Chocolate Macarons

The great thing about macarons is they are naturally gluten-free and dairy-free, meaning you can indulge in authentic macarons without worrying about the type of flour used or if they contain any cream. They are not vegan however, because their great consistency is due to the egg whites in the dough.

What you’ll need:

- 1 cup of almonds

- 2 cups of icing sugar

- ⅓ cup of cocoa powder

- 3 small or 2 large eggs

- 3 tablespoons of sugar

- ½ cup of coconut or soy cream

- 1 cup of dark dairy free chocolate

Instructions:

Step 1:

Preheat the oven to 140°C, or 280°F.

Step 2:

In a food processor, add the almonds and blend on high speed until you are left with a fine powder.

Lazy option: If you’re in a rush, use almond powder instead of blending them yourself.

Step 3:

Add the icing sugar to the food processor and blend until the almonds and the sugar are completely combined into a powder.

Step 4:

Sift the powder in a large bowl. Sift the cocoa powder and combine. Set aside.

Step 5:

Separate the egg whites from the yolks, and beat until you reach a thick and airy consistency. 

Step 6:

Add the sugar and continue beating.

Step 7:

Combine the dry ingredients with the beaten egg whites. Be careful to fold in the powder instead of stirring, in order not to break the eggs too much. 

Step 8:

Pour the macaron dough into a piping bag. If you don’t have any, like me, you can just pop it into a regular ziploc bag and then cut off one of the bottom corners. Line a baking tray with paper and make the macaron halves. You can make them as big or small as you want. Mine are quite big, but if you want your macarons looking more “classic”, make the halves smaller. Bake for 10-11 minutes.

Step 9:

While your macarons are baking, it is time to make the filling. Pour the dairy-free cream into a saucepan over medium heat, until it begins to boil. Meanwhile, measure out the chocolate in a bowl. Once the cream is hot enough, immediately pour it over the chocolate and stir, until the chocolate is melted. Store it in the fridge to harden, taking it out to stir every 5 mins to make sure it doesn’t harden too much.

Lazy option: Instead of making your own filling, use chocolate spread.

Step 10:

Take the macarons out of the oven and let them sit for 15 minutes. Do not rush this: if the macarons halves are not hard enough they might break when you handle them.

Step 11:

Now for the fun part! Combine the macarons by spreading some chocolate filling on a bottom half, and then putting another half over it, like a sandwich. This might get a little messy but it’s worth it! ;) 

Hope you will enjoy this recipe as much as I did!