I know you may be looking at macarons and thinking, “What? Crazy-hard to make.” But as I’ve mentioned before, they really aren’t. You’ll see my recipe doesn’t require aging eggs over the course of a few days or drying out almond flour. Nope, this is a simple version.
I had to share this chocolate and blackberry macaron because (1) they are truly one of my favorite macarons I’ve made, and (2) this recipe is a perfect pairing with Driscoll’s blackberries—warning: you may find yourself eating the filling by by the spoonful!
If you haven’t noticed, I love making sweet treats, but what I love more than sharing the tasty treats are the relationships that develop over food. It’s the community aspect of coming together. Along with that, many of my friends are still learning how to make macarons, so I thought no time better than the present to dive right into them. I figure we can all do this together and spread the Made with Love campaign (and psst. . . hit the link to enter their sweepstakes going on now until Dec 31st).
So let’s do this! To get started, make sure you read through the whole recipe if you are making macarons for the first time. Pay close attention to the visual cues for readiness while preparing the batter. I’ve also added weight and volume measurements – for these cookies, I find it easies to go by weight, but I know not everyone has a scale so the volume measurement were provided as well.
Most of all, don’t worry if you don’t have perfect little feet on your macarons—imperfect macarons are still great tasting macarons.
Chocolate Macarons with Blackberry Filing
Ingredients
135g (1/2 cup) egg whites (about 4 eggs) 45g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar 215g (2 cups plus 1/3 cup) powdered sugar 115g (2 cups plus 1/4 cup) almond meal 25g (1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon) cocoa powder
- 135g (1/2 cup) egg whites (about 4 eggs)
- 45g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
- 215g (2 cups plus 1/3 cup) powdered sugar
- 115g (2 cups plus 1/4 cup) almond meal
- 25g (1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon) cocoa powder
Blackberry Filling 330g of pureed blackberry 55g granulated sugar 29g water 1 envelope of plain gelatin
- Blackberry Filling
- 330g of pureed blackberry
- 55g granulated sugar
- 29g water
- 1 envelope of plain gelatin
Instructions
Instructions:
Preparation: Heat oven to 330 degrees. Line bake sheet with parchment.
To make macarons:
- Trace out 1 inch circles on parchment and set this aside as a “master copy”. Reserve two extra sheets of parchment and set aside.
- Place egg whites and sugar in a stand mixer bowl and fit mixer with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium low speed until egg whites start to form loose translucent bubbles. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat until meringue turns foamy and white and starts to resemble well lathered shampoo, about 2 minutes. Increase mixer to high and beat until meringue holds glossy stiff peaks, about another 2-3 minutes. Turn off mixer.
- Process almond meal, powdered sugar and cocoa powder in a food processor and then sift.
- Add dry ingredients to meringue. Using a sturdy spatula fold and smash dry mixture into meringue against the bowl for about 20-25 folds. Don’t worry about being gentle the idea is to knock the air out of it. The batter should hold its shape when spooned on itself and start to slowly flatten out after about 15-20 seconds. Start checking the batter after 20 folds for readiness. Transfer batter to pastry bag and let rest for 20 minutes before piping.
- Place master copy of drawn circles on a bake sheet and then place a sheet of parchment on top. Pipe until batter reaches edge of circle. Remove master copy from underneath piped layer and place on second bake sheet and pipe remaining batter (remove master copy and save for future use).Take hold of each pan and give it quick hard tap against the counter, turn the pan 90 degrees and give it another quick hard tap. This will deflate any bubbles and prevent cracked shells.
- Bake for about 15-17 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Leave shells to cool completely on pan. Shells will cleanly peel away from parchment when ready.
To make blackberry filling
- Place water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, stir until sugar is melted. Transfer pan to wire rack to cool, about 15 - 20 minutes. Once cooled, sprinkle gelatin on top and leave untouched for 1-2 minutes for gelatin to bloom. Return pan to stove top and over low heat stir the mixture until the gelatin bloom melts and mixture resembles the consistency of maple syrup. Remove from heat and stir gelatin mixture into blackberry puree. Transfer to refrigerator to chill for about 10-15 minutes or until filling becomes thick and slightly sets.
Assembly
- Pipe filling on one shell. Place a second shell on top.
They look gorgeous! Will definitely check out the recipe. And I completely agree- the community and friendships formed over food have become one of my favourite parts to baking and blogging 🙂
Macaroons are my Everest. Loving that your recipe may be my shortcut there. And loving the chocolate and blackberry combination.
Stunningly evocative photos too – as always.
I have made a few macarons in my time but I find your recipe so simple! Nothing is worse than having half your kitchen to clean up after one batch of macarons
Really love the combo of chocolate with berries but I prefer the sweetness of white chocolate. Too bad there is no powdered form.
Wow! What a combination! These look absolutely delicious, Naomi!!
These are so pretty! I have never made macarons, but these make me want to give it a try!
Beautiful macarons, Naomi! I love the chocolate and blackberry combo!
Sounds amazing! One question – it says something about coffee grounds in the recipes instructions, but it’s not on the ingredients list?
Definitely I want to bake this. I love chocolate and it looks so great!!
XOXO
Cupcakes AMOR-diditas
Those look so good and the chocolate and blackberry combo would be amazing in macarons!
These look gorgeous, I MUST try and make these! I have never gone down the path with macarons, they seem difficult and intimidating, BUT I must grown and try these difficult things to become a better cook!
Are they always made with almond meal?
Hi Sophia-
No you can make with almost any nut meal. Stay tuned, I have one coming up soon using something other than almond meal. 🙂
I’ve had so many macaron failures, it’s crazy! I don’t know what my problem is 🙁 Thank you for calling them easy and giving me hope again. Chocolate + Blackberry sounds amazing!
Hi Jen,
No coffee granules. The recipe has been revised to reflect the removal of that (this recipe is an adaptation of one of my other ones that does use coffee granules).
Thanks soooo much Naomi! Looking forward to it!
Beautiful. Nothing like berries and chocolate. A few questions/comments: I noticed you include both the volume and weight of the ingredients for the macaroon, but just the weight measurements for the filling. I’ve never baked by weight before (not that I would be adverse to trying it out…). Is there a simple conversion to volume? Also, what would you recommend for substituting other berries, like raspberries, strawberries or cherries? Lastly, I noticed the directions call for filling a pastry bag and letting it rest in step four, then it says it again in step five. 🙂
Thank you for sharing your talent and wonderful recipes with us.
Sophia, awesome! I’ve wanted to make macarons for some time because they are so adorable, however, I haven’t because I don’t really like almonds. I think I’m going to try them with hazelnut meal.
Just gorgeous, love the blackberry filling!
wow, just wow – these are gorgeous macarons, Naomi!
So pretty! I love the blackberry filling!
Your pictures are just unbeatable! And the macarons look delicious!!
Oh yum. I wish we can get blackberries in Australia! I might have to try this recipe with raspberries instead.
I have yet to make my own macarons. I have a bit of anxiety about the whole thing! Yours look so elegant. I love the blackberry filling with the chocolate. And your photos are beyond beautiful!
These are so pretty! Love the dark pictures too!
Wow! These look amazing. Your photos are always so gorgeous. You have inspired me to try my hand at macarons. One question: is there a best way to store them after they are filled? Does the filling make them soften up at all? Thanks, Naomi!
Do you think I could use your cranberry curd for a filling for these instead of the blackberry, or would that a big no-no? Just loved it so much I want to incorporate it into everything I can right now.
Chocolate and Blackberry is such a great combo and not to mention in macarons!
I LOVE the look of your macarons they are stunning… I have tried a few times to make them and they work NEARLY but they are sticky on the bottoms which maybe means I have not cooked them enough… I am not sure what 330 degrees is? please can you tell me as my oven only goes up to 250…. Feeling stupid 🙂
Does the blackberry filling make the the macaron shells soggy at all? Do they still age and keep well in the fridge after assembly? I made the mistake of veering off the buttercream filing option, ending up with macarons mush in a day using another recipe.
Hi I tried making this recipe but it turned out like a dough more than a batter..
Did you just puree fresh blackberries for the filling?
Thanks!
Hi! Is the almond meal ingredient amount correct? I measured out 115g of almond meal and it was barely 1 cup nevermind 2 Cups + so I followed the 2 Cups + and my batter was too heavy. After the first tray I added 1 more whipped eggwhite and it got better but I still think the almond amount is incorrect. I read a couple of other recipes and they only used 1 cup to the same 4 eggs.
Thanks!