Hot chocolate is a classic winter drink. Macarons are one of the most-featured items on the blog. It was only a matter of time before I combined the two and made hot cocoa macarons!
These macarons actually feature hot cocoa mix in the filling. If you don’t have any, you can use cocoa powder, but if you do, I highly recommend the hot cocoa mix. It really gives these the hot chocolate flavour we’re looking for.
Now, as we all know, no cup of cocoa is complete without being topped with marshmallows. To bring the marshmallows to these macarons, we’re making the same marshmallow frosting that’s in my s’mores macarons. It’s light, fluffy, marshmallow-y, and brings these hot cocoa macarons full circle. Don’t skimp on the marshmallow. If you’d rather use marshmallow fluff, you can, but give this marshmallow frosting a shot. It’s worth it, I promise!
I drizzled the top of each macaron with some melted chocolate for *aesthetic* purposes. If you’re a chocolate lover, I strongly suggest doing this too. No matter what you do though, you really can’t go wrong with these macarons. They’re a classic winter drink in macaron form and I think you’ll love them!
Hot Cocoa Macarons
Ingredients
- Macaron Shells:
- 275g almond flour
- 240g powdered sugar
- 10g dark cocoa powder
- 210g egg whites
- 210g sugar
- Hot Cocoa Buttercream:
- 5 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 1/3 cup hot chocolate mix or cocoa powder
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp chopped chocolate, melted and cooled
- 3 tbsp milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Marshmallow Frosting:
- 2 egg whites
- 1/3 cup sugar
Directions
- Step 1 Macaron Shells:
- Step 2 To start, put the almond flour, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder 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 Hot Cocoa Buttercream:
- Step 8 Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add in the hot chocolate mix, powdered sugar, and cooled chocolate, mixing until combined.
- Step 9 Add in the milk and vanilla extra and beat until the buttercream is light and fluffy.
- Step 10 Marshmallow Frosting:
- Step 11 Combine sugar and egg whites in a bowl. Place bowl over a pot of gently simmering water and whisk constantly until mixture reaches 160°F.
- Step 12 Transfer to a standing mixer with whisk attachment and beat on medium-high speed (8) for 10-12 minutes, until it has doubled in volume and stiff peaks have formed.
- Step 13 Assembly:
- Step 14 Pair up macaron shells of the same size. Drizzle one half of each pair with melted chocolate (optional)
- Step 15 On one half of each pair, pipe a ring of hot cocoa buttercream. Pipe some of the marshmallow frosting in the middle of the ring and sandwich together.
