I have to admit, I have a bit of a love/hate-relationship with macarons. The slightest changes to my shell recipe can have disastrous consequences and I honestly don't know how many batches of macarons have not made it onto the blog because either the little feet spread too much, the shells cracked or the centre was hollow. However, when macarons DO turn out the way you had hoped, it's so so worth it! These chocolate-flavoured shells are my go-to whenever I want something fool-proof and I really love the combination of dulce de leche and chocolate!
Ingredients:
Macaron batter:
- 100g almond flour (1 cup)
- 100g powdered sugar (3/4 cups)
- 100g egg white (~3 large eggs)
- 100g caster sugar (1/2 cup)
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- pinch of salt
Filling:
- dulce de leche (can be bought at stores such as bulk barn, or homemade)
Topping:
- edible gold dust
Yields approximately 25 macarons
Weigh in the powdered sugar, almond flour and cocoa powder. Transfer the dry ingredients to a food processor and blend briefly. Sift the dry ingredients into a fresh bowl, then transfer them back to the food processor. Repeat this process 2-3 times.
In a clean bowl (I like to wipe my bowl with a paper kitchen towel and a little bit of lemon juice ahead of making meringue), add the egg whites and whisk until foamy. Next, slowly mix in the caster sugar in small portions at medium speed. Once you have reached soft peaks, mix in the salt. Keep whisking until you reach stiff peaks.
Next, slowly sift the dry ingredients into the meringue mixture and combine with a silicone spatula. You will want to keep folding the batter until it reaches the "ribbon stage". The batter should be shiny and flow off the spatula. The batter should be able to form the number 8 in one go while flowing off the spatula and the edges should disappear into the batter within approximately 15 seconds.
Many people like to use silicone baking mats, but I personally like to use regular parchment paper. You can either print out a template and put it underneath the parchment paper while you pipe or alternatively, you can draw circles on the parchment paper (for example using the cap of a bottle) with a pencil, turn over the parchment paper and then pipe the batter on the other side.
Once the parchment paper is ready on a metal cookie baking pan, transfer the batter to a piping bag and pipe the batter onto the parchment paper. I find it easiest to pipe the batter using a medium-sized round tip. Hold the tip perpendicular to the paper, approximately 1-2 cm above the paper and evenly apply pressure to the piping bag. The batter should spread in a circle. Stop once it reaches the edges of the template.
Carefully drop the cookie pan onto a flat surface from a height of 10-20 cm a couple of times to release air bubbles. Let the batter rest at room temperature for approximately 30 minutes until it develops a skin. It should be fine to touch without batter sticking to your finger.
Bake at 300F for 17 minutes. Let cool for a bit. If the shells are properly baked, they should easily come off the parchment paper. Otherwise, bake for another minute or two until they do. However, be careful not to let the shells turn brown, indicating that they have been baked for too long.
Let the shells cool to room temperature before you add the filling. You can either pipe the dulce de leche onto the bottom shell or simply apply it with a spoon. I decided to go a little overboard and sprinkle some edible gold dust on top of my shells to give them a little extra bling.
After you add the filling, the macarons should be stored in the fridge and they should be good for several days.
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