Chocolate Filling For Macarons Food

CHOCOLATE FILLED ALMOND MACARONS

Steps:

• For the ganache: Combine the chopped chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pot with 1-inch of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth. Stir in the cream, vanilla and salt, and then remove from the heat. Set aside until cooled and thickened, stirring occasionally, 30 to 45 minutes.
• For the cookies: Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a small glass or cookie cutter (1 1/4 to 1 1/2-inch wide), trace 15 circles on each piece of parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches between each round. Flip the parchment over; the lines will be visible through the paper but you will not have to pipe directly onto the ink. Fit a pastry bag with a round tip about 1/4-inch wide.
• Sift the confectioners' sugar and ground almonds into a bowl and discard any larger nut chunks. (If you have more than a tablespoon of bigger chunks, grind those until powdery and then resift.) Combine the egg whites and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or in a large bowl with the whisk attachment of a hand-held electric mixer). Whip on medium-low speed until frothy, and then add the granulated sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high and whip until very soft peaks form. Add the almond extract and a few drops of food coloring if using. Whip until stiff peaks form. Fold about one-third of the sugar-nut mixture into the egg whites until blended, and then fold in the remaining two-thirds. The batter should be a bit fluid but not runny. It should slowly drip off the spatula and sit on top of the batter in the bowl for a bit before eventually oozing back into it. If it seems a bit stiff at this point, fold once or twice more until it relaxes, although be careful not to over fold. This correct texture is the key to the macaron and it is better to have a stiffer batter than a looser one.
• Transfer the batter to the prepared pastry bag. Holding the bag perpendicular over the baking sheet, squeeze until the batter fills a circle drawn on the paper. Release the pressure on the bag and pull towards you to prevent a pointy tip on the center of the cookie. Repeat with the remaining circles. Gently flatten any points on the cookies with a damp fingertip.
• Firmly rap the baking sheets against the counter to release any air bubbles and let stand at room temperature until the tops of the cookies no longer feel wet, 10 to 15 minutes. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until the macarons are slightly crisp and the bottoms release from the parchment paper, about 15 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through the baking time. Cool on the sheet 5 minutes, and then peel off the cookies and cool completely on a wire rack.
• To assemble the cookies, spread a thin layer of the chocolate ganache on the bottoms of half of the cookies, about 1/4 teaspoon per cookie. Top with a second cookie, gently pressing to squeeze the ganache to the rims.
• TIP: The weight of the batter in the pastry bag will force some of the batter out. To stop this, you can stick a mini marshmallow at the end of your pastry tip to block to the batter from running out the end.
• TIP: You can use store-bought almond meal in place of the whole almonds. Sift 2/3 cup with the confectioners' sugar and, if necessary, grind the larger chunks and sift until a tablespoon or less of larger chunks remain in the sifter.
• TIP: You can also spoon the batter onto the parchment lined baking sheets. The cookies may not be as perfectly round but will still taste great.

CHOCOLATE MACARON RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 320ºF and line a 1/2 baking sheet with the macaron template and parchment paper
• Sift together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and almond flour, twice if not blended.
• Pulse the mixture in a food processor 8-10 times to make the almond flour mixture even finer and texture and to blend the ingredients together.
• Whip the egg whites on low to frothy consistency and slowly add the sugar in thirds.
• Once the egg whites turn white and you can see some lines forming in the surface from the whisk, add cream of tartar, whipping on medium until soft glossy peaks form.
• Add the vanilla to the meringue during the soft peak stage. Then continue whipping on medium-high until you get stiff peaks that start gathering and bunching on the inside of the whisk.
• Add 1/3 of your almond mixture to the meringue. Fold your spatula under the batter and around the edges and then cut through the center until almond flour is mixed in. Continue with the rest of the almond flour and folding until homogenous. (see video)
• Gently press the spatula on top of the batter while you turn the bowl to take out some fo the air from the meringue. Continue folding around the outside edge until the batter forms a ribbon and moves like lava.
• Your meringue is ready when it forms a ribbon off the spatula and the batter that settles almost dissolves all the way back into the rest of the batter but still leave a bit of a line.
• Place parchment paper onto your sheet pan. Pipe small rounds about 1" in diameter. Use a template if needed
• Drop the pan onto the table 5-6 times from about 5" above the table to release bubbles. Use a toothpick to remove big pockets of air trapped under the surface. Use a very small amount of water on your fingertip to smooth any rough spots.
• Allow to dry, uncovered until a crust forms on the surface. About 30 minutes - 2 hours or until a dry film develops over the surface of the cookie. For humid areas put a space heater nearby to help dry the cookies faster.
• Bake at 320ºF for about 14-15 minutes or until lightly browned. If not quite brown baked, bake for an additional 1 minute. Cooled cookies should pull away from the parchment paper without sticking. If they do stick, they were not baked enough.
• Let cool fully before removing from the parchment and filling with ganache. Cookies can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Shells can be frozen for 6 months in an airtight container.
• Place all the ingredients into a heatproof bowl and microwave for one minute. Let sit for 5 minutes then whisk until smooth. Heat for another 15 seconds if not fully melted. Place into the fridge for 20 minutes then whisk until smooth. It should be the texture of peanut butter.

CHOCOLATE MACARONS

Steps:

• Sift powdered sugar, almond meal/flour, and cocoa powder in a large bowl and set aside.
• Whip egg whites until foamy and until there is no more liquid remaining in the bottom of the bowl.
• Continue whipping the egg whites while slowly incorporating the granulated sugar and cream of tartar to the whites until it makes stiff peaks and are glossy (meringue).
• Gently incorporate the sifted mix 1/3 at a time to the meringue mixture until it has the texture of lava and looks like pudding.
• Pipe the batter onto any baking sheet/mat into your desired size and shape (traditional macarons are shaped as circles and are about 1 to 4 inches).
• Let the piped batter sit until it creates a skin (touch the batter and if it doesn't stick to your finger then they are ready to bake).
• Bake for 10-20 mins and check occasionally and gently push the top of the macaron down to see if it's done (if it moves then it's not finished, but if you poke it and it stays still then they are ready).
• Take the shells out of the oven and let it cool down (once cooled then you may take off the shells and fill it with any desired filling, I recommend a chocolate ganache).
• Decorate or leave it be, then enjoy.

CHOCOLATE-HAZELNUT MACARONS

Steps:

• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Put the hazelnuts, cocoa powder and 1 cup of the confectioners' sugar in the bowl of a food processor and process until the nuts are very finely ground and powdery, about 3 minutes. Sift with a medium-mesh strainer and discard any pieces of nuts that didn't pass through the strainer.
• Beat the egg whites and salt in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium-high speed until they hold firm but not dry peaks, about 2 minutes. While beating, gradually add the remaining 1 cup confectioners' sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed until the peaks are firm and shiny. Fold the nut mixture into the egg whites with a large rubber spatula until just blended. Transfer to a large piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. Pipe 32 two-inch rounds on the prepared pans. Set aside to air-dry for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Bake until the tops of the cookies are puffed and set, 18 to 20 minutes. Take care not to overcook the cookies or they will crack. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes, then gently peel from the parchment and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, put the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Heat the cream to a boil in a small saucepot over medium heat. Pour the cream over the chocolate and set aside until the chocolate is soft, about 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth; let stand at room temperature until thick but still spreadable. Sandwich about 1 teaspoon of the chocolate mixture between two cookies and repeat with the remaining filling and cookies.

NUTELLA MACARONS

Steps:

• Before you begin get all the ingredients ready. Also prepare your baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.
• Start by combining confectioners sugar, almond flour, and cocoa in a food processor. Pulse a few times to get it mixed good. Set aside.
• Whisk egg whites until they start to get foamy. Add cream of tartar and whisk until soft peaks form. Reduce speed to low and add granulated sugar, once its mixed in, increase speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form (about 3 minutes).
• Sift the flour mixture into the egg whites (do not use a flour sifter, a regular sieve will work better) fold the mixture until it is smooth.
• Transfer the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. ( Wilton 1a or 2a depending on the size you want) Pipe macaron mixture onto prepared baking sheet about an inch in between each one. Let sit about 30 minutes or until you can gently touch the top and it won't stick to you finger. Meanwhile preheat oven to 325 degrees. When they don't stick to your finger pop them in the oven for about 10 minutes. Take them out and test for doneness by gently trying to slide the top of the macaron. It should just barely move. Let cool while you prepare the filling.
• For the filling pour the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat until it simmers. Place the chocolate and nutella in a heat safe bowl. Pour the heavy cream in the bowl and wait a minute or so. Then whisk the mixture until everything is melted. Place in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes for it to stiffen up.
• Once the macarons are ready to be assembled, take out the ganache and beat it on high until it changes to a lighter color. Put the macarons together by scooping the ganache on the tip of a teaspoon and placing in the center of one macaron. Take the second macaron and gently press the two together until the ganache comes out to the edge.
• Store in the refrigerator. Let sit on counter for about 10-15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

CHOCOLATE MACARONS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/ 160C fan/gas 4. Line a large baking sheet with baking paper. Sift the icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl, then stir in the ground almonds. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, then fold them into the dry ingredients.
• Fill an icing bag fitted with a plain nozzle with the mixture (or put in a large food bag and snip off the corner). Pipe 24 small blobs, about 3cm across, onto the baking sheet, leaving a little space between each. Smooth the surface with a wet finger, then leave for 15 mins to dry out. Bake for 15-20 mins until macaroons feel firm to the touch and peel easily off the paper. Cool on the paper, then peel off and store in a tin for up to 1 week.
• To make the filling, put chocolate into a heatproof bowl and gently melt over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir in the warm milk until smooth. Leave to cool and thicken a little, then use to sandwich the macarons together