Chocolate Ginger Macarons
I´m super excited to share this post with you.. for two very good reasons.. one because it´s my 1st Christmas post in 2013 (Christmas is my all time favourite time of the year!!) and 2nd because it´s my 1st time that I blog about Macarons (or Marcaroons.. or whichever way you would like to call them..)!!
Let me tell you these Macarons are tricky.. I had to make a couple (to be truthful 4 batches) before they came out like this.. when you look at them they seem to be só simple to make, but the steps need to be followed precisely to ensure the end result is perfect.
And because it´s my 1st Christmas post, I flavoured my MACARONS with ginger and filled them with chocolate buttercream made of real melted chocolate..Yum Yum!
I dont know if you guys remember but I made a Ginger and Chocolate MERINGUE PIE awhile ago and I absolutely fell in love with the flavour combination Click here if you would like to see that Post! It´s perfect for the Christmas season too.
When I smell ginger, it reminds me of Christmas.. the next few weeks I´ll post about flavours/combinations that makes Christmas time real to me!!
Another reason to celebrate is that we have a long weekend (´puente´ as they say here in Spain) coming up and that means more time to spend with my family, bake, put up our Christmas tree.. etc etc.. Like the song says “It´s the time to be jolly, tralalalalalala”
So lets get to the making of these MACARONS.. one of the most important things that I can tell you is that when you make these, make sure that the oven temperature on the recipe is stipulated as convection or fan (because this I learnt makes a huge difference in the success of your Macarons.. trust me!!).
Ingredients
- 100g icing sugar
- 55g almond flour (I buy the grounded Almond that they sell here in Spain at Mercadona (the Hacendado brand)
- 1 & 1/2 egg whites (at room temperature)
- 25g white granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1/2 - 1 tsp grounded ginger (it depends on how strong you like it)
- pinch of salt (trust me adding salt to your baking makes a huge difference!)
- 125g unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2/3 cups of sifted icing sugar
- 75g of melted dark chocolate (I melt mine in the microwave at 15 second intervals)
- 1 tspn vanilla essence
Instructions
- Sift your icing sugar, ginger, salt and almond together and leave on the side.
- Beat your egg whites until soft peaks form and while continuing to beat on high, slowly add your granulated sugar until your egg whites have formed stiff peaks, now add your vanilla and continue to beat on high until the vanilla is incorporated.
- Sift your already sifted dry ingredients, again, into the same bowl you used for the egg whites.
- Now use a rubber spatula to mix all the ingredients together (you need to work in wide circular movements, about 25-30 times).
- Don´t overmix but make sure that all the almond flour mixture is well incorporated into the stiff egg whites).
- Fill a piping bag with a round nozzle and pipe your Macarons on wax paper placed on a baking tray (try to ensure the circles are all the same size) or like me, you can use a silicone pad made specifically for Macarons (this ensures your cirlces are all equal).
- Once they are all piped, tap your tray a few times to ensure the bubbles are popped.
- Leave to stand for 1 & 1/2 to 3 hours or until the Macarons have formed hard shells on the top (if you live in an area where it is very humid, like I do, you could use a humidifier in the room).
- Bake at 130ºC in a (fan) or 150ºC (convection) oven for 15 minutes.
- Put the oven off and leave for a further 5 minutes to ensure your Macarons are ready.
- You will know they are ready if they rised and have their famous bottom part ´feet´ and if they come loose easily and none of the Macarons is stuck to the paper or silicone tray..
- Leave to cool at room temperature and fill with your favourite filling.. I used chocolate buttercream, which I made the following way.
- Cream your butter and icing sugar together,
- add the vanilla and finally add the melted dark chocolate (that has cooled down to room temperature) and mix on high for a further 5 minutes..
- fill your Macarons with this mixture.. believe me the ginger and chocolate flavours work together beautifully 🙂
- finally dust your Macarons with some pure cocoa powder and they are READY to eat!
I´m planning my recipe selection for the next few weeks and I truely hope you guys like them as much as I like sharing them..
Have a great week and I hope to see you all VERY soon!!
Johlene
xoxo
Elizabeth - SugarHero.com says
Nicely done! Macarons are definitely tricky, yours look beautiful–totally worth the 4 batches of experimentation, right? 😉 And I’m right there with you–chocolate and ginger is a killer combination!
Johlene Orton says
Yeah it was totally worthit and that´s the only way to learn 🙂 Ginger to me goes with nearly everything as it breaks the sweetness of most ingredients.. Have a good week!! Xx
sprinklesandsauce says
These macarons look so yummy! I just want one or two right now!
Johlene Orton says
Hey there! Thanks for your comment!! Xx
Lola FrambuesayCaramelo says
Qué buenos nena!! Mira que yo no me quito el miedo de los macarons, los intenté una vez, vale que fue todo deprisa y corriendo, pero fue un desastre!!!
Oye te han quedado genial, la combinacion de sabores me parece formidable!!
Un besote!
Johlene Orton says
Muchas gracias Lola.. a mi también me gusta mucho jengibre y chocolate junto! Un beso X
Consuelo @ Honey & Figs says
These turned out so so beautiful! I love the flavor combo!
Happy Christmas baking, Johlene 😀
Johlene Orton says
Thanks Consuelo, I´m glad you like it!! Xx
Kristi @ Inspiration Kitchen says
Johlene – these are BEAUTIFUL! I’ve tried to make macarons before, and was not successful. Your 4th attempt, looks PERFECT! I wish I had the patience to try 4 times (I quit after 2 attempts), because these look delicious! Almost to beautiful to eat!
Johlene Orton says
Thx Kristi! They were quite a mission to be honest but I´m happy with the end result..lol! Xx
Tatiana Un detalle diferente says
Hola, me encanta la pinta que tiene, me gustan muchísimo las fotos. Gracias por la receta, yo todavía no sé si me atrevo con los macarons, ja, ja. Un besico.
Johlene Orton says
Te animo!! Sí puedes!! jaja Xx
Esmerαlđα• [Recelanđia] says
Hola, preciosa, me encanta la Navidad, también!
Y me encantan aún más, tus macarons, ese contraste de sabores es exquisito, como todo lo que haces!
Un besito grande
Johlene Orton says
Hola! Me alegro de verte de nuevo! Un beso grande X
Ashley @ Wishes and Dishes says
Christmas is my favorite time of the year, too! Love these macarons!
Johlene Orton says
Thanks Ashley, I´m a huge fan of Macarons 🙂 Xx
Mayte says
Jo te han quedado preciosos!! Yo los hacía hace tiempo, pero creo que he perdido la práctica, así que tomo nota de los tuyos, que además son una ricura!!
Besos y mucha buena vibra.
Johlene Orton says
Sí a mi me gusta los Macarons 🙂 Un beso! X