Mocha Macarons

Another Sunday afternoon, another sunny day, and another lovely day to bake. I was planning to bake a cake today but then plans changed, and I ended up experimenting with another macaron recipe.

I improvised as I went, taking the ratios of another macaron recipe and tweaking the ingredients, but I know macarons are delicate and fragile creations so I dare not change too much. And I felt like a little chocolate and a little coffee today so on top, you see, is dried coffee granules while the shells are cocoa flavored which led to the idea of the mocha flavor combination.

The cocoa powder and coffee granules really worked together and you could taste the slight bitterness of the coffee granules though the whole macaron may be sweet. The coffee buttercream with some cream cheese and the chocolate button really added to the mocha flavour combination, so overall it was a mocha hit! 

Thank you to the kind volunteer photographer. You really made the effort to plate this up, and I think you did a wonderful job because it looks like a mouth-watering picture, don't you think?


Mocha Macarons
Makes 25-30

Ingredients:
shells
80 grams icing sugar
50 grams ground almond
5 grams unsweetened baking cocoa powder
50 grams egg white (2 egg whites), room temperature
25 grams caster sugar

coffee cream cheese buttercream
1/8 cup butter, at room temperature
1/8 cup cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup icing sugar
1 teaspoon hot water
2 teaspoons of instant coffee (optional: extra coffee granules to add for a stronger coffee taste)
some chocolate buttons to decorate

Directions:
shells...

1. Sift icing sugar, almond, and cocoa powder together in a bowl.
2. Beat egg whites until foamy, then add caster sugar a little at a time while beating at medium speed. Continue to beat until the egg whites looks glossy and forms soft peaks.
3. Add a quarter of the almond mixture to the egg white mix and gently fold until just incorporated. Add the rest of the almond mixture to the egg white mix and gently fold until the mix looks ribbon-like and consistent.
4. Place the mixture into a piping bag and pipe 2.5 cm rounds onto a baking tray prepared with baking paper. Bang the tray gently on counter to rid any trapped air in the macaron shells.
5. Leave to rest about an hour or until the shells form a slight crust (when gently touched, the shells do not stick to your fingers). At about a half hour, sprinkle coffee granules to decorate the shells (I did half the batch with coffee and left the other half).
6. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the shells are hard.
7. Let cool before sandwiching fillings (Note: it's best served within the day, or else store the shells away in an airtight container).

coffee cream cheese buttercream...

1. Cream the butter and cream cheese together then whip in the icing sugar.
2. Dissolve the coffee in the hot water and add into the mixture. Beat until consistent. Add extra coffee granules if desired.
3. When assembling the macarons, using a piping bag or ziplock bag or even a spoon (I prefer disposable piping bags with fitted nozzles, easier to manage and great results), pipe the filling in between macarons then add a layer of chocolate button before piping a little more to attach the other macaron shell. Serve within the day or else refrigerate. It can keep up to a few days.