Chocolate Chocolate Macarons

Our Mactweets Mac Attack challenge this month is to make macarons based on one of our favorite movies.  I love movies so the real challenge here was to narrow the search and select just the right film.  The Godfather...no, Ferris Bueller's Day Off...nothing there, Sideways...maybe, The Graduate...don't think so, and I did some waffling back and forth between War and Peace and The King and I.  

I just couldn't settle on a baking theme until my grandchildren came to visit yesterday. We were in a movie kind of mood and they chose to watch Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  It's one of my favorites so I settled in with them to enjoy the show.  I've made macarons many times but haven't chosen chocolate since my first mac disaster when they turned out flat as a pancake, cracked, no feet, burned, stuck to the parchment, etc. So chocolate was an easy choice today.  Can you believe that Willy Wonka is 40 years old next year?  And who doesn't remember the chocolate river, the Oompa Loompas,  or the scene where bratty Violet Beareguard swells up into a giant blueberry?  We were thrilled to go along on Charlie Bucket's and Grandpa Joe's adventure as they used their golden ticket to meet Willy Wonka and tour the Chocolate Factory.

I chose the recipe that my friend Barbara, at Barbara Bakes, used in a previous Mac Tweet post when she baked David Lebovitz's Chocolate Macarons.  Although I baked them a few minutes too long they had a wonderful chocolate flavor and I was very happy with their lovely chocolaty color.

Chocolate Macarons...from The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz

1 cup (100 g) powdered sugar

1/2 cup powdered almonds (50 g)  (I used Bob's Red Mill Almond Flour)

3 tablespoons (25 g) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

2 large egg whites (75 g), aged 1 to 3 days at room temperature

5 tablespoons (65 g) granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  (In my oven this was too hot so I lowered the temperature to 300 degrees)

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2 inch, 2 cm) ready.  If you set the pastry bag in a glass it's much easier to fill.

Grind together the powdered sugar with the almond flour and cocoa so there are no lumps.  Use a food processor since purchased almond meal isn't quite fine enough.

In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape.  While whipping, beat in the granulated sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes.

Carefully fold in the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula.  When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag (standing the bag in a tall glass helps).

Pipe the batter onto the parchment-lined sheets in 1 inch (3cm) circles, evenly spaced 3 cm apart.  If you would like instructions for making a template for your cookie sheets you can find them here. Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons.  Let them set at room temperature for about an hour until they form a skin that doesn't stick to you finger when you touch them.

Bake for anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes depending on your oven.  It's trial and error until you find the temperature and baking time that works for you.  Let macs cool and then remove them from the baking sheet.                             

                                             

I wanted a very chocolaty macaron so I used Susan's chocolate ganache recipe at  Savoring Time In The Kitchen for the filling.  I love this recipe and it made just enough to fill my macarons.  I added a little Amaretto for a hint of almond flavor. Thanks, Susan.

Chocolate Ganache...from Savoring Time in the Kitchen

4 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon butter

2 teaspoons liqueur or brandy.

Place the chopped chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl.  Heat the cream and butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Bring just to a boil.  Immediately pour the hot cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes.  Stir with a whisk till smooth.  Add liqueur if desired.