It’s beyond time these chocolate covered strawberry macarons got an update. These first appeared on the blog YEARS ago, back when my friend’s and I used to do weekly Friday Night Dinners. I think the theme was “heart-shaped” so I made the first variation of these and threw some heart-shaped sprinkles on top.
They were good then, but they’re even better now! My macaron skills and recipe development have come a long way since then.
Back then, I really had no idea what I was doing. My macarons were never consistent, my pictures were awful, and I really just churned out recipes to say I had something new on the blog.
Fortunately, every facet of my blogging has improved in the 5 or 6 years since then. I’m much better at developing recipes, making better looking food, and my photography skills have improved exponentially.
Chocolate Covered Strawberry Macarons
But back to the chocolate covered strawberry macarons because that’s what you’re really here for today.
I went for a really vibrant red shell. Feel free to go for a less vibrant red, or even a pink! I’ve just had a lot of pink macarons here recently so I’m trying to switch things up 🙂
The filling is easy and so delicious. Previously, I made a chocolate strawberry ganache with lots of dark chocolate and pureed strawberries. This time, I decided I’d make it easier on myself and make a ganache with Valrhona Strawberry inspiration.
By now you already know all about my Valrhona obsession, but let me tell you guys. This strawberry inspiration chocolate makes these macarons. It gives you the perfect creamy filling without being too wet from using fresh strawberries. Between the filling and half of the macaron being dipped in chocolate, you really feel like you’re eating a chocolate covered strawberry.
If you don’t want to dip the macarons in chocolate, you can drizzle it on top or just dip on half of each pair in some chocolate. Totally up to you. It’s like a choose your own adventure challenge!
Happy baking, friends! I hope you love these new and improved macarons as much as I do!
Chocolate Covered Strawberry Macarons
Ingredients
- Shells:
- 275g almond flour
- 250g confectioners' sugar
- 210g (6) egg whites
- 210g sugar
- Few drops red food colouring gel
- Strawberry Ganache
- 250g Valrhona Strawberry inspiration
- 250g heavy whipping cream
- Melted dark chocolate, for dipping
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, if using, and beat 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, add sprinkles, if using, and allow to sit for about 30 minutes before baking. 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 Ganache:
- Step 8 Place the strawberry chocolate in a bowl.
- Step 9 In a small saucepan, heat the cream until just boiling. Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate. Let sit for 1 minute, then stir to combine.
- Step 10 Allow ganache to sit until it reaches a pipeable consistency.
- Step 11 Pair shells together. Fill piping bag with ganache and pipe onto one half of each macaron pair, then sandwich together. Dip half of each complete macaron into dark chocolate and set aside to set.
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