Grandma's Vegan chocolate macaroon recipe with a crispy outer shell and chocolate ganache filling
- Aanchal Mehta
- Aug 6, 2020
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 2, 2020
Chocolate macaroons are such a tasty treat. I love that first bite that cracks through the crisp outer layer before you sink your teeth into that chewy goodness in the middle. Follow my tips and tricks in this blog post to make the perfect chocolate macarons.
These lovely Vegan Chocolate Macaroons are filled with a Vegan Chocolate Ganache, made with coconut cream and dark chocolate.
These Vegan Chocolate Macaroons are rich tasting, with a slightly crunchy shell, and a creamy filling
WHY ARE CHOCOLATE MACAROONS SO HARD TO MAKE?
There are a lot of things that can go wrong with such a simple cookie if you don’t know what to look out for. Make sure you follow each step as close as you can to avoid these problems.
I find that a lot of people don’t really follow a recipe when they are trying something new. They read the ingredients and tend to skim the instructions (I am totally guilty of this too) but this is not one of those recipes you can get away with doing that. Making chocolate macarons is more about the way you make them and less about the actual ingredients.
INGREDIENTS
100 grams almond flour
90 grams powdered sugar
12 grams cocoa powder
75 grams aquafaba
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
66 grams granulated sugar
Vegan Chocolate Ganache
1/4 cup coconut cream 60 ml
1/3 cup chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate (56.6 grams)
Prep Time 1 hour Cook Time 40 minutes Resting time 40 minutes Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes
Servings 20 macarons Calories 160 kcal
INSTRUCTIONS
Vegan Macaroon Shells
Gather all of your ingredients before starting to make macarons. Measure out all ingredients. Line two baking sheets with silicon mats. And fit a large piping bag with a round tip. You want everything ready to go when you need it.
Sift almond flour, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder together. Set aside.
Place 75 grams of aquafaba in the bowl of a mixer with the cream of tartar.
Whip for about 1 minute on low, or medium low if the low on your mixer is way too slow. (On my hand mixer I whip on low)
At this point, raise speed to medium, and whip for another 2 minutes.
Raise speed to high and start to add granulated sugar, slowly, a bit at a time.
Continue to whip until the aquafaba achieves stiff peaks.
The whole whipping, from beginning to end, should last about 10 minutes, but sometimes it may last longer. Make sure you have obtained stiff peaks, shooting straight up.
Add sifted dry ingredients to whipped aquafaba. Start folding with a spatula slowly.
Add food coloring at this point, if using any.
Fold forming a letter J with the spatula.
You will fold until the batter is flowing slowly but effortlessly off the spatula. To test it out, you can grab a teaspoon of batter and place it on a baking sheet, watch how it behaves for 1 minute. If the batter smooths out the top, it means you are ready to go. If batter forms a pointy tip, you have more folding to do. But be very careful. Just fold a couple more times, and test again.
You don’t want to over fold the batter, so always stop before that happens, and then keep folding and testing as you go.
Once you notice the batter starts to look glossy, start to test it out.
This is a very important part of making macarons, and telling if the batter is ready is a skill that comes with a lot of practice.
My favorite way of testing, is that I grab a spatula full of batter and hold it over the bowl. And then, watch how the batter falls off the spatula. If it keeps falling non stop, but still slowly, I know the batter is ready. If the batter stops falling off the spatula while there is still quite a bit of batter in the spatula, I know it needs to be folded longer.
Transfer batter to the piping bag.
Pipe 1 1/2” circles on a baking sheet lined with silicone mat. I usually use 2 sheets. This will depend on how big you pipe your macarons.
Slam the trays against the counter to release air bubbles.
Use a toothpick to pop any remaining bubbles.
Let the trays rest for 30-45 minutes until the shells are dry. Test this by touching a macaron gently with your finger. Depending on humidity levels and weather, it might take longer or less time for your macarons to dry.
Pre-heat the oven to 285ºF.
Bake each tray separately.
Bake for a total of 20 minutes, or until the macaroons are easily coming off the silicon mat.
Remember to rotate the tray after the first 5 minutes baking, to ensure even distribution of heat, so the feet rise the same.
Baking time might vary depending on your oven.
Let the macaroons cool down before filling.
Vegan Dark Chocolate Ganache
Heat up the coconut cream until hot. Pour over the chocolate chips.
Whisk until all chocolate chips have melted. If they aren’t melting, microwave it for just a few seconds and whisk again to ensure the ganache is smooth without any chocolate lumps in it.
Let the mixture cool down. Chill it in the fridge for about 30 minutes, so it gains a firm consistency that can be piped.
To assemble
Place the Ganache in a piping bag. Pipe a dollop of filling on top of half of the shells. And then top with another shell.
Wait for the macaroons to mature for 24-48 hours before serving them. And let them come to room temperature for 10 minutes before eating, for optimal results and enjoyment.
Storage
Store the macaroons in the fridge for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Recipe Notes
*Aquafaba is the water you obtain from cooking chickpeas (or other legumes). The aquafaba I use is water drained from a chickpea can. I prefer low or no sodium chickpea water, mainly because of the taste, I feel like the salted chickpea water adds a weird taste to meringues and such. Some people like to boil their own chickpeas to obtain the aquafaba, and you can do that, but make sure to study what are the best ratios water:chickpeas so your aquafaba is concentrated enough.
*I have recently stopped reducing the aquafaba to make my vegan macarons, and they have been working fine. I still like to use low sodium chickpea water.
*If the batter is too thick while mixing, add a teaspoon of aquafaba as you mix, until you obtain the perfect consistency.
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