Coffee Macarons with Dark Chocolate Ganache

As I opened my eyes I could see my little A. was already awake. I looked at the clock, it showed exactly 6.34 in the morning. It’s Monday morning and A. is up at her usual time. Bright and early!

Today I was excited to get up, as I knew I am going to make macarons. My first macarons! The macarons I heard and read so much about and I was eager to make my own.

 

There was no doubt in my mind I was going to make coffee flavoured since I AM a coffeeholic.  The filling had to be chocolate ganache, dark chocolate to be exact. Simple yet delicious.

Armed with all possible advice I could get from almighty internet, I began.

 

As soon as they went into the oven, I glued to the glass of the oven door. I couldn’t wait to see if they would develop little feet.  And hurray – they did! Oh boy, how happy I was!  :)

And my affair with macarons has begun....

Prep time : 25 min + 24 h aging + up to 1 h drying

Cooking time : 15-20 min

(Makes 10-12)

Ingredients: 

For macaron shells-

200 g powdered sugar

110 g almond flour

1 tablespoon instant coffee

90 g egg whites, aged for 24 h

25 g granulated sugar

For chocolate ganache-

100 g dark chocolate, braked in pieces

3 tablespoons cream

Method:

For macarons:

Into a large bowl sift together powdered sugar, almond flour and coffee, set aside.

Whip egg whites until soft peaks start to form. Continuing to whisk slowly add granulated sugar, whisk until stiff peaks forms.

In a 3 batches gently fold in almond mixture, be careful not to overmix! To check if your batter have right consistency just spoon some batter onto a plate, if the tops flattens on its own then you are ready to pipe.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip with the batter. Pipe small rounds onto baking sheets lined with silicone mat or parchment paper. Leave them to dry at room temperature for 30 min to 1 h.

Preheat oven to 145°C.  Bake macarons for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of macarons. Let them cool before removing from the baking sheet.

For ganache:

Place 50 g of chocolate and cream into a pan. Bring it almost to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and add rest of the chocolate, stir until dissolves. Leave to cool.

To assembly, place little amount of ganache on the one shell and sandwich together with another same size shell. Leave to set in a fridge.

Needless to say A. enjoyed her first macaron as much as I did. :)