Macarons with Chocolate Ganache and Coffee Buttercream

If you like the flavors of tiramisu, you’re going to love macarons with chocolate ganache and coffee buttercream! Inspired by my first experience with opéra cake on a trip to Paris, they're the perfect combination of delicate and decadent.

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Keyword Macarons with Chocolate Ganache

Prep Time 1 30

Cook Time 30

Time for the Macarons to Dry Out Before Baking 1

Servings servings

Calories 146kcal

Author Faith Gorsky

Ingredients

Vanilla Macarons:

128 g almond flour
128 g powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
100 g egg whites at room temperature
100 g granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or more vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Coffee Buttercream:

1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder dissolved in 2 tablespoons hot water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Dark Chocolate Ganache:

100 g 72% dark chocolate chopped
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the Vanilla Macarons:

Sift together the almond flour, powdered sugar, and salt through a fine mesh sieve. Discard any larger clumps.
Use a handheld electric beater to beat the egg whites in a large bowl until frothy. Beat in the sugar a little at a time until fully incorporated. Continue beating until the egg whites are glossy and form stiff peaks. Beat in the vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste, and almond extract.
Add the dry ingredients to the egg whites and fold in with a rubber spatula until incorporated. Once the batter is properly mixed, it should flow like lava.
Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat liners, and pipe the batter into 3/4-inch circles about 1 inch apart.
Tap the baking sheets firmly against the counter to release any air bubbles.
Let the piped cookies sit at room temperature until they form a skin and feel dry on top, about 30 to 60 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 300.
Bake the cookie trays one at a time until cookies develop a puffed “foot” on the bottom and are very light golden around the outside, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Cool the cookies completely and then remove with a thin metal spatula.

For the Coffee Buttercream:

Beat together all ingredients until light and fluffy.

For the Dark Chocolate Ganache:

Melt the chocolate and cream together in a microwave or double boiler. Cool slightly.

To Assemble the Macarons:

Match up similar sized and shaped macarons into pairs.
Pipe a dollop of buttercream on the inside of 1 cookie from each pair. Pipe a ring of dark chocolate ganache on the inside around the edge of the other cookie from each pair. Sandwich the 2 halves together.
Repeat until all the cookies are sandwiched together.

Notes

Recipe Yield and Serving Size: This recipe makes about 30 filled macaron cookie sandwiches. Each serving is 1 macaron sandwich.
Before Filling the Macaron Shells: You can store the shells in an airtight container layered between pieces of parchment paper for up to 3 days before filling them.
After Filling the Macaron Shells: You can store filled macarons in an airtight container layered between parchment paper for up to 1 week. Alternatively, you can freeze filled macarons for up to 3 months.

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