It’s been so long since I made macarons that I actually think I was having some withdrawal symptoms. The cure for macaron withdrawals is obviously pumpkin spice macarons. Preferably paired with a pumpkin spice infused chocolate ganache.
I’ve been dreaming up this flavour combination for a long time. I made up my own pumpkin spice mix at the beginning of the autumn season when I made these pumpkin spice sugar cookies so I have a nice little jar of the stuff in my cupboard that’s been calling my name asking to be used.
Who am I to argue with the magical combination of cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger and cloves?
I won’t do it. Give in to the pumpkin spice call.
These macarons don’t contain any actual pumpkin, just the sweet spice taste of the season in both the shell and ganache.
It’s good, guys.
If you’d asked me a few years ago if I thought chocolate infused with pumpkin spice was good, I probably would have told you that you were insane. Then I made these and 100% changed my mind. It’s so damn good.
You’ll have a little bit of the ganache left over after you’ve finished filling the macarons. Eat it with a spoon. Or your finger. I don’t care, but make sure you get every last bit of chocolate. You won’t regret it!
Pumpkin Spice Macarons with Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients
- Macaron Shells:
- 138g almond flour
- 125g powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. pumpkin spice
- 105g egg whites
- 105g sugar
- Orange gel/powder food colouring (optional)
- Ganache:
- 6 oz. chopped bittersweet chocolate
- 1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin spice
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
Directions
- Step 1 Shells:
- Step 2 To start, put the almond flour, powdered sugar, and pumpkin spice 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 in the food colouring, beating 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. 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 To make the ganache, put your chopped chocolate and pumpkin spice in a heatproof bowl. Bring your cream to a boil and pour over chocolate. Let it stand for about a minute, then stir to create your ganache. Let it cool and thicken until it reaches a piping consistency.
- Step 9 Pipe your ganache onto one half of each macaron pair and gently sandwich together.
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