Something to heat you up on these cold winter days!
You’ll be surprised at how delightfully warming these little macarons are! Don’t be put off by the chilli – it’s not going to leave you with tears streaming down your face as you desperately reach for the milk! It’s a subtle, growing heat that warms your mouth with each delightful bite.
You’ll find that you’ll be reaching for more!
Of course, you can always change the amount of chilli to suit your taste. I think that 2 tsp is enough to give you a little heat without overpowering the overall experience but I’ve made them hotter for friends who really like their spice!
This recipe makes approximately 24 macarons. It will take about 20 mins to prepare the macaron mixture and then the macarons will need drying time before they are baked. This can take 30 mins – 2 hrs. Once dry, they are baked for approx. 15 mins.
Ingredients:
For the macarons:
- 77 g almond flour
- 60 g icing sugar
- 11 g cocoa powder
- 80 g aged egg whites (see tips)
- 80 g granulated sugar
For the chilli chocolate ganache:
- 100 g dark chocolate
- 100 ml double cream
- 2-3 tsp of chilli powder (depending on how much you like spice!)
Useful Equipment: 2 baking trays, each with a macaron mat on top (if you don’t have a macaron mat, place a sheet of baking paper on each tray and draw out circle templates with a diameter of 3 cm – you can use a cookie cutter to do this), weighing scales, oven thermometer, hand/stand mixer with whisk attachments, food processor, stainless steel or glass mixing bowl, small saucepan, piping bag with a round nozzle, food processor (optional), sieve, spatula, cocktail sticks, heatproof bowl
Useful Tips:
- For best results, age your egg whites. This can be done by separating your eggs the day before and placing the egg whites uncovered in the fridge overnight.
- Wipe your stainless steel or glass bowl with kitchen towel dampened with lemon juice before whisking your egg whites. This helps to ensure you get the best peaks!
- You need your dry ingredients to be as fine as possible. Blend them together in a food processor or push them through a sieve a couple of times before combining with the egg. This is how the macarons get their shiny shell.
- Pay attention not to over-whisk your egg whites. This can cause your shells to crack apart during baking (too much air!). You need to get them to the thick and glossy stage (‘stiff peaks’). This means that when you pull your whisk out, the peak of the meringue should stand upright and not bend over.
- Leaving your macarons to dry out before baking is crucial for getting the smooth shell. If they are not dry, they are likely to crack when baking. Once you can touch the top of the shells without it sticking, they have dried enough.
- If you’re becoming a bit of a macaron pro, I highly recommend investing in an oven thermometer. This way you will know exactly what temperature your oven is at (it can vary so much, believe me!) and will have more control over the perfect macaron finish.
Please don’t hesitate to send me a message via the contact page or on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) if you need any advice or help troubleshooting your macarons!
Method:
Making the Macaron Shells:
- Prepare the baking trays with either a silicon macaron mat or baking paper with your template drawn out.
- Sift together the almond flour, icing sugar and cocoa powder. If you have one, I recommend blending them together in a food processor to get the mixture as fine as possible.
- In a clean, heatproof, stainless steel or glass bowl, combine the egg whites and granulated sugar. Place over a simmering pan of water (bain marie) and whisk until frothy and all of the sugar has dissolved. You can check this by rubbing the mix between your fingertips; if it’s still grainy, keep going.
- Remove from the heat and either transfer to a stand mixer or use a hand mixer to whip up the egg whites to form stiff peaks. Be careful not to overmix.
- Add in the dry ingredients and fold until combined. As you do so, push your spatula down as you turn the bowl – the aim is to remove some of the air trapped in the mixture.
- Repeat this movement until the batter starts to fall like ribbons. This is a key step to get right as under-mixing can upset the texture of the shells. Pick up some batter with your spatula and let it fall off the end. If it is falling like a ribbon, try drawing a figure of 8. If the batter doesn’t break whilst doing this then it is ready. If it does, keeping folding until the ribbon stage is reached. It should fall quite slowly.
- Place the mixture into a piping bag with a round nozzle and pipe onto your macaron mat/template. Try piping straight down into the centre of the circle to achieve a circular shaped macaron.
- Lift the tray about 10 cm off the surface and drop it down onto the table. Do this a couple of times to bring any air bubbles to the surface. You can then smoothen the top with a cocktail stick.
- Let the macarons sit at room temperature until dry on top. This can take from 30 mins to 2 hrs depending on the room. You will know they are ready when you can touch the top and it isn’t sticky.
- When the macarons are dry, preheat the oven to 160 °C fan/325 °F. For best results, use an oven thermometer!
- Bake for 10-12 mins. The feet should be well risen at this point. Cool completely on the tray.
Assembling the Macarons:
- In order to get neat looking macarons, try and pair similar shaped shells together.
- For the ganache, break up the dark chocolate and place in a glass bowl with the cream over a simmering saucepan of water on a low heat (bain marie). Stir until fully melted and add the chilli powder, stirring to combine. Remove from the heat to cool to room temperature – it should become the texture of peanut butter!
- Place into a piping bag and pipe a blob the size of a heaped teaspoon into the middle of the bottom shell. Sandwich together with the top shell.
- Decorate however you choose and enjoy! I dusted mine with some red powdered food colouring and gold glitter!
Macarons will keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge. You can also keep the shells for up to 6 months in the freezer.
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