These Dark Chocolate Macarons have a light crisp, dark chocolate shell with a chewy, chocolatey center that's filled with a rich, dark chocolate fudge frosting. They're bite-size, decadent treats that are easier to make than you might think! Makes 18 fully assembled macarons.
Prep your work area by cleaning your mixing bowls, whisks, and any other baking tools that will be used for making the macarons. Using a little white vinegar on a paper towel will help remove any grease left behind.
Line 2 baking sheets with either parchment paper or silicone mats and fit a large piping bag with a round decorating tip (like the Wilton 2A). Set to the side.
Weigh all your ingredients using a food scale.
Sift the almond flour, powdered sugar, dark cocoa powder, and salt together twice, removing any bits left behind from the sifter. Whisk together to fully blend (or use a food processor).
1 cup Almond Flour, ¾ cup Powdered Sugar, 3 tablespoon Dark Cocoa Powder, ⅛ teaspoon Salt
Using a double boiler or bain-marie, heat the granulated sugar and aged egg whites over 1 - 1.5 inches of simmering water, continually whisking until the sugar has fully dissolved and the mixture is frothy in appearance (about 5-6 minutes). Test by rubbing a little of the mixture between your pointer finger and thumb to make sure all sugar granules have dissolved.
3 Aged Egg Whites, ½ cup Granulated Sugar
Transfer the hot mixture to a mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and set the speed to high. When the mixture initially reaches the soft peaks stage, add in the vanilla extract. Continue to mix on high speed right until stiff peaks form (about 10 minutes). The meringue should look glossy and be able to hold its shape when you invert the whisk attachment.
½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Using a spatula, gently fold in the dry ingredients with the stiff meringue. As you continue to fold, press the batter against the side of the bowl. Keep folding until the batter is the consistency of lava. If the batter falls off the spatula in ribbons (or can make a figure 8 pattern) with no breaking, it's time to pipe! If not, fold 2-3 more times, then test again.
When ready, carefully scoop the batter into the piping bag. Holding your bag perpendicular to the silicone mat (or parchment paper), pipe out a circles close to 1.5 inches in diameter. When you bang the baking sheets on the counter after piping they should spread out just a little.
Bang your baking sheets on the counter 3-4 times to release the air bubbles. Use a toothpick to carefully remove them.
Set the trays of chocolate macaron shells to the side, somewhere cool and dry, where they can rest/dry for 40 minutes. The dark chocolate macarons are ready to be baked when the tops are dry to the touch. Use a ceiling fan to help dry them, if you have one. Drying times will vary based on where you live. The higher the humidity, the longer the rest time.
When you're close to the end of the resting time, preheat your oven to 300ºF and place your oven rack on the 2nd level mark (just above the center).
Bake only 1 tray of the chocolate macarons at a time for 16 minutes at 300ºF, rotating the baking sheet at the 8 minute mark. Do not skip this step!
When done, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 20-30 minutes. If your shells are still a little sticky after this time frame, you can pop them in the freezer for 15-20 minutes.
If not making/piping the frosting until the next day, keep the macaron shells stored in an airtight container either in the freezer or refrigerator.
dark chocolate fudge frosting (makes 9.5 ounces or 270 grams)
Using your hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the unsalted butter, sifted powdered sugar, dark cocoa powder, salt, light corn syrup, vanilla extract, and melted chocolate over low speed until full blended and smooth. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
⅛ teaspoon Salt, ⅓ cup Unsalted Butter, ⅔ cup Powdered Sugar, ¼ cup Dark Cocoa Powder, ⅛ teaspoon Salt, ¼ cup Light Corn Syrup, ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract, 2 oz Dark Chocolate 70%
assembling the dark chocolate macarons
Fit a small- to medium-size piping bag with a coupler and small decorating tip (like the Wilton 32), then fill the bag with ¾ of the frosting.
Pipe the chocolate fudge filling onto a macaron shell, then gently press another macaron shell on top. Repeat until you have used all the macaron shells. Store any leftover frosting in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Keep the dark chocolate macarons stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Macarons taste their very best after 2-3 days of sitting in the refrigerator. They taste like a thick and chewy brownie. So good!
Notes
Thoroughly cleaning any baking tools that will be used to make the macarons with a paper towel soaked with little white vinegar. This will remove any traces of grease that may have been left behind.
You can make your macaron shells a day or 2 in advance. Keep them stored at room temperature until you're ready to add the filling.
Instead of whisking your dry ingredients after sifting twice, you can use a food processor and pulse until it's well blended. Don't skip the sifting though.
When separating your egg whites, make sure there are no traces of the yolk added. This will mess up the whole meringue process.
An alternative to aging egg whites—bringing the eggs to room temperature 1-2 hours before starting worked just as well. Then I separated out the egg whites.
An easy test for making sure the sugar has completely dissolved into the egg whites—run a little bit of the mixture between your thumb and pointer finger. If you feel any granules at all, keep whisking. And with the simmering water, you won't burn your fingers when testing. Don't skip this test.
Before transferring the hot mixture to a mixing bowl, lift up and carefully wipe away any condensation from the bottom of the bowl. Use oven gloves to transfer, if needed.
Another way to tell your macaron batter is ready for piping is when it can form a figure 8 shape without breaking.
Resting/drying time for your macarons will vary depending upon how humid it is where you live. I recommend 40 minutes for drying. Having the ceiling fan was helpful too.