Hot Cocoa Macarons

Learn how to make perfect hot cocoa macarons! They're made with chocolate shells and a decadent chocolate marshmallow filling.

📝 Ingredients

• 110 g aged egg whites - about 4 large egg whites
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar - optional
• 110 g granulated sugar (1/2 cup + 2 tsp)
• 126 g superfine almond flour - blanched (1 cup + 2 Tbsp)
• 126 g powdered sugar (1 cup)
• 14 g unsweetened or dark cocoa powder (2 Tbsp)
• 56 g unsalted butter, room temperature (1/4 cup)
• 10 g marshmallow fluff (2 Tbsp)
• 4 g vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (1 tsp)
• 1 g fine salt (1/8 tsp)
• 125 g powdered sugar (1 cup)
• 10 g heavy whipping cream, room temperature (2 tsp)
• 10 g hot cocoa mix (2 Tbsp)
• Kitchen scale
• Stand Mixer or Electric Mixer
• Large, flat baking sheets
• Silpat Mats (or parchment paper)
• 2 Large Piping Bags (18-inch)
• Round Piping Tip - Ateco 805

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- Chocolate Macarons ---
2. 2Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon mats. Set aside.
3. 3Pour 110g of aged egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk and mix on medium speed until the surface of the egg whites is covered in small bubbles. Add in a pinch of cream of tartar and continue to mix until it reaches the soft peak stage where you can see the whisk leaving faint tracks in the egg whites.
4. 4Gradually add 110g of granulated sugar into the eggs and mix on a medium speed for 30 seconds. Increase the mixing speed to a medium-high speed. Keep mixing until stiff, glossy peaks form.
5. 5Sift 126g superfine almond flour, 126g powdered sugar, and 14g of cocoa powder into the meringue, then fold the ingredients together with a rubber spatula. Use a circular motion that sweeps around the edge of the bowl and then pull through the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is getting mixed together.
6. 6Fold until a thick ribbon of batter runs off the spatula when it is lifted. You should be able to draw a couple of figure 8's with the batter running off your spatula when it is the right consistency. If the stream of batter breaks before you're able to do this, you may need to stir it a bit more.
7. 7Pour the batter into a large piping bag fit with a medium-sized round piping tip and pipe 1 3/4-inch rounds on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart.
8. 8Pipe one pan at a time and bang the pan firmly on the counter a few times to release air bubbles, then pop any remaining air bubbles that come to the surface with a toothpick.
9. 9Let the macarons rest for 30 minutes, or until they develop a skin. The macarons should look matte once the skin has formed. While the macarons rest, preheat the oven to 315 F / 157 C.
10. 10Bake one tray of macarons at a time on the middle rack of your oven for 19-23 minutes and rotate the pan halfway through to help them bake evenly. I find that chocolate shells always take a couple of minutes longer to bake than my regular shells.
11. 11Remove the pan from the oven and let the macarons cool on the pan (about 15 minutes), then gently remove them from the silpat mat.
12. 12--- Hot Cocoa Buttercream Frosting ---
13. 13Beat the room-temperature butter on a medium speed for 1-2 minutes with a whisk attachment until it becomes lighter in color and smooth.
14. 14Mix in 10g marshmallow fluff, 4g vanilla extract, and 1g tsp salt on a low speed.
15. 15Slowly mix in 125g of powdered sugar on a low speed. Halfway through add 10g heavy cream to make the frosting easier to mix.
16. 16Mix on low for a couple of minutes until the ingredients are fully incorporated and the desired consistency is reached.
17. 17If the frosting is too thick, add in additional heavy cream or milk (1 tsp at a time). If the frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar (1 Tbsp at a time).
18. 18Place half of the frosting in a separate bowl and mix in 10g hot cocoa mix.
19. 19Use an offset spatula to spread both types of frosting in streaks up the side of a piping bag fit with a French frosting tip.
20. 20--- Assembling These Hot Cocoa Macarons ---
21. 21Pair up the macaron shells then pipe a dollop of marshmallow and hot cocoa buttercream onto one macaron shell. Gently press a second shell on top of the frosting to create a sandwich.
22. 22If desired, drizzle melted dark and white chocolate on top of each macaron.
23. 23Place the finished macarons in an airtight container and chill in the fridge overnight, then let them warm to room temperature and enjoy!