Ok, so I know orange isn’t exactly the most festive colour. It’s definitely more suited to autumn and all things pumpkin.
But here’s the thing. As a kid, Terry’s chocolate oranges were a staple in my house during the holidays. And, in case you hadn’t figured out by now, I’m actually obsessed with the pairing of orange and dark chocolate. Cookies, biscotti, macarons, and I have more plans up my sleeve for when I can start working on new recipes again.
With the filling being dark chocolate, the shells needed to be orange to kind of show what the flavour of these macarons is. If you want it to be a more festive colour, like red or green, go ahead and use those colours.
I actually made these macarons a couple of months ago, but have been holding off on sharing the recipe until now. I brought a few of them to work at the end of October to give to our clinical psychologist as he had missed out on something else I’d brought and I said I’d bring him something else. He LOVED them and another doctor I work with snuck one from him, so I’m calling these a winner!
Definitely add these to your holiday cookie box if you’re making one or surprise some people with them at a holiday party. I guarantee they’ll be a hit!
Dark Chocolate Orange Macarons
Ingredients
- Macaron Shells:
- 275g almond flour
- 250g powdered sugar
- 210g sugar
- 210g egg whites
- Orange gel food colouring (optional)
- Filling:
- 20 oz. high-quality dark chocolate, either chopped or chips
- 1 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- Zest of one orange
- 3 tbsp. unsalted butter
Directions
- Step 1 Macaron 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. 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. 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 Heat heavy cream and orange zest in a small saucepan until it is just boiling. Place dark chocolate chips/chunks in bowl and pour the hot cream on top. Let the cream sit on the chocolate for 2-3 minutes, then stir until silky and smooth. Add butter, stirring again until smooth (room temp butter works best here). Either cover the ganache with plastic wrap until it reaches a pipable consistency or place in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
- Step 9 Assembly:
- Step 10 Pipe dark chocolate orange ganache onto one half of each macaron pair. Sandwich gently together. Macarons should be refrigerated until ready to eat. They are best if they have been out of the fridge for 30 minutes before eating. Refrigerating helps the flavours build and letting it sit out a bit before eating will mean you are enjoying it at the ideal macaron texture.
