These raspberry macarons with creamy chocolate ganache are completely irresistibly. They are naturally colored and completely foolproof – even for a beginner baker!
I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about Valentine’s Day. That’s not unusual considering that I’ve been single for longer than I can remember. This year, however, my very smart, and incredibly loving five year old is very interested in Valentine’s Day. Rumor has it that she even got someone to buy her a gift to give to me on Valentine’s. (I got her the Trolls movie, but that stays between us, okay?) So she asks me about Love Day and how you celebrate and when I will bake things for Heart Day.
I made champagne cupcakes, but she couldn’t have them, so I also made these raspberry macarons. If I’m honest with you though, I basically ate almost all the macarons myself – including an extra batch I made the very next day.
These raspberry macarons are probably the best macarons I’ve ever made. The tops are smooth and delicate. All the cookies have even feet all around. And there is not one crack of hollow. It is packed with raspberry flavor. Plus, it is naturally colored, but you can add a few drops of pink food coloring if you want a more intense color. I also recommend adding a few drops of food coloring if you want a really nice color throughout as the macarons do get a little brown on the edges even though they are not over baked.
In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I tried to pipe my macarons into hearts. It definitely requires a bit of patience to get right. Some people like to pipe two teardrops together, but I found it was better to do more of a “V” motion and rounding out the tops of the hearts. If you want to make your own hearts, I found a clipart photo of a heart and traced that on construction paper which I put under my baking mat.
- 120 grams egg whites
- 190 grams powdered sugar
- 100 grams ground almond flour
- 15 grams freeze dried raspberries
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 40 grams granulated sugar
- 1 - 2 drops pink food coloring (optional)
- 4 ounces dark chocolate
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I prefer Rodelle)
- Place the egg whites in a bowl and leave out overnight. This step is necessary and cannot be skipped.
- The next day, place the powdered sugar, almond flour, and raspberries in a food processor. Pulse about 10 - 15 times or until the raspberries are completely powdered and the whole mixture is pink.
- Beat the egg whites in a completely cleaned and dried mixer until it gets frothy. Then add the salt and granulated sugar and beat until it forms stiff peaks.
- Add the almond flour mixture and the food coloring, if using, to the egg whites.
- Mix in the almond flour mixture until completely combined using a rubber spatula. This will take a bit of time, be patience and go slowly. You want to deflate the air from the egg whites, not add more in.
- As soon as the almond flour is incorporated into the egg whites, carefully mix by folding the macaron mixture over onto itself. After every three folds, use your spatula to lift and slowly drop the mixture back into the bowl. If the mixture leaves the spatula in a ribbon, then it is ready. Do not mix anymore.
- Leave the mixture uncovered in the bowl for about 30 minutes. While it is sitting, fit a piping bag with a large round tip.
- Pour the macaron batter into the piping bag in batches, ensuring there are no bubbles in the bag.
- Pipe the macarons into circle or hearts onto baking sheets lined with baking mats.
- Tap the baking sheets onto a hard surface to release any air bubbles. Leave to rest for an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F, and bake for 10 minutes, turning halfway through. Only bake one sheet of macarons at a time.
- Remove the macarons and allow to cool.
- While the macaron shells are cooling, make the ganache.
- In a double boiler, add the chocolate, butter, heavy cream, and vanilla together. Heat until the chocolate and butter melts and stir to combine. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
- While the ganache is cooling, match the macaron shells together that are of similar size.
- Add the cooled ganache to one half of the macaron shell pairs, then top with the matching macaron shell.
- Store in a cool, dry airtight container for up to several weeks.
Love this recipe! Raspberry and chocolate: what could be better? ANd the tips you include for macaron success are terrific. I took a class two years ago but never got around to making any at home. So I’m doing another class in 2 weeks, and then I”ll try these. The hearts are a great idea.
Made these today and the finished macarons were still sticky underneath, and they cracked when I took them out of the oven. Any suggestions on where I could have gone wrong?
Hi Elizabeth! Macarons, as you know, can be pretty finicky. Did they crack at all when they were in the oven, or only when they came out? Did they look slightly puffy, especially in one area, like in the middles or on one of the sides? Were they all still sticky, or in specific sections of your baking sheet?
Thanks for your reply. I think I’ve figured out my oven runs a bit cold, so I’m hoping to try again and bake a little longer. They looked great in the oven (beautiful feet and all) but when I pulled them out, they deflated and cracked and were all still sticky on the bottom. Probably undercooked, right? They tasted fantastic though. I love how the tartness of the raspberry cuts through the sweetness.
Finally, a recipe that works for macarons! All my other attempts were huge failures before. Thanks for the recipe