Ultimate chocolate macarons recipe with deep dive into various cocoa powders, specific tips to consider for making chocolate macarons and more!
Table of Contents
- Are you new to making macarons?
- Why you’ll love this chocolate macarons recipe:
- Key Ingredient Notes
- What cocoa powder should you use for macarons?
- Cacao Barry Extra Brut cocoa powder
- Valrhona cocoa powder
- Guittard Rich Dutched cocoa powder
- Ghirardelli Natural and Dutched cocoa powders
- Hershey’s Natural cocoa powder
- How to make chocolate macarons:
- 1. Make meringue and sift dry ingredients
- 2. Mix the macaron batter
- 3. Pipe and bake
- 4. Assemble the macarons
- Chocolate Macarons Filling Ideas:
- Chocolate Macarons Recipe
Pin this now to find it later
Pin ItAre you new to making macarons?
Have you mastered basic macarons and are up for a challenge?
If you thought plain macarons are a pain, just wait to try making chocolate version. I’m not saying this to discourage you, but I also want to give you a fair warning and set you up for success.
Here’s the thing…
If you haven’t mastered the basic macaron techniques, like making a stable meringue, understanding a proper macaronage, or figured out the sweet spot of your oven, your macaron journey may turn out harder than it needs to be.
Why?
Because an addition of cocoa powder throws a curveball to the whole process. But don’t worry, I’ll share ALL THE TIPS I learned over the years right here!
Why you’ll love this chocolate macarons recipe:
These chocolate macarons are beyond indulgent. So rich, yet addicting, you won’t be able to stop at just one! Even the failed ones are supremely good!!
There is literally no foolproof macaron recipe, and this chocolate macaron recipe is no exception. And the only way you can perfect your macarons is through experimentation.
And my goal here is to equip you with all the tips and tricks to consider when making these decadent treats.
Key Ingredient Notes
- Egg whites – Take good care to separate egg whites from yolks without contaminating the whites with yolks. Room temperature egg whites whip faster and reach better volume.
- Almond flour – Choose super-fine almond flour to with light beige color and fluffy texture.
- Powdered sugar is essential for making macarons.
- Granulated sugar – Use fine granulated sugar, aka caster sugar or baker’s sugar, as it dissolves faster in the egg whites.
- Cream of tartar is optional and can be omitted. However, it helps to stabilize egg whites and create sturdier meringue. It’s just an extra insurance!
- Cocoa powder – You can use either unsweetened natural or Dutch-processed cocoa powder. Not all cocoa powders made same. Read more details below.
What cocoa powder should you use for macarons?
Does type of cocoa powder matter in making chocolate macarons? Yes, no and maybe! 🙂
I’ve tested 6 different cocoa powders with the same recipe.
Cacao Barry Extra Brut cocoa powder
I loved how these macarons were dark and rich colored. They were slightly on the soft side, meaning the shells were a little fragile on the top.
But baking these macarons a little longer solved the problem. After filling and maturing, they were perfect!
Valrhona cocoa powder
Valrhona cocoa powder is pretty dark in color, which produced richer colored macarons with great chocolate flavor.
However, some of the macarons had slightly wavy tops (not completely wrinkly), and I suspect it’s due to higher fat amount of the cocoa powder.
Guittard Rich Dutched cocoa powder
These chocolate macs were also perfect: nice shells with crisp outer layer, full inside and great chocolate flavor.
They had slightly darker shade of brown than macarons made with Hershey’s natural cocoa powder.
Ghirardelli Natural and Dutched cocoa powders
I was quite surprised how similar the macarons with Ghirardelli natural and Dutched cocoa powders were.
Although cocoa powders have different shades, the macarons were practically the same color. But nonetheless, they were perfect macarons with nice smooth tops and full inside.
Hershey’s Natural cocoa powder
Macarons with Hershey’s natural cocoa powder came out perfect every time! Crisp outer skin, full meaty inside, smooth tops and chocolatey flavor!
The only downside is they are light brown colors, which is no big deal in my opinion. And if you want richer brown color, add a small amount of brown gel food coloring.
Cocoa powder conclusion
The high end cocoa powders tend to have higher percentage of fat which is not ideal for macarons.
The most commonly available Hershey’s Natural and Ghirardelli cocoa powders work perfectly for making macarons!
How to make chocolate macarons:
Now that we sorted everything with cocoa powders, let’s make these beautiful macarons.
1. Make meringue and sift dry ingredients
- Make meringue: Combine egg whites, granulated sugar, salt and cream of tartar, if using, in a mixing bowl. Whisk the egg whites on a consistent medium speed until stiff peaks form. You want to see those nice sharp ribs and pointy ends when you lift the whisk. (On KitchenAid stand mixer, I beat the meringue on speed 4. This process may take up to 40 minutes. Don’t rush it.)
- Sift dry ingredients: twice. Yes, two times. Not only are we combining the almond flour, powdered sugar and cocoa powder, we’re also aerating the dry ingredients to get that beautiful full interior.
2. Mix the macaron batter
- Sift in almond flour mixture into the meringue.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the meringue with a large silicone spatula. Then fold the batter until lava-like consistency, which means the batter is thick, yet runny enough to slowly flow off the spatula.
WATCH MY REAL TIME MACARONAGE VIDEO
To test the consistency of the batter: Scoop the batter with the spatula and drop it back into the bowl. Then tilt the bowl slightly and count to 10. If the edges of the ribbon are dissolved back into the batter in 10 seconds, the batter is ready!
Chocolate Macaron Batter Consistency
I learned from Phay Shing that chocolate macaron batter tends to be thicker, thus it doesn’t melt back into the batter the same as plain macaron batter. Don’t over-mix!
3. Pipe and bake
- Transfer the batter into a piping bag, fitted with a round tip (I use Wilton 2A tip). And pipe 1.5-inch rounds on two baking sheets, lined with teflon sheets or parchment paper.
- Rest the macaron shells for 15 minutes.
- Bake for 18-20 at 300°F oven. Cool macaron shells completely on the baking sheets and then carefully peel them off.
NEED HELP? Check out visual Macaron Troubleshooting Guide for tips and tricks to fix or prevent common macaron issues!
4. Assemble the macarons
- Remove the cooled macaron shells from the baking surface. If the shells are stuck to the baking surface, the shells are either underbaked, or you need to let them cool completely.
- Then pair the shells by size and arrange them on a baking sheet, or wire rack, placing one shell bottom side up.
- Pipe a dollop of filling on bottom shells and place the top shell over the filling and press lightly so the filling spreads till the edges.
- Place the filled macarons in an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or preferably for 24 hours. This process is called maturing, which allows the filling to soften and flavor the shells.
Chocolate Macarons Filling Ideas:
Chocolate macarons are so versatile and pair perfectly with pretty much any kind of filling.
Here are my favorite ways to fill chocolate macs:
- Simple chocolate ganache
- Chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream
- Easy peanut butter buttercream
- Combination of chocolate Swiss buttercream with salted caramel in the center
- Straight up Nutella – the easiest solution!
Chocolate Macarons
Ingredients
For macarons shells:
- 100 g finely ground almond flour Note 1
- 65 g powdered sugar Note 2
- 10 g cocoa powder Note 3
- 75 g egg whites at room temperature Note 4
- 75 g fine granulated sugar Note 5
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar Note 6
- ¼ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
For filling of your choice:
- Chocolate ganache 1/3 of the linked recipe
- Chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream 1/2 of the linked recipe
- Salted caramel for the center
Instructions
To make chocolate macaron shells:
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, or teflon sheet, or silicone mat. (TIP: For even air circulation, flip the baking sheets upside down.)
- To prepare dry ingredients, sift together almond flour, powdered sugar and cocoa powder twice. Note: If you have up to 2 tablespoons of chunky dry ingredients left in the sifter, you don't have to replace it. Simply discard those chunky bits.
- To make meringue, in a clean mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, combine egg whites, granulated sugar, cream of tartar and salt and beat the mixture on medium speed until soft peaks form. (I set it to speed 4 on my KitchenAid stand mixer. It takes 30-40 minutes to whip the meringue, but it's well worth it for nice and full shells.)
- Continue beating the egg whites on the same medium low speed until hard peaks form. Visual cues: Meringue should ball up inside the whisk, and when you lift the whisk, the meringue should hold a pointy end and have sharp ribs. (See pictures above or watch this meringue video for more information.)
- To make batter, sift almond flour mixture into the meringue. Using a silicone spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the meringue until fully incorporated. Then continue to fold the batter until it’s runny enough to draw a figure eight. To test, take a small amount of batter and drop it into the bowl. If the small peaks dissolve into the batter on its own in about 10 seconds, the batter is ready. If not, fold couple more times and test again. Be careful not to over-fold the batter. (TIP: Making french macarons is all about the technique. This is one of the most crucial step. Let me try to describe the folding motion as best as I can: run the spatula clockwise from the bottom, up around the sides and cut the batter in half. If you’re beginner macaron-baker, I suggest to count every fold. It takes roughly about 50 folds to reach the proper consistency. After 50 folds, start testing the batter, and continue testing after every couple folds.)
- To pipe macaron shells,transfer the batter into a pastry bag, fitted with a round tip. (I use this Wilton 2A tip.)
- Hold the pastry bag at straight 90° angle and pipe about 1.5-inch rounds about an inch apart on prepared baking sheets. (TIP 2: Download my free macaron template. Simply pipe the batter to fill inner circle.)
- Tap the baking sheets firmly on the counter (or slap the bottom of the baking sheet with one of your hands) a few times to get rid of any air bubbles. You can also use a toothpick to burst some large air bubbles. This step ensures smooth tops.
- Let the macarons rest on the counter for 15 minutes before baking.
- To bake, bake the macarons for 18-20 minutes, one baking sheet at a time, on the middle rack. It’ll take longer for larger macarons. To test for doneness, touch a macaron lightly and try to move it. If it slides and wobbles, bake a minute or so longer. The cooked macarons should be firm to touch and the base shouldn’t move.(TIP: It’s always better to slightly over-bake macarons than under-bake them!)
- Cool the macarons complete and then remove the shells from the baking surface. (TIP: Don't remove the shells while warm, you may risk breaking the shells, or the bottom might get stuck to the baking surface.)
To assemble macarons:
- Pair the colled macaron shells by size and arrange them on a wire rack. Line them up so that bottom shells are upside down.
- Pipe a dollop of desired filling on bottom shells. Place the top shell over the filling and press lightly so the filling spreads till the edges.
- Store the filled macarons in an airtight container in the fridge for at least 24 hours to mature, which allows the filling to soften and flavor the shells.
- To serve, bring the macarons out about 30 minutes prior to serving.
Tips & Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on November 21st, 2014.
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!!
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.
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
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
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
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?
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?
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.
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!
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?
Hi, Sozoe! Yes, in my testing, I learned that we need a little more egg whites due to addition of cocoa powder.
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!
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.
I only got 28 shells from this recipe!
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.