Chocolate Macarons

A recipe for the classic chocolate macarons you’ll find in Parisian pâtisseries, adapted from an excellent demo originally found at “Cuisiner en ligne” (but no longer online). Fun to make, though they require a bit of practice in order to get them “just right.”

A good guide to making macarons can certainly help.

The recipe used in the video demo is for a very large quantity of macarons (300). It has been scaled down below to produce a more manageable batch.

Chocolate Macaron Recipe

Preparation time: 15 minutes (for the shells)
Baking time: 12-14 minutes per tray
Yield: approx. 30 assembled macarons

Ingredients

  • 90 grams (3 ounces) of egg whites (equal to whites of 3 large eggs), at room temperature
  • 125 grams (4 ½ ounces) of ground almonds or almond flour
  • 125 grams (4 ½ ounces) of icing sugar
  • 25 grams (1 ounce) unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)
  • 125 grams (4 ½ ounces) of caster sugar (superfine sugar) divided into two equal portions
  • 125 grams (4.5 ounces) bittersweet chocolate
  • 100 ml (3.4 fluid ounces) heavy cream
  • 25 grams (1 ounce) unsalted butter

Directions

      1. Pulse the almond powder, icing sugar and cocoa powder in a food processor just until a fine powder is obtained. Then sift the mixture into a large bowl. If using almond flour, you may simply sift the almond flour and icing sugar together.
      2. Place the egg whites in a bowl and add half of the caster sugar. Begin beating the whites and sugar at low-medium speed. After 2 minutes, when the mixture starts to rise and holds its shape, increase the mixer speed. Continue beating at medium speed until firm peaks are obtained. Add the rest of the caster sugar and beat until all the sugar is dissolved.
      3. Transfer the beaten egg whites to a larger bowl (if necesssary) and add all of the almond powder mixture. Using a spatula, gently fold the mixture until the dry ingredients are completely incorporated, taking care not to overmix. The batter should be smooth and glossy and have a lava-like consistency. It should form a ribbon when dripped from the spatula.
      4. Line two baking trays with parchment paper. Fill a large pastry bag half full with batter and, using a 2-cm (1/2 inch) tip, vertically pipe the mixture into small mounds about the size of walnuts. The batter should be fluid enough that the macarons slowly flatten themselves out. Tap the trays against a hard surface a couple of times to remove any air bubbles.
      5. Allow to the macarons to sit for 20 to 30 minutes until a “skin” forms and they are no longer wet when lightly touched.
      6. Preheat oven to 160 degrees C (325 degrees F) and bake for 12 to 14 minutes. Shells should be smooth and shiny, with the characteristic “foot” or ridge underneath. You can tell when they’re done by very lightly tapping the side with a knife or fork. The macaron top should not slide but remain firmly on its foot.
      7. Remove macarons from the oven. Cool for a few moments and remove with a lifter. They should come off easily.

tray of uncooked macarons

For the filling

      1. Place finely chopped chocolate in a heat-resistant bowl.
      2. Bring the cream to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Stir until melted and smooth. Add the butter and stir well. Allow to cool until thickened.
      3. Using your thumb, carefully make a small opening on the flat side of one macaron shell. Place about a teaspoon of filling over the opening. Cover with another shell and twist until filling is evenly spread.

Refrigerate macarons overnight before serving. Allow them to sit at room temperature for an hour or two before serving. They can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

To ensure your macarons turn out perfectly, have a look at these important macaron-making tips.

Having trouble with your macarons? They’re notoriously finicky! Check out our troubleshooting guide: ChocoParis macaron troubleshooting tips

Copyright © www.chocoparis.com. All Rights Reserved.

Variations on this recipe

Chocolate and raspberry macarons

Coffee macarons (French Method)

Coffee macarons (Italian method), using Pierre Hermé’s recipe

Chocolate and candied ginger macarons

Chocolate Cheetah macarons

Lemon macarons

Macarons with chocolate kirsch filling

More macaron adventures and an idea for packaging

Macarons with praliné filling

Recommended resources

More macaron recipes and resources

Chef Nini (in French)

Cuisiner en Ligne (in French)

La Cuisine de Mercotte (in French)

Les Foodies (in French)

MacTweets

Made in Wonderland

Paper Blog (French)

Syrup and Tang (part 1)

Syrup and Tang (part 2)

41 thoughts on “Chocolate Macarons”

  1. Gorgeous. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I would love to try this one some day… soon! Will include your recipe in the round-up.
    Thank you for baking for MacTweets with Jamie and me!

  2. Hi, thanks for sharing all of the info with us. My macarons always turned out with a hollow shells and wet bottoms, can you please tell me why is this happened and how can I correct the problems? Thank you so much in advance.

    1. I read somewhere that hollow shells can result from overbeating the egg whites. One way to minimise hollow shells is to gently make a small dent or opening on the underside of each shell using your thumb. When you place some filling over the dent and then cover with the other shell, the filling will be absorbed into hollow part. By the time you’ve refrigerated the macarons and brought them out the next day, no one will ever know they were hollow.

  3. After so much trial and error and frustration, I finally succeeded at making macarons using this recipe. The video link was very helpful. Thanks for sharing!

  4. I just made the basic choco recipe and OMG i loved them. Using the measurments above i got about 12 macarons (2 of them got a bit burned 😛 )
    next time i am trying them with jam!
    thank you so much

  5. Hi
    Thanks for sharing. Does your ganache remain semi solid at room temperature?Mine tends to ‘melt’ after a while. Guess it is the humidity and heat in sunny Singapore. I should increase the amount of chocolate to firm ganache up? Your views?

  6. Hi Ken,
    After making the ganache you can let it firm up in the refrigerator for a few minutes before filling the macarons. Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t get too firm or it will become hard to spread. After filling the macarons they should be stored in the refrigerator, so even if it’s hot where you are, the ganache should not have a chance to melt. Bring the macarons out at least 15 minutes before serving.

  7. I tried this earlier today, my mixture was very thick and it turned out quite a disaster, is there a way to fix thick batters?

      1. I had the same problem, and mixing more didn’t help. It just got overmixed and dense, but was still too thick. I think the measurements just aren’t quite right on my batter. It’s happened every time I make chocolate macarons (using 2 different recipes), but I can make plain ones just fine. Maybe it’s the chocolate I’m using? it’s Dutch cocoa powder. How can i adjust the amounts – reduce dry ingredients, I presume… but not sure if there’s other tricks that will help.

        1. This happened to me too. I used Dutch process cocoa powder- maybe that’s the problem. And I folded it for about 10 minutes, and it stayed just as thick as it was before. I’ll try again with normal cocoa powder and share the the results.

  8. I didn’t like this recipe. I made two batches, one with almonds I ground myself and the second with store-bought almond flour. Both times, the batter turned gritty before I even added 2/3 of the dry ingredients. I’m not sure why this recipe didn’t work for me like it did for others.

  9. A friend suggested that I grind the dry ingredients in a food processor until smooth, right before it turns into paste. Would this work?

  10. Hello,

    Is the cocoa powder natural or dutch processed?

    Do you have an easy “print” button for this recipe?

    Thank you!

  11. Hi Françoise – I just made the chocolate macarons and they came out well, but my baked shells were not shiny, they were dull and matte. I see other pictures on the Internet where they are dark and shiny as well. I followed all the steps, the meringue was not over and under beaten and I didn’t over or under fold the almond mixture. Do you know why this may have happened? Also, my ganache seized 🙁

    Thanks for any feedback you can provide.

    1. Hello Ruby,
      Generally, the “shininess” of the shells has to do with the “macaronage”, or mixing of the batter. Less mixing = duller shells, more mixing = shinier shells. But it’s a very delicate balancing act, because if you over-mix, the shells will crack. That said, the Italian method, while a little more complicated, is said to be more reliable than the French method when it comes to producing shinier shells. Regarding the colour, don’t be fooled by photographs of dark and shiny chocolate macaron shells. Food colouring and photoshop are commonly used tricks!

  12. Hi,
    If I want to substitute some of the almond meal for pistachio meal to make pistachio macarons, how much almond meal should I use?
    Thank you!

    1. Hello Trinity,
      I’ve never made pistachio macarons, so can only suggest trial and error. (I would start with a small amount of pistachio meal.)
      Good luck!

  13. Hi,
    Thanks for the suggestion anyway! Also, if I want to add a fruit puree or reduction to dark chocolate ganache, at what stage do you recommend to add it?
    Any help would be appreciated!
    Thank you!

    1. There are different ways of doing this, depending on the recipe. You can stir it in with the hot cream (and reduce the amount of cream accordingly). You might want to warm it up a little first.

  14. I have been researching french macaroons for months on the internet trying different recipes and this one worked for me. thanks so much for posting. I am making mine for my brother-n-law’s wedding as guest favors. Beautiful pictures by the way! I could look at those macaroons all day.

  15. Can you translat the larger quantity batch. I figured out part of it, but can’t seem to get the rest. Thanks

    1. Well,you can just times (x2) or depending on the recipe if you want a larger quantity of the macaron batches. For me, i reduced the recipe by half and it works well!

  16. I just made these tonight with a salted caramel filling and they’re delicious. Thanks so much for the recipe!

  17. Hi,
    Your recipe has a 1-to-1 ratio between the almond flour and the icing sugar for the dry ingredients. But I noticed a lot of online recipes has way more icing sugar in the dry ingredients (almost 2 times more than almond flour!), but way less sugar added in the egg whites. Is this a big deal? Will the macarons turn out the same? Which way is better? I’ve read in a book that it should actually be 1-to-1, “tant-pour-tant”. Thank you for your help!

    1. Hello Christina,
      “Tant pour tant” means equal parts of icing sugar and almond flour, which is what the classic French macaron recipe calls for. I can’t comment about other recipes I haven’t tried. Please post back and let us know about your results! 🙂

  18. do you have a video about you made the macaroons ? if I doesn’t have a mixer so how many times should I use while I use the wire whisk ? it no need to heat the oven before we baked too ? *can you reply me fast please sorry*

  19. Loved this recipe! So I’ve only tried macarons once, but I did make three different kinds at once based on the recipes posted here (chocolate macarons with praline filling, regular macarons with dark chocolate peppermint ganache filling, and lavender macarons with lemon-white chocolate ganache filling). There was a lot of math going on. Two of the three worked. The one that didn’t work: I ran out of egg whites and had to beat fresh ones, which were not aged. The shell came out hollow-ish and a foot didn’t form properly. My takeaway from that is the egg whites should definitely be aged and at room temperature! They all tasted good, but one kind didn’t look as nice as the others. I’m definitely trying again!

  20. Hello, I have searched through 2 pages now of tips/questions and cannot see anyone who has had my problem. Everything goes perfectly, even in baking the macarons form beautiful feet (though it did take a full 30 mins to do so!?) and they felt “firm to foot” as they should but they minute I pull them out of the oven, they sink in the middle! I’m devastated! Any ideas why this particular thing happens??? I’ve only had 2 successful batches in my 5 attempts. Any help is appreciated, thank you!

  21. i am able to whip up beautiful macarons every time. My question concerns buttercream for the filling. Can you suggest one that is stiff enough to prevent it from squeezing out the sides when you bite into the macaron. I am able to whip up Italian, Swiss, German buttercreams without issue but the problem exists in all cases.

    Most macarons call for allowing them to come to room temperature before taking that first bite. By then he buttercreams seem too soft. Also, I refuse to make buttercream with confectioners sugar…too sweet.

    I am at a loss. Any advice greatly appreciated.

  22. I have made macarons before, so I know what the batter consistency should look like. When making these, the batter was too thick no matter how much I mixed it (I mixed for around 5 minutes, way longer than I normally have to when making macarons). I decided to bake them just to see how they would turn out and they were tough and cakey. Could this be because of the amount of egg whites I used? I used the whites of 3 large eggs but it was over 4 oz, so I reduced it to 3 oz, around 2 eggs. Should I have used all 3 egg whites even though the recipe says 3 oz? Thanks.

  23. These macarons turned out perfect! Follow the recipe and you will find how to make something so delicious that your mouth will explode.

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