Ruby chocolate heart shaped Italian macarons
These cute heart shaped macarons are made using the Italian meringue method and filled with a sweet and fruity ruby chocolate ganache. They’re the perfect treat to spread some love this Valentine’s Day!
Equipment
- food processor (optional)
- Stand or hand mixer
- Food thermometer
- Food scale
- Pastry bags
- Parchment paper or silicone baking mats
- Baking sheets
Ingredients
Italian macaron shells
- 135 g almond flour
- 135 g powdered sugar
- 33 g water
- 117 g granulated sugar
- 100 g egg whites (about 3)
- Red or pink gel food dye
Ruby chocolate ganache
- 150 g ruby chocolate, finely chopped
- 150 g heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Pre-baking prep
- Wipe down all of your equipment and utensils with vinegar or lemon juice to remove traces of oil and water. Measure out all of your ingredients before starting
- Prep your baking trays. Flip them upside down and line with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. If you're using parchment paper, you can dab a little bit of macaron batter at the corner of each sheet to secure the paper and keep it from slipping
Make the almond paste & Italian meringue
- Combine the almond flour and powdered sugar in a food processor and grind until fine. Sift through a sieve into a medium bowl
- Combine water and granulated sugar in a saucepan and stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves
- Heat the sugar syrup to 244°F over medium-high heat
- While the sugar syrup is heating, place half the egg whites (75g) into the bowl of stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed until soft peaks form
- Once the sugar syrup hits 244°F and the egg whites are at soft peaks, trickle the hot sugar syrup down the side of the bowl while the mixer is running at medium-high speed
- Continue beating on medium-high speed. Once the meringue reaches medium peaks (i.e., starting to clump but still soft and droopy), add a few drops of gel food dye. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. This should take about 10 minutes in total to reach stiff peaks
- Create an almond paste by combining the almond flour and powdered sugar with the remaining half of the egg whites (75g)
Macaronage
- Once your meringue has reached stiff peaks, combine it with the almond paste. Mix in one third of the meringue each time, making sure to mix thoroughly so that there are no chunks of almond paste
- Using a "J" motion, fold the batter to squeeze out air until it reaches a lava-like consistency. You don't have to be gentle here, but make sure to check the consistency periodically so you don't overmix. Once the batter falls smoothly off the spatula in ribbons and can be used to draw a figure 8 shape, the batter is ready. Stop mixing once it hits this point
Pipe and rest macarons
- Fill a large pastry bag with the batter. Snip off the tip of the bag to create a 1/2 inch opening
- Pipe into heart shapes. Start by piping a small circle, about 1/2 inch in diameter. While reducing pressure on the piping bag, move diagonally to create a tapered point. Complete the heart shape by piping another small circle adjacent to the first one and filling in any gaps
- Bang the pans against the counter a few times to knock out any air bubbles. Use a toothpick to gently pop any remaining bubbles that you see trapped below the surface of the shells
- Let the shells rest for 20 minutes to 1 hour until a skin forms and you can gently touch the top of the shells without batter sticking to your finger
Make the ruby chocolate ganache
- While the macarons are resting, make the ganache. Place the finally chopped ruby chocolate in a mixing bowl. In a small saucepan, heating the cream over medium heat until it reaches a simmer
- Pour the hot cream evenly over the chopped ruby chocolate. Let sit for 30 seconds - 1 minute to let the chocolate melt
- Starting from the center and moving outwards, stir to combine the chocolate and cream until a smooth ganache forms
- Cover and let cool completely until the ganache is set and no longer runny
Bake the macarons
- While the macarons are resting, preheat the oven to 325°F. I use an oven thermometer to double check the temperature and will let the oven run through a few cycles of heating and cooling down to stabilize
- Bake for 11 - 14 minutes. I gently wiggle the tops of the macarons to see if they're done baking. If they are wiggly, then I will keep them in for another minute then check again
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely before removing from the tray. Once the macarons are cooled, they will easily peel off. If they are sticking, they need to cool for longer
Fill the macarons
- Pair up the macaron shells based on size and shape to ensure as even a match as possible
- Once the ganache is set, transfer to a piping bag. Pipe the ganache onto one macaron shell, then sandwich with the second shell
- You can further choose to decorate the shells with a ganache drizzle or edible paint. I like to use a little bit of edible gold paint to give the shells a beautiful shine!