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Espresso Macarons

These are for the coffee lovers in your life. Chewy espresso macaron shells sandwiched together with a luxurious espresso french buttercream.
The macaron recipe for the shells is very slightly adapted from the book,“Secrets of Macarons”. (JoséMaréchal). The method for making them is a compilation of tips and tricks from Erin at cloudykitchen, Stella at seriouseats and Natalie at loveandmacarons.
The French Espresso Buttercream recipe is from atsloanestable.com.
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Servings 36 macaron sandwich cookies
Calories 160 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 food processor
  • 1 candy thermometer
  • 1 plain 1/2 inch piping tip
  • 1 star piping tip
  • disposable pastry bags

Ingredients
  

Macaron Shells

  • 200 grams almond flour, I like Bob's Redmill or King Arthur
  • 200 grams icing sugar
  • 2 teaspoons Instant espresso powder
  • 80 grams egg whites, room temperature
  • 175 grams finely ground, granulated sugar
  • 75 grams water room temperature
  • 25 grams finely ground granulated sugar
  • 80 grams egg whites, room temperature

Coffee Buttercream

  • 6 large egg yolks, room temperature
  • 100 grams granulated sugar
  • 45 grams water, 3 Tablespoons
  • 227 grams unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons espresso powder

Decoration

  • 36 chocolate covered espresso bean candies
  • 125 grams semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Instructions
 

Macaron Shells

  • Prepare templates for macaron cookies so that your shells will all be the exact same size. You can download a template from http://barbarabakes.com/wp-content/upLoads/2010/12/macarontemplate.pdf   Print out enough templates to line a 13x18inch baking sheet. Lay templates on baking sheet and cover with a plain piece of parchment paper.
  • Fit a large pastry bag with a plain ½ inch diameter round tip, and place in a large drinking glass or pitcher. Fold the cuff of the pastry bag over the rim of the glass or pitcher. This will make filling the pastry bag quite easy.
  • In the food processor, grind almond flour and icing sugar for about 2 minutes until it resembles a finely ground powder. Add espresso powder and pulse for 1-2 seconds to evenly distribute it. Transfer ground almond mixture to a sieve with medium sized mesh holes, set over a large bowl and using a rubber spatula or the back of a spoon, push the mixture though the sieve into the bowl. This process ensures a smooth and shiny macaron shell. Add 80 grams of egg whites and stir until all the dry ingredients have become incorporated into the egg whites. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
  • Place 175 grams granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. Turn heat to high and cook, without stirring, until you reach a temperature of 240°F. You can swirl the pan, to even out the melting sugar, but don’t put a spoon in it and stir.
     
  • While sugar is cooking, place 80 grams egg whites into stand mixer with whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until egg whites become bubbly. Add 25 grams sugar and whisk until soft peaks form. If soft peaks form before the sugar and water reach 240°F, turn mixer to low speed.
  • When the sugar reaches 240°F, the mixer to low and carefully pour the sugar syrup, in a thin stream into the mixer. Aim for the side of the bowl, rather than the whisk. Turn up the speed of the mixer to high and beat until the bowl of the mixer is warm to the touch, body temperature.  
  • Add 1/3 of the meringue to the almond flour mixture. Fold meringue into the mixture to lighten it slightly. Add remaining meringue and fold it into the ground almond mixture. The best way to do this is to use both a folding motion and a pressing motion. Use a flexible rubber spatula to scoop the batter up from the bottom of the bowl and then press it against the side of the bowl to gently deflate. Keep turning bowl and repeating this folding and pressing motion until the batter flows like lava. If this is your first time making macarons, watch this video a few times. It will give you a great idea of the consistency you are looking for.
  • Spoon half the batter into the piping bag. Twist top of bag closed. Pipe batter onto prepared baking sheets, using circles as a guide. Most likely your piped macarons will have a little nipple or peak on them. Tap the tray on the countertop few times to slightly flatten them out. Repeat with the remaining batter on second and third cookie sheets if necessary. Remember to slide out the paper templates before baking.
  • Put rack in middle position in oven. Place an empty baking sheet on the middle rack to allow it to heat up. Preheat oven to 300ºF.
  • Let the macarons sit at room temperature for about 30-60 minutes so that the tops can dry out a bit before baking. This will help them rise a bit better. After 30 minutes, touch the top gently with your finger. If it does not stick to yourf finger, they are ready to bake.
  • Place one sheet of macarons in the oven, on top of the pan you left in there to preheat. The double pans help with insulation and more even baking. Bake for about 14-16 minutes, rotating the tray after 7 minutes for even baking. You will notice after about 5 minutes, little feet will start appearing as the macarons begin to rise. This is the mark of a well-made macaron.
  • While macarons are baking, take a clean kitchen towel, place it under the tap briefly to dampen it. Lay damp towel out on the counter.
  • After 14 minutes, check the macarons. Press down gently on the top of one of the macarons. If the foot wobbles it needs a little longer, if it is stable, then it is close to being done. Do a little test. Try to peel a macaron off the paper. If they are stable but cannot yet peel away cleanly, give them another minute or so.
  • Remove from oven and carefully slide parchment paper off the baking sheet onto the dampened towel.This creates a thermal shock that makes the macarons easier to get off the parchment paper. Let cool for a few minutes, then transfer macarons to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Espresso Buttercream

  • Place the egg yolks in a medium bowl or a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until thick and foamy (about 3 minutes) while you heat the sugar and water.
  • Heat the granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan or frying pan over low heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to medium and bring to a boil, or until it reaches 240 degrees F.
  • While the egg yolks are still whisking at medium speed. slowly add the sugar syrup into the bowl. Continue mixing until the mixture has cooled down to room temperature.
  • Add the butter to the mixture one cube at a time, allowing each piece to fully incorporate before adding another.
  • Add vanilla and the espresso powder. Continue mixing on low speed until the buttercream is completely smooth.
  • Transfer half the buttercream to a disposable piping bag fitted with a star tip. I used Ateco French tip #862. Pipe the filling onto a macaron and sandwich with another macaron. Repeat with all macarons.
  • Melt chocolate in glass bowl in microwave on medium power for 1 minute. Stir until completely melted. Transfer white chocolate to a disposable piping bag. Drizzle top of filled macarons with chocolate. While the chocolate is still wet, top each with a chocolate covered espresso bean.

Notes

  1. A scale is necessary for measuring out the ingredients. There is too much margin for error when scooping into measuring cups. Macarons are finicky!
  2. If you can’t find fine ground granulated sugar, just give regular granulated sugar a whiz in the food processor for 30 seconds.
  3. Filled macarons will keep refrigerated for about 4-5 days. If you want to make them ahead of time, freeze the shells only and then fill with ganache the day before you plan to serve them.

Nutrition

Calories: 160kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 2gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 44mgSodium: 10mgPotassium: 36mgFiber: 1gSugar: 15gVitamin A: 200IUCalcium: 20mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!