Chocolate Champagne Macarons

Chocolate Champagne Macarons
Shells adapted from Tartelette's recipe
Filling recipe by Dragon


My love affair with macarons continues. I find excuses to make them and I love discovering new flavour combinations. I made these for our New Year's Eve French themed dinner. I couldn't think of any better way to celebrate the start of a new year than with these festive macarons. Enjoy!

Makes: 24

Ingredients:
For the macaron shells:
3 tablespoons (25 gr) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2 cup (50 gr) ground almonds
1 1/2 cup (150 gr) powdered sugar
3 large egg whites
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling:
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar (or more depending on desired consistency)
2 tablespoons champagne/sparkling wine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 oz dark chocolate, melted

Prepare the macarons:

1. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, gradually add the sugar and vanilla until you obtain a glossy meringue. Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry.

2. Place the almonds, powdered sugar and cocoa powder in a food processor and give them a good pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Sift the mixture and add it to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that falls back on itself after counting to 10.

3. Give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.

4. Fill a pastry bag with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets. Preheat the oven to 350F. Let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit and bake for 10-12 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool.

5. For the filling: Beat butter until smooth. Add the champagne and vanilla; blend well. Add the melted chocolate; blend well. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until you get the desired consistency.

6. To assemble the macarons, pipe or spoon some of the filling in the center of one shell and top with another one.

18 comments:

Priya Suresh said...

Pretty, gorgeous and elegant macarons..

Finla said...

Wish mine came out so beautifully, i made few days back and they looked liked well i canot describ them :-)
Yours look beautiful and love the filling.

Peter M said...

These are a thing of beauty. I'm happy that your efforts in the kitchen were rewarded with yummy, pretty Macarons. Hey....MAcarena!

JodieMo said...

so fancy! I bet those are delicious.

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

Beautiful macaroons. They could be in a display in a pastry shop.
Sam

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Lovely macarons! Great choice of flavor!

Cheers,

Rosa

Jeanette said...

Such pretty macarons! They could be in a bake shop! You are so talented.

Barbara Bakes said...

Beautiful - Jamie better watch out. You might be the new Queen!

Kathleen said...

These are prettier than the professionals make!

NKP said...

They are so beautiful! Simply gorgeous.

Unknown said...

Beautiful, Beautiful!!

Hugs
Eva

Paula - bell'alimento said...

I'd like 2 dozen please! YUM!

Lo said...

They're so gorgeous!! Why would you want to resist?

You have mastered the art of the macaron, Woman!

Snooky doodle said...

awesome! I like the piped filling :)

Hyperion said...

Could you use sparkling grape juice instead of champagne?

Ciao Chow Linda said...

These are positively the most beautiful macarons I've seen. The interior swirl just takes these over the top.

Susan said...

Those are beauties! Lovely how you've piped the filling.

Happy New Year, Dragon!

Barbara @ VinoLuciStyle said...

These look too pretty to be real, but they look real good!

I've had very limited success; got a pic of some on Tastespotting and first thought was...Why?

I am piping filling next time though too...such a nice presentation.

 
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