Hot Chocolate Macarons
Macaron cookies made with hot chocolate powder, filled with creamy hot chocolate French buttercream and topped with mini marshmallows. These decadent hot chocolate macarons are everything you love about a hot chocolate and more.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- bowls
- Spatulas
- Kitchen Scales
- Fine Mesh Sieve
- Piping Bags & Nozzles
- Saucepan & Stovetop
- Baking Tray
- Parchment paper or Silicone Baking Mat
- Toothpicks
- Candy Thermometer
- Macaron template
Ingredients
Hot Chocolate Macaron Cookies
- 100 grams Powdered Sugar (icing sugar)
- 125 grams Almond Flour
- 80 grams Caster Sugar (Fine Granulated Sugar)
- 90 grams Egg White
- 2 grams Egg White Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 20 grams Hot Chocolate Powder
- 1/8 teaspoon Salt
Hot Chocolate French Buttercream
- 60 grams Caster Sugar (Fine Granulated Sugar)
- 3 Egg Yolks (approximately 45 grams)
- 2 tbsp Water
- 140 grams Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
- 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 2 tablespoons Hot Chocolate Powder
Instructions
Make Macaron Cookies
- Measure and sift the almond flour, icing sugar and hot chocolate into a bowl. Set this bowl of dry ingredients aside.
- Place your macaron template (if using one) on your baking tray and cover it with a layer of baking paper (or silicone mat). Set this aside also.
- Place the sugar, egg powder and egg whites into the bowl of your stand mixer.
- Fill a saucepan with about an inch of boiling water and put it on low heat on the stovetop.
- Place the bowl of your stand mixer on top of the saucepan to make a makeshift double boiler. Use a whisk to stir the egg whites and sugar over low heat with a whisk until the sugar completely dissolves.
- Remove the stand mixer bowl from the heat, and fix it to the mixer. Fix the whisk attachment to your stand mixer. Add the Cream of Tartar to the egg whites and whip the mixture until it forms stiff peaks. The bowl of your stand mixer should feel cool to touch.
- Add the salt and vanilla extract, and whip for a further 30 seconds until its all stirred through.
- Add half the dry ingredients to the meringue and gently fold it in using a rubber spatula. Then repeat this process with the second half of the dry ingredients.
- Next deflate the mixture slightly by spreading it around the sides of the bowl, then scrape it back into the middle. Continue this process until the batter becomes slightly runny. You know it is ready when you can scoop up some with your spatula and it falls off in a ribbon shape. See my blog post for a photo that demonstrates what this looks like.
- Transfer the batter to a piping bag that has been fitted with a round nozzle. Pipe the macarons onto a baking tray that has been lined with either a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- Once you've piped your macarons, bang the tray on the counter at least 3 times to encourage any air bubbles to rise to the surface. Then inspect the macarons closely and use a tooth pick to pop any air bubbles you can see.
- Allow the macarons to sit on the counter until they dry slightly. They will be ready to bake when they look mat and don't feel sticky. This can take anywhere for 20-40 minutes, depending on the weather.
- If you have used a printed template as a guide, make sure you remove this from the tray before you bake you bake your macarons.
- Bake in the oven at 270 degrees Fahrenheit (130 degrees Celsius) for 17-20 minutes. See notes for how to check if macarons are cooked.
- Allow the macarons to cool completely on the baking tray before transferring them to an air tight container.
Hot Chocolate French Buttercream
- Place the egg yolks in a clean bowl of your stand mixer and whip them until they are thick and foamy. This can take a while (at least 10 minutes at top speed).
- While the eggs are whipping, heat the sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat until it reaches 240 degrees Fahrenheit (115 degrees Celsius). Use a candy thermometer to make sure your sugar syrup reaches the correct temperature.
- Turn your stand mixer down to a medium/low and slowly and steadily drizzle the hot sugar syrup into your egg yolks. Then turn the mixer up to high and whip the mixture until the bowl is completely cool and the egg yolks look pale and have increased in volume.
- Adjust the mixer speed back to medium and add your room temperature butter, adding one tablespoon at a time and allowing each piece of butter to be incorporated before adding the next.
- Add the salt, vanilla extract and hot cocoa powder and whip for a further 30 seconds until the final ingredients have been incorporated.
Assemble your macarons
- Organize your macaron cookies into equal size/shaped pairs.
- Fill a piping bag with your buttercream, flip one of the macarons over and pipe a dollop of buttercream onto the underside of that macaron. Then place it's matching pair on top (underside also facing the buttercream).
- Store your macarons in an airtight container in the fridge until it's time to serve.
Notes
How to tell if your macarons are cooked?
You're macarons are ready, once they have risen, and firmed up slightly (aka they won't deflate when you remove the tray from the oven). You can also test them by carefully peeling one macaron off the baking sheet. If it comes off in one piece and the bottom of the macaron is smooth and whole, they're ready.
Note: only test one macaron. Leave all the other macarons on the baking sheet until it has cooled completely.
Tried this recipe?Mention @Kylies_cakes_ or tag #theniftybaker!