issues.
Oh, joys of baking macarons!
I went back to my starting point. Yet again.
And I’ve learned a few things in the process.
There are many reasons why the macarons crack and don’t form feet. For starters, it can be due to under-mixing or over-mixing the batter. Talk about confusing, I know!
Let’s break it down a little. When you under-mix the batter, it will still contain too much air, which will burst during baking, creating cracked shells. Over-mixing will result in runny batter; therefore the cookies will spread too much and won’t form feet. To check the consistency of the batter, bring the spatula up and see how the batter falls back. If it forms a ribbon, and spreads slowly into the rest of the batter within 10 seconds, then it’s ready. You can watch a very short video about this process here.
The most important thing I learned is the amount of egg whites. I used to just say 2 large egg whites in my previous macaron recipes, which is fine if you’re using store-bought large eggs, because there is an industry standard on how much the egg should weigh in order to be classified as small, medium, or large. But now since my mother-in-law provides me with farm fresh eggs, they are all different sizes and I have no idea whether they’d fall into large or extra large. So, I decided to weigh my egg whites and I realized that I’ve been using too much egg whites for the amount of almond flour/powdered sugar mixture. This is the main reason why I was getting cracked macarons, because my batter had too much moisture than it needed to. So that was a great lesson to learn.
Another crucial step!
You’ll need to dry the macaron shells before baking to create a thin skin, for 15-30 minutes or even longer. It all depends on how humid it is where you are. That thin layer of skin helps to develop beautiful ruffled feet on the bottom.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to enjoy my solo tea time…
Chocolate Macarons
Ingredients
For macarons shells:
- 1 cup 100gr almond flour
- 3/4 cup 100gr powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons 10gr natural cocoa powder
- 2 large egg whites 75gr, at room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ cup 50gr sugar
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt optional
For chocolate ganache filling:
- 1/3 cup 60gr semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons Nutella
- 1 tablespoon Kahlua optional
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, sift together almond flour, powdered sugar and cocoa powder twice. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl with whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and continue to beat. Slowly add sugar one tablespoon at a time. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until hard peaks form. (Watch this meringue video for more information.)
- Sift the almond flour mixture over the whipped egg whites. Gently fold the mixture running the spatula clockwise from the bottom, up around the sides and cut the batter in half. The batter will look very thick at first, but it will get thinner as you fold. Be careful not to over mix it though. Every so often test the batter to see if it reached the right consistency. To test the batter, drop a small amount of the batter and count to ten. If the edges of the ribbon are dissolved within ten seconds, then the batter is ready. I repeat, do NOT mix again. If you still see edges, fold the batter couple more times and test again. This step is so crucial, so please make sure to test often to ensure not to over mix the batter.
- Transfer the batter into a pastry bag with a round tip. (I used Wilton A1 tip)
- Pipe out 1.5-inch rounds about an inch apart on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. You should get about 42 shells. Tap the baking sheets firmly on the counter a few times to get rid of any air bubbles. If you don’t release the air bubbles, they will expand during baking and crack the beautiful macarons shells.
- Let the macarons rest and dry for 15-30 minutes. On a humid day, it might take an hour or so. To see if it’s ready to be baked, lightly touch it. If the batter doesn’t stick to your finger, then it’s ready. Sprinkle a little bit of sea salt on each macaron right before baking. Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
- Bake the macarons for 18-20 minutes. To check the doneness, remove one macaron. If the bottom does not stick, they are done.
- Transfer to wire rack to cool for 15 minutes, and then remove from the baking sheets.
- While macarons are cooling, prepare the ganache filling. Heat the heavy cream in the microwave for a minute. In a medium bowl, put the chocolate chips and pour hot cream over the chocolate. Let it stand for a minute or two and then stir until smooth. Stir in Nutella and Kahlua for flavor. Cool the ganache in the fridge to thicken.
- Transfer the ganache filling into a pastry bag and fill the macarons.
- Store the filled macarons in airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the filled macarons in airtight container for up to 5 months.
Tips & Notes:
This recipe was originally published on November 21st, 2014.
Saba says
Hey, Thanks for the recipe! I’m excited to try it and have much success with your basic macaron recipe. A question I have, what brand cocoa powder do you use? I have Ghiradelli, wanted to ask what fat content I should target in the cocoa powder.
Thanks in advance!!
Shinee says
Hi, Saba. I actually in process of testing this recipe with different cocoa powders, but haven’t finalized everything. 2 more brands of cocoa powder left to try. But I know Hershey’s unsweetened natural cocoa powder works perfect.
Ching says
So when you test when the batter is ready, where do you drop the batter? Do you drop it on the counter or put a small bit on a spatula?
Ching says
Never mind I got it.
Advay says
The video has different measurements as compared to the recipe, could you help with that please?
Thanks!
Shinee says
Hi, Advay! Great observation. The reason for that is couple of years ago, I updated my basic macaron recipe, adjusting the sugar amount for better meringue stability. I have made this chocolate macaron with the updated ratios and it works just as great. Hope this helps.
Rose says
I have an odd question (maybe)… where did you get the curvy dish you have them displayed in? Is there a specific name for it? I love this!!
Shinee says
Hi, Rose. Not odd question at all. I get asked this question all the time! 🙂 I personally bought this dish at a thrift store. But I searched and search the internet to find similar one, but it turns out it’s super rare. I found this one on Amazon (affiliate link), but it’s ridiculously expensive!!!
Leila says
I made macarons before but this time they turned out more like brownies but they tasted rlly good
Shinee says
Hi, Leila. Thank you for your feedback.
Sya says
Hi! Thank you for the recipe! But I think I have no luck with macarons 😭😭 I tried to make it, but mine was hollow, and it was chewy and sticky in the middle. Did I underbaked them? But they came off ok from the baking paper. 😭 And may I know what is the difference when I use the powdered sugar (w/ cornflour?) and the pure icing sugar? Does it make the macarons chewier? Hehe thanks!!
Mel says
Took me an entire hour just to mix the batter and it was still too thick. It needed an other egg, and they came out cracked with no feet. They did taste really good though.
Lizzy Abrams says
Hello,
I made your recipe, the chocolate macarons. I used Droste cocoa. They came out excellent. I was sooo happy because for weeks I have been trying different recipes but nothing came out as good as yours. the texture was perfect, the sweetness was perfect, everything!!
thank you!!
I have a question, which is the lastest or improved recipe version of your macarons? de ones that have 100 g of powder sugar or the ones that have 75 grams? Thanks you!!
Lizzy
Jana says
Hi,
Reading some of the reviews and wanted to ask what fat content chocolate should I be using to ensure it doesn’t change the consistency of the batter.
Thanks in Advance.
Jana
Jason Dai says
I’ve made macarons before, and I followed this recipe. However, my macarons do not look like macarons…no feet, cracked tops, not sure what went wrong
Shinee says
Hi, Jason. Thanks for your feedback. It’s quite common to have issues with chocolate macarons. I find that a lot depends on cocoa powder. If you don’t mind, can you please let me know which brand and what type of cocoa powder you used?
Marie says
These did not come out very well. I weighed out all the ingredients and followed the directions. The tops were very cracked and they didn’t have any feet. I also had a similar problem to others with the consistency of the batter; the edges of the dropped batter never really disappeared. So I may have over mixed it, or perhaps it was under mixed…I don’t know. I have made macarons with a different recipe that came out better than these, and for that recipe, the macarons rested for a full hour, whereas here they rested for only 30 min. Also got nowhere near 40 shells, but maybe I piped them too large?
Shinee says
Hi, Marie. Bummer my recipe didn’t work for you. But if you had better success with another recipe, definitely stick to it. Also, not all cocoa powders are made equal. If your cocoa powder had higher fat content, it affects the macaron batter.
Ariel Rainey says
Help! I tried this recipe for my very first attempt at making macaroon shells… They turned out looking like turtle shells or like crumpled up foil, and flat… No feet. I did use a silicone mat, which I remember reading you got weird result with feet in the 101… If I’m remembering correctly. I wasn’t confident in my batter shaping ability.
Also, I felt like my batter was never smooth enough. I measured out my ingredients on a scale, and I felt that when measuring out the powdered sugar… The 100g was WAY more than 3/4 of a cup…
That being said, I definitely mixed and mixed and mixed the batter… But I never felt like my drops of batter fully sunk in. So over mixing is likely a thing… I also let them sit before putting them in the oven… Lightly touched the tops and no batter came off on my finger… My guess is I went wrong in the proportions…
Any advice you can give is much appreciated!
Sozoe says
Your other recipes have 70g of egg whites. Is the 75g in this recipe because of the extra T of cocoa, or do you now use 75g in all of your recipes?
Shinee says
Hi, Sozoe! Yes, in my testing, I learned that we need a little more egg whites due to addition of cocoa powder.
Lyn says
I am not close to making 42 shells. Made this couple times and only about 18 1.5” rounds each time. They all turned out great but curious why i only have so few shells. Any idea? Thanks!
Shinee says
Hi, Lyn. Thank you for writing in. I’m surprised you’re not getting as many as I have. Are your baked shells 1.5-inch rounds, or are you piping 1.5-inch circles? I’m asking this because there’s a little difference. When you pipe 1.5-inch rounds, they usually spread and become bigger as they rest and bake. Let me know.
Angie says
I only got 28 shells from this recipe!
maria says
i liked the recipe. i think it was great for party’s and snacks sweets
i had the same problem though. i had to whip up another egg in order to make the macarons the right consistency.