Mocha Macarons

These really should be called double mocha macarons since there's espresso and cocoa powder in the both the shells and the buttercream filling.

The lines of drizzled dark chocolate are optional but I like the look and they do make the macarons even more decadent which I think is a very good thing.

It's important to use premium quality espresso and cocoa powder in these since except for some vanilla in the buttercream, the cocoa and espresso flavors are front and center and need to be delicious and bold. My cocoa powder preference is Ghirardelli Majestic Premium Cocoa.

Here's the recipe:

Mocha Macarons
180g ground almonds, sifted
270g powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder 
10g dark cocoa powder
150g egg whites, aged 2 to 4 days in the fridge and then brought to room temperature
100g granulated sugar

Line four heavy baking sheets with good quality parchment paper and set aside. Also, set aside two pastry bags for the piping of the macarons.

Sift together your ground almonds with the powdered sugar, espresso and cocoa powder and set aside.

Whisk the egg whites (at room temperature) to glossy firm peaks adding the granulated sugar gradually in four parts.

Incorporate the dry ingredients into the beaten egg whites using a large rubber scraper.  Mix well. 

Fold the mixture with the rubber scraper by pulling down the sides and flipping the mixture over. Do this until you have a smooth mixture that falls like a “ribbon” off the scraper.

Transfer the mixture into the two piping bags. Use rubber bands to close the piping bags. Clip the tip of the bags, one at a time, and pipe small quarter sized rounds, leaving 1-inch of space between each because they spread as they set. Leave to set for about 30 minutes or until the top has formed a crust and is not sticky to the touch.

While they are setting, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. A convection oven is preferable. 

Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for about 12 minutes or until the cookie is firm, matte and doesn't wobble when touched.

Leave on the baking tray until cool then lift them all off the parchment carefully. You may need to use a thin knife to help lift them off.

Sort into pairs and fill with Mocha Buttercream or if you prefer, first decorate the shells with dark chocolate.

Mocha Buttercream
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons espresso powder dissolved in 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and whip until smooth and creamy. This takes about 5 minutes.


Chocolate Drizzle (optional)
Sort the macaron shells into pairs and set them all out on parchment.

Melt 1/3 cup of dark chocolate chips in the microwave. Heat the chocolate in 30 second intervals, stirring after each. When the chocolate is thoroughly melted, stir in 3 more tablespoons of dark chocolate chips. Keep stirring until all the chocolate is melted. This is a tempering method called "seeding."

Then, put the melted chocolate into a disposable pastry bag and clip a very small bit off of the tip. Without applying much pressure and moving quickly, let the chocolate fall in lines across all of the shells.

Let the chocolate set completely before filling the macarons. You can speed the process by putting them in the refrigerator.

Embellishing Macarons

When it comes to getting creative with French macarons, bakers have moved well beyond just tinting the shells a variety of colors.

Macaron makers are getting wildly creative and the current trend is to embellish the tops with everything from melted chocolate and crushed Oreos to colorful toppings like sprinkles and Fruity Pebbles. Bakers are even painting the tops with streaks of color and edible gold.

Really there is no end to the creativity and I couldn't help but jump on the bandwagon with the macarons I made for Valentine's Day. I added a pop of violet color to the shells some black currant macarons, lines of dark chocolate to some mocha macarons and gold luster dust to some black raspberry ones.

I added all of these embellishments to already baked macaron shells. If you want to add toppings like crushed Oreos or shredded coconut, you add them to just piped macarons and bake them with the toppings attached. This way your additions will be sure to stay in place.

Macaron making is really getting fun!

For the black raspberry macarons, I tinted the batter light pink. Here are the macarons before baking.

After baking, I mixed some gold luster dust with vodka and painted the tops of all of the macarons.

I let the gold dry completely before filling them.

For the mocha macarons, I sorted the macarons into pairs and set them all out on parchment. Then I put some tempered melted dark chocolate in a disposable pastry bag and clipped a very small bit off of the tip. Then I simply piped lines off chocolate across all of the shells. I let the chocolate set before filling them. 

Filled mocha macarons.

Here's a closeup of the black currant macarons. Decorating these shells was really easy. I made a paint using a few teaspoons of vodka and a small amount of violet gel coloring. Then I added some of the paint to the tops of the shells and let them dry completely before assembling.