Macarons au café, or coffee macarons, are one of the classic macarons you’ll find in almost any French boulangerie-pâtisserie.

In upscale shops such as Ladurée, Pierre Hermé or Arnaud Larher, the varieties and colours of macarons are endless, as new flavours are being created all the time.

But in neighbourhood shops, the typical flavours on offer are chocolate and coffee.

The coffee-flavoured macarons below were made by modifying the basic chocolate macaron recipe.

Instead of cocoa powder, add two tablespoons of instant coffee to the almond powder and icing sugar mixture before pulsing in the food processor.

If your instant coffee is in granule form, crush it into a fine powder before adding it to the other ingredients.

Of course, you’ll get better flavour from real coffee extract, which should be added to the beaten egg whites following the final addition of sugar. A few drops should suffice (no more than 4 or 5).

To make the mocha filling for these macarons, bring 50 grams (2 ounces) of heavy cream to a boil, then pour over 125 grams (4.5 ounces) of finely chopped dark chocolate in a heat proof bowl.

Add three tablespoons of strong coffee (or a few drops of coffee extract) and stir until melted, then set aside to thicken.

The basic recipe and full directions are found here.

Enjoy!