These coffee macarons with coffee-flavored macaron shells and white chocolate coffee ganache are decadent, portioned desserts that will wow your family and friends.
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Why you should try this Coffee Macaron recipe
Macarons are a beloved French dessert, known for their delicate texture and delightful flavors. Adding a coffee twist takes these classic treats to the next level. Here’s why these coffee macarons will become your new favorite:
Rich Coffee Flavor: The macaron shells and ganache are infused with coffee, providing a rich and aromatic taste in every bite.
Perfect Texture: Crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside, these macarons have the perfect balance of textures.
Elegant Presentation: These macarons are not only delicious but also visually stunning, making them perfect for special occasions or gifts.
Are you looking for more bite-size desserts? Look no further! Try these Profiteroles, this Strawberry mousse, or these Cream puffs.
Ingredients you will need
For the macaron filling
- White chocolate – Choose high-quality white chocolate (not compound chocolate) for a smooth and creamy ganache filling.
- Heavy cream – You’ll need heavy whipping cream with at least 34% fat content to make ganache with the right texture.
- Instant coffee – Alternatively, you can use espresso powder instead.
- Butter – You will need softened unsalted butter.
For the macarons
- Almond flour – Use extra fine almond flour that is not excessively oily. Test it by taking a small amount of flour and squeezing it in your hand; it should break apart once you open your hand.
- Sugar – You will need granulated sugar as well as powdered sugar to make these Coffee macarons.
- Egg whites – You’ll need fresh egg whites to make Swiss meringue. If you don’t know what to do with egg yolks, consider trying this Crème Brulee recipe, Peanut butter ice cream, or a batch of Pastry cream.
- Coffee powder – Similar to the filling, you can utilize instant coffee powder or espresso powder to infuse your macaron shells with a rich coffee flavor.
Tips for perfect coffee macarons
Measure Ingredients Precisely: Use a kitchen scale for accuracy. Baking macarons requires precise measurements.
Control Humidity: Macarons are notorious for being sensitive little things, especially when it comes to humidity. On humid days, they can be a bit temperamental. But fear not! Investing in a dehumidifier or simply cranking up the air conditioner in your kitchen can work wonders in creating the perfect environment for your macarons to dry properly.
Practice Patience: When it comes to macarons, patience truly is a virtue. Don’t rush the drying time. Let those little beauties sit and dry at room temperature until they develop that coveted smooth, shiny surface.
Don’t overmix the macaron batter: One of the biggest mistakes you can make when making macarons is overmixing the batter. It’s tempting to keep folding and folding until everything looks uniform, but resist the urge! Overmixing can lead to flat, sad macarons with no feet. Instead, fold until the batter flows like lava, and then stop. Your macarons will thank you for it!
Get familiar with your oven: Every oven has its own personality, so it's essential to experiment to find the perfect baking settings for your macarons. Instead of baking a large batch all at once, consider splitting your macaron batter into smaller batches and baking each one at different settings (with or without the fan if your oven has one) and temperatures. This allows you to see how your oven responds to variations in temperature and baking time, helping you determine the optimal conditions for achieving those coveted feet and perfectly baked shells. It may take a bit of trial and error, but the insights gained will be invaluable in mastering the art of macaron baking.
Why use the Swiss meringue method
In this recipe, I opted for the Swiss meringue method over the traditional French method or the beloved Italian method for making the meringue. The Swiss method involves heating the egg whites and sugar over a double boiler before whipping them into a meringue. This technique ensures that the sugar fully dissolves, resulting in a smoother and more stable meringue. Compared to the French method, it's less prone to humidity issues, which can affect the quality of the macarons, and it's less challenging to execute compared to the Italian method. Therefore, it's a more reliable choice for home bakers.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Making the Coffee Ganache
- Prepare the Chocolate: Place the white chocolate into a heatproof bowl.
- Heat the Cream: Pour the heavy cream into a saucepan and add the instant coffee and salt. Heat over medium heat until it starts simmering. Remove from heat and whisk to dissolve the coffee granules.
- Combine and Cool: Pour the hot cream over the white chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Allow to cool until warm to the touch.
- Add Butter: Add the room temperature butter and stir to combine. For an extra smooth texture, blend the mixture with an immersion blender.
- Chill: Cover the ganache with plastic wrap, ensuring it touches the surface to prevent skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
Making the Macaron Shells
- Sift Dry Ingredients: Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar into a mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
- Heat Egg Whites and Sugar: Place the egg whites and granulated sugar in a mixing bowl over a saucepan with slightly simmering water (double boiler). Stir continuously until the sugar has dissolved.
- Whip Meringue: Transfer the mixture to a stand mixer and whip until stiff peaks form. The meringue should be shiny and hold its shape well.
- Fold in Dry Ingredients: Gently fold the almond flour mixture into the meringue until the batter falls from the spatula in a continuous ribbon.
- Add Coffee: Add the coffee powder and fold gently to combine.
- Pipe the Batter: Transfer the batter to a piping bag with a round nozzle. Pipe 2-inch rounds onto a lined baking sheet.
- Remove Air Bubbles: Tap the baking sheet on the counter to release air bubbles and use a toothpick to pop any remaining bubbles. Let the shells dry at room temperature for 30-40 minutes, or until the tops are dry to the touch.
- Bake: Preheat the oven to 275F/135C with a fan (or 305F/150C without a fan). Bake one sheet at a time for 15-20 minutes. Allow the shells to cool completely before filling.
Assembling the Macarons
- Soften Ganache: Remove the ganache from the fridge and stir until slightly softened. Transfer to a piping bag with a round nozzle.
- Fill Shells: Pipe about 2 tablespoons of ganache onto the bottom shell of each macaron.
- Sandwich: Top with another shell and press gently to sandwich together.
- Mature: Refrigerate the assembled macarons in an airtight container for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving. This helps the flavors meld and the texture improve.
Filling options
Cream cheese: If you prefer less sweet macaron sandwich cookies, I suggest switching out the white chocolate ganache for cream cheese frosting. Make it with butter instead of heavy cream to minimize the water content and prevent the shells from becoming soggy.
Salted caramel: Coffee and caramel flavors pair well together, so if you like, you can pipe some homemade Salted caramel in the middle of the piped coffee ganache before placing the macaron shell on top of the sandwich.
Other ganache types: If you're interested in experimenting with flavors, you can fill your Swiss macarons with Peanut butter ganache, or semi sweet Chocolate ganache.
FAQ
Store completely cooled shells in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Yes, you can freeze them for up to 2 months. Assemble them while they are frozen and leave them in the fridge overnight.
Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Recipe card
Coffee Macarons
Equipment
- Digital kitchen scale
- Saucepan
- Heat-proof bowl
- Mixing bowl
- Stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or hand mixer
- Rubber spatula
- 2 Piping bags
- Round piping nozzle
- 2 Perforated baking mats or teflon mats (although parchment paper can be used, the shells might stick more to it)
Ingredients
For the ganache
- 150 g white chocolate
- 150 ml heavy whipping cream
- 2 teaspoon instant coffee
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 30 g unsalted butter at room temperature
For the shells
- 73 g powdered sugar
- 73 g almond flour
- 70 g egg whites
- 70 g white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso powder
Instructions
Coffee ganache
- Place the chocolate into a heatproof bowl.
- Pour the heavy cream into a saucepan and add the instant coffee and salt. Heat the cream over medium heat until it starts simmering. Remove from the heat and whisk to dissolve the coffee granules.
- Pour the cream into the bowl with chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture has a homogeneous consistency. Allow to cool down until warm to the touch.
- Add the butter and stir to incorporate. Additionally, you can blend the mixture with an immersion blender to ensure that there are no pieces of chocolate and butter left.
- Cover with plastic wrap so it touches the ganache surface and refrigerate for a minimum of 6 hours or overnight.
Macaron shells
- Sift the almond flour and powdered sugar into a mixing bowl and whisk well to combine.
- Place the egg whites and granulated sugar in a mixing bowl and place the bowl over a saucepan with slightly simmering water (double boiler). Ensure that the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Heat the mixture, stirring continuously, until the sugar has dissolved. To check, rub a little bit of the mixture between two fingers. If you don’t feel sugar crystals, it’s ready to be whipped.
- Whip, gradually increasing the speed from medium to high in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or use a hand mixer) until stiff peaks form. The meringue should be shiny, thick, and hold its shape well.
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the almond flour mixture into the meringue until the batter slowly falls down from the spatula in a continuous ribbon. You should be able to draw a figure 8 without breaking the batter a couple of times.
- Add the coffee powder and fold once or twice to avoid overmixing the batter.
- Transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a round piping nozzle.
- Flip two baking sheets upside down and line them with parchment paper, Teflon mats, or perforated baking mats. Additionally, you can place printed templates for macarons underneath, which you will remove after you finish piping the batter.
- Keep the piping nozzle facing straight down toward the piping surface (0.5” or 1 cm away from it and don’t lift it up during piping) and pipe 34 even 2" or 4cm rounds. Apply even pressure, letting the rounds expand a little bit up and sideways. Stop squeezing the bag and lift it up with a quick twisting motion so the tail will form a small curl on top of the macaron.
- Tap each tray a couple of times against the counter to force large air bubbles out. Use a toothpick to burst the bubbles. Then, leave the trays to dry at room temperature. The drying time will vary depending on the humidity levels in your kitchen. On average, it will take 30-40 minutes or until the tops of the macarons are dry to a gentle touch.
- Preheat the oven to 275F/135C (with fan), or 305F/150C (no fan).
- Bake one baking sheet at a time in the middle of the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the macarons have formed feet and do not jiggle when touched. If your oven has hot spots and you see that macarons rise unevenly, you may rotate the tray after 8 minutes of baking.
- Remove from the oven and bake the second batch.
- Allow the macarons to cool down completely before assembling.
Assembling
- Take the ganache out of the fridge and stir until slightly softened.
- Transfer the ganache into a piping bag fitted with a round piping nozzle.
- Pipe approximately 2 tablespoons of ganache on top of each bottom shell.
- Cover with the top shell and press gently to attach.
- Refrigerate in an airtight container for 4 hours or overnight before serving.
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