Happy (almost) Valentine’s Day! Coming in hot with these Caramelia macarons that are sure to impress your Valentine. If they don’t, get a new Valentine.
Just kidding.
If I’m being totally honest with you all, I’ve never been someone who is super into Valentine’s Day. But you guys know I love any excuse to bake and this is the perfect time of year to be baking all things pink, red, and heart-shaped!
Year after year, macarons seem to be my preferred Valentine treat. Maybe it’s because the amount of time and effort put into producing the perfect macaron really shows how much you care.
I’ll have a macaron troubleshooting post up soon and I’m hoping it’ll help you all be less intimidated by macarons. That way, when Valentine’s Day rolls around next year, you’ll be fully prepared to make these 🙂
Caramelia
Not only are these macarons impressive, but the filling contains the best chocolate of all time. To be specific, it contains Valrhona’s Caramelia chocolate (now you know why these are called Caramelia macarons, not caramel macarons).
It. Is. The. BEST. And I don’t say that lightly.
As you all know, usually when someone says something is the best it’s a giant lie; more of a hyperbole than anything else. But I promise, this really is the best chocolate. It’s French, its fancy, and it perfectly blends the tastes of caramel and chocolate.
When I was in culinary school, I took a chocolates and confections class. It is exactly what it sounds like – we spent hours every week making different chocolate and candies. That and my breads class were my two favourite classes during my time in school. While we were in that class, we were introduced to Valrhona chocolate and the rest is history.
Honestly, if it wasn’t so expensive or if I could just pick it up at the grocery store, I would buy it all the time. Another reason these are a good Valentine’s Day treat – expensive chocolate!
This particular chocolate, the caramelia, was the class favourite. We would always sneak some into a little bowl and hide it under a towel, snacking on it when our instructor wasn’t looking. It’s honestly just so good. I have a big bag in my cupboard and it’s taking all of my willpower to stay away and not devour the whole thing.
I brought these macarons to work a couple of years ago and they were an absolute hit. Everybody liked them, and one or two of the doctors couldn’t get enough. The best part about working in a huge clinic is I always have a large group of people to test my recipes on.
When they respond as well as they did to these macarons, I know I’m doing something right 😉 Make these for your Valentine and you’ll be doing something right, too.
Caramelia Macarons
Ingredients
- Shells:
- 275g almond flour
- 250g confectioners' sugar
- 210g egg whites
- 210g sugar
- Few drops red/pink food colouring gel
- Sprinkles, optional
- Filling:
- 250g Valrhona caramelia feves, or other caramel chocolate
- 7 fl. oz. heavy whipping cream
- 15g sugar
- 50g unsalted butter
Directions
- Step 1 Shells:
- Step 2 To start, put the almond flour and powdered sugar in a food processor and blend thoroughly. Sift into a bowl to ensure there are no lumps.
- Step 3 In the bowl of a stand mixer (make sure it’s clean and dry), beat the egg whites until foamy. Slowly add the sugar, about 2 tbsp at a time, beating on a medium speed. Once the sugar has dissolved, increase speed to medium high and beat until a thick glossy meringue forms. Add food colouring and beat briefly to combine. The mixture should form stiff peaks and you should be able to tip the bowl over your head with none of the mixture coming out.
- Step 4 With a large, flat rubber spatula, gently fold 1/3 of almond flour/powdered sugar mixture into egg whites until combined. Repeat until all of the almond mixture has been added. Fold to combine until you see no streaks of almond flour in the batter. The batter should be pretty fluid, a lot of people describe as a lava-like consistency. It should run smoothly off the spatula when you pull it out. This part comes with practice. Once you know the consistency, you’ll just be able to feel when it’s ready.
- Step 5 Pipe the batter into circles onto parchment or silicone lined baking sheets. Bang the tray a few times on a table to remove air bubbles and allow to sit for about 30 minutes before baking (if adding sprinkles, add prior to resting). To see if they’re ready for baking, touch your finger to them. If you get batter on your finger, they need to rest longer.
- Step 6 While resting, preheat your oven to 300°F with a rack placed in the lower third of the oven. Bake, one sheet at a time, for 15-18 minutes (this depends on your oven, my old one was fine at 15 minutes, this one needs 17-18). The shells should cool completely before you remove them from the parchment/silicone.
- Step 7 Filling:
- Step 8 Put chocolate pieces/chips into a mixing bowl.
- Step 9 Heat cream and sugar over medium heat until hot. Pour cream over chocolate and gently combine.
- Step 10 Incorporate butter until smooth. Cool to room temp. and refrigerate 1 hr. before using.
- Step 11 Once cool, pair up shells and fill with ganache. Sandwich together.
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