Recipe: Chocolate & Whisky Macarons

I have to admit, when I was sixteen and a guy was trying to impress me by telling me he could bake, I was skeptical. Just sounds a little like a cheesy chat-up line, right?! Clearly he was keeper right there and then (his cookie recipe remains our favorite to this day!), because six years on he made these.

Chocolate macarons. Filled with a boozy, rich, chocolatey ganache.

I know – I’m a lucky girl! These macarons are crisp on the outside, delightfully chewy on the inside – the perfect macaron. But, in my opinion at least, it’s the ganache that steals the show. Impossibly rich and chocolatey, with a real kick coming from the whisky. We’re big whisky-lovers but if you’re worried about enjoying it then feel free to cut down to just one teaspoon. Oh, and these amounts made a shit-load of ganache too – way more than you’ll need for filling the macarons. I highly suggest chilling the mix and then rolling into truffles. You can thank me later…

Ingredients (makes around 25 macarons, and plenty of ganache!)

• 170g icing sugar
• 160g ground almonds
• 120ml egg whites from about 4 medium eggs, separated into 2 equal batches
• 160g granulated sugar
• 1/2tsp raw cacao powder (1tsp if using normal cocoa powder)
• For the ganache: 225g dark chocolate, 140ml double cream, 2 tbsp butter, 2 tsp whisky

Mix the icing sugar, cacao powder and ground almonds together, then sieve into a large bowl, discarding any particles that stay in the sieve. Add the first batch of egg whites to the almond mixture, mix to form a thick paste and set aside.

Tip the second half of egg whites into the bowl of your KitchenAid (or a large, clean bowl with an electric mixer set up nearby). Place 50ml water and the granulated sugar into a small saucepan, and bring to a boil. Cook until the syrup registers 110C on a sugar thermometer, then start to beat the egg whites on high speed. Once the syrup is at 118C pour it gradually into the whites, avoiding the moving whisk. Whisk on high until the mixture has cooled slightly and you have a shiny meringue mixture (soft peaks are good here). Tip the meringue onto the almond mixture and gently fold together until fully combined.

Heat oven to 170C and line 3 baking sheets with baking parchment. Transfer the batter to a piping bag and pipe rounds (around a 50p size) onto the prepared baking sheets. Leave to rest for 30 mins (not in the fridge) – they should develop a film or skin on top. Bake for 13-15 mins, then cool for a few minutes before gently peeling the macaroons off the paper.

To make the filling, heat cream until warm (not boiling) and then add finely chopped chocolate, stirring until melted and combined. Add in the butter and whiskey and stir until combined, then let cool until thicken. Place the chocolate mix into a clean piping bag with a smaller nozzle and pipe around the edge of half the macarons. Fill the center with more ganache and sandwich with another macaron half.

Chocolate and whisky might seem like an odd combination, but it’s one I think really works perfectly. A slightly smoky whisky against a bitter-sweet but creamy desert is one of my ideas of perfection and these macarons take it to the next level. They are even better after a few days, when the moisture from the ganache softens the macaron a bit more, making them a little denser, a little brownie like. And they are so small, it would b a crime to have less than three at once…

What’s your favorite chocolate-y recipe?