Macarons à la fraise couvert de chocolat: Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Macarons

By joshuaalan

These babies are traditional macaron shells filled with strawberry preserves and dipped in dark chocolate! Oh my, they are DELICIOUS!

For those that have never attempted macarons, do not me intimidated! They are very simple to make, just watch the oven temperature.

Ingredients

• 190 grams Almond Meal (~1 1/3 cups)
• 310 grams Powdered Sugar (~2 4/5 cups)
• 150 grams Aged Egg Whites (Leave at room temp for a day in a cool room or place in fridge for 4 days) (~5 eggs)
• 95 grams Sugar (~7/16 cups)
• 1/2 tsp Red Food Coloring (Gel, not liquid)
• 1.5 cups Strawberry Preserves
• Dark Chocolate for Melting/Dipping (I used Wilton's Candy Melts)

Preparation

Step 1

1. In a large and clean bowl, sift almond meal and powdered sugar.

2. Stir mixture with a wooden spatula to distribute ingredients evenly.

3. In a bowl, place egg whites and beat on high using a hand mixer or Kitchenaid mixer.

4. When you are able to lift the beaters up and see that stiff peaks are forming, stop beating.

5. Add sugar in three installments, beating on high after each.

6. Once all sugar has been added, beat until still peaks form again.

7. Add food coloring and beat until stiff peaks reform and color is even.

8. Add meringue to almond meal mixture and begin folding in.

9. Fold in until just combined.

10. Using a pastry scraper or something with a grease-proof straight-edge, slowly pass over the batter going back and form, press lightly. (This reduces air in the batter by forcing them out and popping air bubbles.)

11. Pipe macaron shells onto parchment-paper lined sheets using a piping bag with medium round tip. (You can also make heart shapes for added Valentine's Day flare!)

12. Bake at 150 degrees Celsius or 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes. (Be careful about temperature!)

13. Let cool, then flip over and gently press your index finger into center of each, making a small indention.

14. Match shells up to another similar shell.

15. Pipe about 1 tsp of preserves into the center of 1 macaron shell from each pair.

16. Close shells and press gently to distribute preserves.

17. Melt chocolate in a heat-proof bowl.

18. Dip half of each macaron in chocolate and let dry.

19. Macarons need to sit for 24 hours for optimal flavor. Then, enjoy!