Raspberry Macarons With Chocolate Ganache

There are some qualities your well-made raspberry macarons should have:

• Crispy (not too soft) top. You don't want the top to crack when you touch it.
• Small feet with a slight vertical rise. You don't want lopsided or ruffled feet that are spread out on the sides.
• Full, slightly chewy interior. You don't want a large hollow gap between the top and bottom, although this is one of the hardest things to get correct and can take some practice!
• Equal-sized top & bottom shells. You don't want small and large shells paired together to make one full macaron.

Egg whites: Egg whites are the base of the meringue. As air is beaten into the egg whites, some of the egg proteins unfold. These unfolded proteins turn into a strong network of air bubbles. This ingredient provides a strong base to the macarons.

Cream of tartar: Adding an acid to the meringue helps to stabilize the egg whites. This leads to a firmer, more stable merginue.

Granulated sugar: The sugar helps to build up the structure of the egg whites. Since Italian meringue is made with sugar syrup, you'll need to mix the granulated sugar with some water. Then, this mixture is cooked until it reaches 244°F (118°C) on a digital thermometer.

Super fine almond flour: This ingredient is made from almonds that are ground into a fine powder. Almond flour adds a subtle but delicious flavor to macaron shells. Make sure to sift the almond flour to remove any large clumps which could lead to bumpy shells.

Confectioners' sugar: This is another one of the dry ingredients used in raspberry macarons. Confectioners' sugar is sifted together with the almond flour to create a smooth shell.

Gel food coloring: Liquid food coloring will not work. Be sure to use a gel or powdered food coloring. These types of food coloring won't add too much liquid to your raspberry macaron batter, yet they create bright and vibrant colored shells.

If you're interested in learning more about the science of macarons, check out this article about macaron ingredients.

Also included in the photo are ingredients for the chocolate raspberry ganache macaron filling. Be sure to check out the recipe card below for the full measurements.

Before you start baking the raspberry chocolate macarons, there's some prep work you need to complete. This will help set you up for success:

The first step to making raspberry macarons is learning how to make an Italian-style meringue. Add room-temperature eggs and cream of tartar to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.

Whip on medium-low speed (I use speed 4 on my KitchenAid mixer) until the eggs are very foamy, right before the soft peaks stage. This usually takes about 6 - 7 minutes.

While the eggs are whipping, it's time to start on the sugar syrup. This is the part that makes Italian meringue unique.

Add granulated sugar and water to a saucepan. Then, place the saucepan over medium-high heat. You can stir the mixture if you want to help dissolve the sugar.

Cook the sugar until it reaches 244°F (118°C) on a digital thermometer. If you notice the eggs reach soft peaks before the sugar syrup is ready, reduce the mixer speed to low.

Here's a visual photo of what the foamy egg whites should look like.

Next, turn the mixer up to medium-high speed (I use speed 7 on my KitchenAid mixer), and slowly begin to pour the hot sugar syrup down the side of the mixing bowl.

Be sure the sugar runs down the bowl and doesn’t hit the whisk attachment or it will splatter on the side of the mixer bowl. 

You'll want to do this step immediately after the syrup reaches 244°F. Don't let the syrup sit or it will begin to harden.

Continue to whip the Italian meringue for an additional 4 - 5 minutes after you've poured in all of the sugar syrup. You'll want to whip the meringue until you've reached stiff peaks.

If you're new to baking macarons, I'd suggest setting a timer. This will keep you aware of how long the meringue has been whipping.

The stiff peaks meringue is a very crucial step to get correct. Here are some visual cues to look for to ensure your meringue has whipped to stiff peaks:

• You'll notice the meringue starts to ball up inside the whisk while it's mixing.
• Pull the whisk out of the mixer. A stiff peak should stand straight up (no curl at the tip).
• You can see pointy off-shoots of egg whites on the whisk when you pull it out of the mixer.
• You can fully flip the bowl over and nothing moves or falls out.
• The meringue feels sturdy (not flimsy).
• The egg whites hold the indentation that the whisk makes as it's whipping.

Since Italian meringue is known for being more stable, it's easy to over whip the meringue at this stage. Over whipped meringue will be too thick and can cause ruined macarons.

Grab a heavy-duty silicone spatula, and fold the sifted almond flour & confectioners' sugar into the meringue.

Continue until all the meringue is fully incorporated and no dry bits of almond flour remain on the bottom of the bowl.

Add 5-6 drops of red or pink gel food coloring to the batter. It's important to use gel food coloring or powdered food coloring. Liquid food coloring adds too much water to the batter, and it could result in cracked shells or flat macarons.

Next, it's time to macaronage the batter. This is another important step to correctly perform.

Macaronage is a term that refers to folding the dry macaron ingredients (almond flour and confectioners' sugar) into the meringue. This process smooths the mixture and helps the macarons bake with proper structure.

To properly macaronage, you will continue folding the batter until it reaches a lava-like consistency. You can test this by lifting your spatula and seeing if the batter drops almost like lava. Once it drops off the spatula, the batter that was dripped should fade back into the batter within 10 - 15 seconds (not immediately).

Additionally, the almond flour should look blended into the meringue (not lumpy).

Many home bakers who are new to baking macarons will over macaronage the batter. If you're unsure if your batter has been properly macaronaged, it's better to under macaronage a bit since the batter will still be worked in the piping bag.

If you've over whipped the Italian meringue, you'll notice that the batter will never thin out enough during the macaronage stage. Unfortunately, if this happens to you, you'll need to start over.

Tap the sheet pan down the counter a few times to release any air bubbles. You can tap the pan fairly aggressively, so don't be scared! Failure to do this could result in cracked macarons.

Then, you can pop any air bubbles that rise to the top with a toothpick.

Before baking the macarons, allow the batter to sit on the counter and dry for 45 - 60+ minutes until a thin "skin" develops, and you can touch the tops without ruining the macaron. This may take up to 90+ minutes if you live in a humid climate or it's a rainy day.

If you're having trouble with this, check out my tips for how to fix macarons that aren't drying.

While the macarons are drying, heat your oven to 300°F (150°C). If this is your first time making macarons, you might want to experiment with the oven temperature to find out the best temperature range for your home oven.

Once the macarons are done drying, bake one sheet at a time on the center rack of the oven for 19 - 23 minutes. Check that the macarons have fully baked using the following tests:

• The feet and the edge of the macarons feel firm when you gently touch them.
• It feels like you could forcibly lift the macaron shell off the parchment paper if you needed to (don't actually do this, just use it as a test).
• If you touch the shell and it wiggles, is still sticky, or is wet, you know the macarons need longer to bake.

Next, it's time to make the raspberry macaron filling. This filling is a base of chocolate ganache that's filled with raspberry fruit spread.

First, add semi-sweet chocolate morsels to a heat proof bowl.

Then, in another bowl, heat heavy cream in the microwave on 100 power (high) for 45 - 60 seconds until the heavy cream begins to steam. Be sure the heavy cream does not boil over.

Then, immediately pour the heavy cream over the chocolate. Make sure all of the chocolate is submerged under the cream.

Allow the mixture to sit, without stirring, for 3 minutes so it can melt.

Once the chocolate has melted, add raspberry fruit spread, salt, and butter to the chocolate. Stir until the mixture is smooth and fully blended.

If there are still bits of chocolate or butter after stirring for about 60 - 90 seconds, heat the mixture in the microwave for an additional 15 - 30 seconds. This helps the ingredients to soften so you can then stir until a silky, creamy consistency forms.

At this point, the ganache will be too runny to pipe. Place the bowl in the fridge and allow the mixture to cool until it’s firm enough to pipe, which takes about 90 minutes.

If you want to make the raspberry ganache filling 2 - 3 days ahead of time, simply store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Then, allow the ganache to come to room temperature before piping.

Finally, allow the raspberry macarons to fully cool. Then, it's time to pipe the chocolate ganache filling.

Match up the pink macaron shells so they are paired with a similar size/shaped shell.

Pipe 1 teaspoon of ganache on one side of the macaron shell using a ½ inch round piping tip. Gently place the matching macaron on top of the ganache.

If you want a little more chocolate ganache filling, double the recipe listed below so you have more filling to pipe.

Don't forget to mature the macarons with the filling in the refrigerator overnight. This will allow the macarons to slightly soften and develop a deeper flavor.

These raspberry chocolate ganache macarons will last up to 7 days when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator or up to 1 month in the freezer. You can read more about my tips and tricks for macaron storage.

There are a few crucial steps you must get correct in order to achieve perfect raspberry macarons:

First, you must perfectly whip your meringue. Both over-whipped and under-whipped meringue can cause many problems such as cracked macarons, ruffled feet, or soft shells.

Here are some visual cues you can use to know that your meringue has whipped to stiff peaks:

• You'll notice the meringue starts to ball up inside the whisk while it's mixing.
• Pull the whisk out of the mixer. A stiff peak should stand straight up (no curl at the tip).
•  You can fully flip the bowl over and nothing moves or falls out.
• The meringue feels sturdy (not flimsy).

If you're a visual learner, here's a photo guide that shows the various stages of meringue:

Next, you'll need to properly macaronage the macaron batter. This refers to the process of folding the egg whites into the almond flour and confectioners' sugar.

To macaronage, slowly spread the mixture along the side of the bowl, then wipe it back down. Be sure to do this gently.

Repeat this process until the mixture has reached a smooth, shiny, and flowing consistency. You can test this by lifting your spatula and seeing if the batter drops almost like lava.

Once the batter drops back into the bowl, it should take about 10 - 15 seconds for the ribbon that formed to "disappear" back into the rest of the batter.

Over macaronaged batter is very thin and runny. When you pour it off the spatula, it almost immediately disappears back into the macaron batter.

When in doubt, it's better to under macaronage. A batter that's too runny will not produce the macarons you're looking for.