The ultimate guide to making perfect chocolate macarons using Italian meringue! They are perfectly chocolatey, and the macaron shells are smooth and shiny. I'm spilling all the secret tips!
These chocolate macarons are lightly crispy outside and soft and chewy inside. They are a perfect match with melty dark chocolate ganache filling. These fancy mini treats will surely be a big hit for your friends, family, and special someone!
Jump to:
- Pursuing The Best Chocolate Macarons...
- 7 Important Tips For Making Chocolate Macarons
- Tips For The Ingredients
- The Tools You'll Need
- How To Bake Chocolate Macaron Shells
- Make Ganache Filling & Finish Macarons.
- How To Store Chocolate Macarons
- VIDEO: Watch How To Make It!
- FAQ
- More Chocolate Dessert Recipes
- Printable Recipe
- Chocolate Macarons
Pursuing The Best Chocolate Macarons...
Chocolate macarons are slightly harder than regular macarons since the cocoa powder "pops" air bubbles in the meringue faster. This can result in
- Very loose macaron batter
- Flat macaron shells
- Uneven macaron shapes
... etc., more easily.
You may have experienced it if you have made chocolate macarons before.
If so, I'd like you to try this recipe!
Chocolate Macarons With Italian Method
These macarons are made using the Italian method, using Italian meringue.
Here are some benefits of making chocolate macarons with Italian meringue:
- The meringue does not quickly get loose after touching cocoa powder - It creates a more stable batter.
- You can add a good amount of cocoa powder. (and the meringue can survive better.) - And you can make macaron shells that actually taste like chocolate.
- The surface of the macaron shells is very shiny and smooth.
- It creates thicker macaron shells with a nice volume.
- Drying the surface of the macaron batter before baking can be fully omitted or takes less time. (It varies, depending on the oven.)
Making macarons with the Italian method is slightly more time-consuming, but you'll be less likely to fail, thanks to the stable and fluffy Italian meringue.
Macarons with the French method, using French meringue, are the most popular method due to their simplicity. But the meringue is much more fragile, and the air bubbles get popped quickly by the cocoa powder.
It might be intimidating to try the method in the beginning, especially if this is your first time, but you'll quickly get used to the steps after some practice.
I packed all the tips and tricks for making perfect chocolate macarons successful at home so you can jump up with joy and say,
"I finally nailed it!"
Ready?
Let's get started.
7 Important Tips For Making Chocolate Macarons
1. Ensure the tools are completely dry and clean.
Liquid and oil are the biggest enemies of the meringue! Ensure that all the tools and ingredients are completely dry and clean without any residue so the egg whites can whip up properly.
2. Make fluffy and smooth Italian meringue.
Making Italian meringue successful is the key to making perfect macarons. Follow all the tips and steps in the instructions for making the shiny, smooth, and fluffy meringue!
3. Add slightly warm to room temperature meringue to the almond mixture.
When to add the meringue to the almond mixture also plays a huge part in deciding the condition of the macaron batter. Depending on your body temperature, the meringue should be slightly warm or not feel anything.
When hot or warm meringue is added to the almond paste mixture, the macaron batter gets too thick and rough, resulting in a rough macaron surface.
When it gets cold or you wait too long, it loses its volume slowly, which results in a looser macaron batter.
4. Mix the macaron batter until it gets to the right consistency.
The undermixed batter can result in macaron shells with rough or cracked surfaces. The overmixed batter is too loose, which results in macaron shells that are too flat.
Check out the video tutorial to see how the batter flows.
5. Pipe the macaron batter immediately.
The batter slowly gets looser as it sits. Pipe it immediately after you reach the proper consistency.
6. Get to know your oven to find out how long you need to dry the surface.
The heat is stronger than the others, depending on the oven, even if the temperature is the same.
Knowing the character of your oven is important to adjust the baking time and temperature, and also to decide if you need to let the surface of the macarons dry before baking them.
7. Remove macaron shells after they are cooled completely.
The shells do not come off cleanly when they are still warm. Wait until they are cooled completely.
Tips For The Ingredients
Macaron shells
- Egg white - I usually use cold eggs straight from the fridge. You can save the egg yolks for other recipes, such as chocolate mousse, pastry cream, and French buttercream, which I usually use to fill basic macarons. Today, we are filling dark chocolate ganache.
- Almond flour - Use fine almond flour to get the best results. Bob's Red Mill is my favorite brand.
- Powdered sugar
- Unsweetened cocoa powder - I like using dark cocoa powder such as Hershey's Special Dark.
- Water - We make a hot syrup with water and granulated sugar to make the Italian meringue.
- Granulated sugar
Chocolate Ganache Filling
- Dark chocolate (Melted and warm) - I used dark chocolate with 65% cacao content. I recommend using couverture chocolate for the best taste or the best kinds of chocolate you can find at grocery stores. The ganache gets sweeter and softer with chocolate with lower cacao content.
- Heavy cream (Cold) - Use any heavy cream or heavy whipping cream. The ganache gets softer with heavy cream with lower milk fat. This time, I used heavy whipping cream with about 37% milk fat.
- Unsalted butter (Softened) - Leave the butter at room temperature ahead of time to soften it. The ganache gets slightly smoother with softened butter than with melted butter. That is why I like to add it when making chocolate truffles as well.
The Tools You'll Need
- Small saucepan - Use it for a water bath and to make hot syrup.
- Large bowl for the almond mixture
- Sieve
- Stand mixer with a whisk attachment - Use a hand mixer if you don't have it.
- Rubber spatula
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper or silicone mats
- Piping bags
- Pastry tip - Use any kind you like. I used a 0.5-inch wide circle piping tip.
- Plastic wrap (optional)
- Whisk (optional) for mixing butter in the ganache
How To Bake Chocolate Macaron Shells
Preparation
- Line parchment paper on baking sheets
- Set a piping tip in a pastry bag.
- Prepare all the tools and ingredients. Check if they are completely clean and dry. Use a scale to weigh to get the best results.
- Separate egg whites in a bowl of a stand mixer and a large bowl.
We tend to feel nervous when making macarons because it's a little more technical than some simple recipes. Prepare everything ahead so that you feel confident and ready!
Step 1. Combine flour and egg whites.
Sift almond flour, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder into a large bowl with egg whites. Mix them together by cutting the egg whites with a rubber spatula first.
After the egg whites are distributed evenly, repeat pressing and flipping the mixture until it gets crumbly and wet entirely.
(You can mix them later while whipping egg whites as well. I recommend finishing it here if this is your first time.)
Step 2. Whip egg whites.
Start whipping egg whites with a whisk attachment at medium-low to medium speed.
Adjust the speed so that you can get fluffy meringue by the time the hot syrup is ready. I usually start whipping it at high speed after the hot syrup thickens slightly.
Step 3. Heat water and sugar.
Add water and granulated sugar to a small saucepan and shake the pot to ensure that the sugar is wet entirely.
Heat it on medium heat. Cover the top with a lid until the steam starts falling from the sides, which prevents sugar crystallization. (You can also brush the side with water using a pastry brush 1 - 2 times while heating for the same effect.) Remove the lid and continue heating.
Once the syrup starts thickening slightly, swirl the saucepan to make the temperature even, and take the temperature with a candy thermometer. Remove the pan from the heat once it reaches 118ºC (244ºF).
Step 4. Add the hot syrup to the meringue.
Add the hot syrup immediately to the fluffy meringue after it reaches the desired temperature. Slowly let the syrup slide from the side of the bowl while whipping the meringue at high speed.
Flip the pan and add all the hot syrup.
Step 5. Continue whipping the meringue.
Continue whipping the meringue at high speed while the bowl is hot or very warm.
Turn it down to medium speed when it's comfortably warm.
And stop whipping it when it feels slightly warm or does not feel anything. Use the meringue immediately once it reaches the desired temperature.
The meringue should look stiff and fluffy yet elastic - The tip of the meringue should curl up like in the images above.
Step 6. Mix the meringue and almond mixture.
Add all the meringue to the bowl of the almond flour mixture. Fold them with a spatula until combined.
Once combined, smoosh the batter fast with a spatula using a circular motion. (Check the video tutorial to understand the movement better.) Continue smooshing it with the sides of the bowl until the batter flows slowly, and the lines slowly ease out when folding the batter on top.
How to judge if the macaron batter is mixed enough
Imagine the whole batter in a bowl is piped macarons - we want to see that the streaks of the batter fade slowly when flipping over the batter on top with a spatula.
This test shows how the batter flows after piping it on a baking sheet.
Right after swishing the batter on top:
How the batter should look in 10 seconds:
Looking good!
Step 7. Pipe the batter.
Pipe the macaron batter immediately on prepared baking sheets.
Attach the leftover macaron batter to the four corners of the baking sheet and attach parchment paper to prevent it from sliding around while piping the batter.
Squeeze the batter and swish off the piping tip to avoid a very tippy surface.
Tap the baking sheets for some time to even out the surface if you see any tips. Be careful not to overdo it, as the batter can spread too much.
Should we dry the surface of macaron shells before baking?
With Italian meringue, you don't need to dry the surface of the macarons, depending on the oven. If this is your first time, I recommend waiting, just in case, for 15 - 20 minutes, and see if you can omit it next time.
Step 8. Bake them!
Bake (Preheated) at 300ºF (149ºC) for about 20 minutes for 2-inch wide macaron shells. Pipe smaller since it spreads more after piping.
Can I bake two baking sheets at once?
I recommend baking one sheet at a time for most household ovens to get the best results. You can bake two sheets together if they fit in the same oven rack.
You can bake two sheets on different racks when using a commercial oven.
Make Ganache Filling & Finish Macarons.
Step 1. Make ganache filling.
Add dark chocolate to a medium bowl. Melt it completely with a water bath.
Add about ⅓ of cold heavy cream and mix until well combined with a silicone spatula. Clean the sides and the bottom of the bowl and spatula to make an even ganache.
Repeat it 2 more times to mix in the remaining heavy cream.
Add softened butter and mix until the butter is evenly incorporated.
Mix it with a whisk fast if the pieces of butter can not blend in.
Set it aside at room temperature.
Step 2. Remove the macaron shells and match the pair.
Wait until the macaron shells are cooled completely.
Remove them from parchment paper or silicone mats. Make pairs and line them on baking sheets.
Step 3. Pipe the filling and sandwich it.
Check the consistency of the ganache. Chill it in the fridge if you feel it is a bit too loose to pipe. Do not leave it for a long time, and mix it about every 5 minutes to prevent it from getting too stiff.
Pipe a generous amount of ganache into one of the pairs. Sandwich it by pressing down the 2nd shell on top.
And it is complete!
Now, enjoy the amazing homemade macarons you made from scratch!
The macaron shell is lightly crispy outside and soft and chewy inside. It is perfectly chocolatey with the melty, rich, and dark chocolate ganache.
It is such a perfect treat for many exciting occasions. Enjoy them with a cup of coffee or tea during your break time, share them as a Valentine's Day gift, a special dessert after dinner... and more!
Let me know how you enjoyed it if you tried it at home!
Happy Baking,
Aya xx
How To Store Chocolate Macarons
Wrap macarons with plastic wrap and store them in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
You can also freeze them, but do not open the container until they are thawed in the refrigerator overnight to avoid moisture damage.
The macarons soak up some of the moisture of the ganache filling overnight and get slightly softer and fluffier.
The ganache feels firmer when it's chilled. Leave the macarons at room temperature to make the ganache melty soft again. I love comparing the textures!
VIDEO: Watch How To Make It!
Watch the video tutorial and deeply understand each step and technique for making chocolate macarons!
Don't forget to subscribe if you liked it 😉
FAQ
How many macarons do I get from one batch of the recipe?
You'll get about 24 2-inch-wide macarons. Pipe them smaller as they spread after piping.
Do you use a conventional or convection setting in the oven?
I use a convection setting with a fan in my electric oven, but it is also possible to make the macarons with the conventional setting. Test it with your oven and see which one works the best!
Do you have a recipe for basic macarons?
I shared the recipe tutorial on my YouTube channel years ago! I haven't posted the recipe yet, but check it out if you are interested. The number of ingredients is in the description.
More Chocolate Dessert Recipes
If you love these chocolate macarons, also check out other delicious chocolate recipes!
Printable Recipe
💬 If you loved this chocolate macarons recipe, please share your feedback! I always love hearing how you enjoyed it with your friends and family.
If you have a question about the tutorial, leave it in the comment section below, and I'll get back to you as soon as possible!
Chocolate Macarons
Equipment
- Small saucepan for a water bath and to make hot syrup.
- Large bowl for the almond mixture
- Sieve
- Stand mixer with a whisk attachment Use a hand mixer if you don't have it.
- Rubber spatula
- Baking sheets
- Parchment paper or silicone mats
- Piping bags
- Pastry tip Use any kind you like. I used a 0.5-inch wide circle piping tip.
- Plastic wrap optional
- Whisk for mixing butter in ganache - optional
Ingredients
Macaron Shells
- 60 g (2 eggs) Egg white
- 150 g (1 ½ cups) Almond flour
- 120 g (1 cups) Powdered sugar
- 24 g (4 tablespoon) Cocoa powder
- 60 g (2 eggs) Egg white
- 45 g (3 Tbsps) Water
- 150 g (¾ cup) Granulated sugar
Chocolate Ganache Filling
- 170 g (1 cup of coarsely chopped dark chocolate) Dark chocolate Melted and warm
- 180 g (¾ cups) Heavy cream Cold
- 28 g (2 Tbsps) Butter Softened
NOTE: For best results, measure ingredients with a scale. All recipes are designed with weighed ingredients using grams/ounces. Cup measurements (US customary units) are provided for your convenience.
Instructions
Bake Macaron Shells.
- Preparation- Line parchment paper on baking sheets.- Set a piping tip in a pastry bag. - Prepare all the tools and ingredients. Check if they are completely clean and dry. Use a scale to weigh to get the best results.- Separate egg whites in a bowl of a stand mixer and a large bowl.We tend to feel nervous when making macarons because it's a little more technical than some simple recipes. Prepare everything ahead so that you feel confident and ready!
- Combine flour and egg whites.Sift almond flour, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder in a large bowl of egg whites. Mix them together by cutting egg whites with a rubber spatula first.After the egg whites are distributed evenly, repeat pressing and flipping the mixture until it gets crumbly and wet entirely.(You can mix them later while whipping egg whites as well. I recommend finishing it here if this is your first time.)60 g Egg white, 150 g Almond flour, 120 g Powdered sugar, 24 g Cocoa powder
- Whip egg whites.Start whipping egg whites with a whisk attachment at medium-low to medium speed.Adjust the speed so that you can get fluffy meringue by the time the hot syrup is ready. I usually start whipping it at high speed after the hot syrup thickens slightly.60 g Egg white
- Heat water and sugar.Add water and granulated sugar in a small saucepan and shake a pot to ensure that the sugar is wet entirely.Heat it at medium heat. Cover the top with a lid until the steam starts falling from the sides, which prevents sugar crystallization. (You can also brush the side with a pastry brush 1 - 2 times while heating for the same effect.) Remove the lid and continue heating.Once the syrup starts thickening slightly, swirl the saucepan to make the temperature even, and take the temperature with a candy thermometer - Remove the pan from the heat once it reaches 118ºC (244ºF).45 g Water, 150 g Granulated sugar
- Add the hot syrup to the meringue.Add the hot syrup immediately to the fluffy meringue after it reaches the temperature. Slowly let the syrup slide from the side of the bowl while whipping the meringue at high speed.Add all the hot syrup by flipping the pan.
- Continue whipping the meringue.Continue whipping the meringue at high speed while the bowl is hot or very warm.Turn it down to medium speed when it's comfortably warm.And stop whipping it when it feels slightly warm or does not feel anything. Use the meringue immediately once it reaches the temperature. The meringue should look stiff and fluffy yet elastic.
- Mix the meringue and almond mixture.Add all the meringue to the bowl of almond flour mixture. Fold them with a spatula until well combined.Once combined, smoosh the batter fast with a spatula using a circular motion. (Check the video tutorial to understand the movement better.) Continue smooshing it with the sides of the bowl until the batter flows slowly, and the lines slowly ease out when dropping the batter on top.Imagine the whole batter in a bowl is piped macaron - we want to see that the streaks of the batter fade slowly when laying over the batter on top with a spatula. This test shows how the batter flows after piping it on a baking sheet.
- Pipe the batter.Pipe the macaron batter immediately on prepared baking sheets. Attach the leftover macaron batter on four corners of the baking sheet and attach parchment paper to prevent it from sliding around while piping the batter.Squeeze the batter and swish off the piping tip to avoid a very tippy surface. Tap the baking sheet for some time to even out the surface if you see any tips. Be careful not to overdo it, as the batter can spread too much. With Italian meringue, you don't need to dry the surface of the macarons, depending on the oven. If this is your first time, I recommend waiting, just in case, for 15 - 20 minutes and see if you can omit it next time.
- Bake them!Bake (Preheated) at 300ºF (149ºC) for about 20 mins for 2-inch wide macaron shells *Pipe smaller since it spreads more after piping.I recommend baking one sheet at a time for most household ovens to get the best results. You can bake two sheets together if they fit in the same oven rack.
Make Ganache Filling & Finish Macarons.
- Make ganache filling.Add dark chocolate in a medium bowl. Melt it completely with a water bath.Add about ⅓ of cold heavy cream and mix until well combined with a silicone spatula. Clean the sides and the bottom of the bowl and spatula to make an even ganache. Add half of the heavy cream and repeat the same step. Add the remaining heavy cream and repeat the same step.Add softened butter and mix until the butter is evenly incorporated. Mix it with a whisk at high speed if pieces of butter can not blended in. Set it aside at room temperature.170 g Dark chocolate, 180 g Heavy cream, 28 g Butter
- Remove the macaron shells and match the pair.Wait until the macaron shells are cooled completely.Remove them from parchment paper or silicone mats. Make pairs and line them on baking sheets.
- Pipe the filling and sandwich it.Check the consistency of the ganache. Chill it in the fridge if you feel it is a bit too loose to pipe. Do not leave it for a long time, and mix it for at least every 5 minutes to prevent it from getting too stiff. Pipe a generous amount of ganache in one of the pairs. Sandwich it by pressing down the 2nd shell on top. And it is complete!
Susan says
My first time making macarons and they turned out perfect. Great recipe and instructions. The taste was also so good. Thank you!
Aya Caliva says
Wow congrats!🥳 Thank you so much, I'm so happy to hear it!