Wake Up to a Big Cup of Coffee… Macarons!
What is better than starting your morning with a big cup of coffee macarons? Rich, dark and sweet, it’s the perfect way to brighten up anyone’s day. These coffee macarons are packed with flavour since there is coffee and chocolate not only in the filling but in the macaron shells as well! It’s not always easy to find an appropriate ingredient that can be added into the shells for extra flavour. You run the risk of compromising the integrity of the shell when adapting the recipe with added ingredients, sometimes it can cause blotchiness or cracks. After a few test runs, I’m happy to introduce my version of coffee macarons.
DONUT Worry, Treat Yourself!
For this project, I piped the macarons into a fun donut shape and sprinkled some rainbow nonpareils on top to make them extra playful. Just imagine the look on your friend or co-worker’s faces when you bring out a a box of donut macarons for a morning pick-me-up. Besides being perfectly presentable in a box, they also work very well in a macaron bouquet that’s ready for gift-giving for a birthday or special event. I posted some pictures of the bouquet at the end of the post.
Tips on Piping the Perfect Donut Macaron Shape
- Use a smaller piping tip. Wilton round #10 piping tip was used for these donuts.
- Pipe batter onto silicone mats instead of paper since they hold special shapes so much better.
- Be sure to leave plenty of room in the center devoid of batter for the donut “hole”. The batter tends to run into the center as it settles so leave more room than you think is needed.
- Wait until the shells become completely dry before baking to prevent cracking. This step is especially crucial for donut macarons during baking since the batter likes to escape through the center if it is not completely dry.
This is a fun and flavourful macaron that will be sure to please the coffee lover in your life. I hope you enjoy making it.
XOXO,
Mimi
- 65 grams almond flour
- 60 grams icing sugar/powdered sugar
- 1 tsp instant coffee crystals**
- 1 tsp dutch-processed cocoa powder*
- 45 grams granulated sugar / castor sugar (preferable)
- 50 grams aged egg whites
- 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
- A few drops of brown gel colour (Americolor warm brown was used here)
- Rainbow colored nonpareils sprinkles
- 75 grams couverture chocolate
- 75 grams heavy cream
- 15 grams butter
- 2 tsp instant coffee crystals**
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
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Print out the donut macaron template provided in post.
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Set aged egg whites out at room temperature.
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Pulse almond flour, powdered sugar, cocoa powder and coffee crystals together in a food processor.
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Sift the dry mixture. Discard big pieces of almond that can't be sifted.
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IF YOU ARE NEW TO MAKING MACARONS, please read the instructions to my BEST MACARON RECIPE before attempting to follow the rest of the instructions since it is condensed for the advanced macaron baker.
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With the balloon whisk attached, whip the room temperature egg whites on low-medium speed.
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Add cream of tartar when it becomes foamy.
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Turn up the speed to medium.
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Once the whisk starts to leave tracks in the egg whites, add sugar a little at a time.
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Turn the speed up to medium-high and whip until firm peaks.
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Stop mixer and add the brown gel colour to the meringue.
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Turn mixer back on and whip until colour is fully incorporated and the meringue has reached stiff peaks.
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Fold the almond flour and meringue together until the batter becomes a "lava" or honey-like consistency.
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Transfer batter into a piping bag fitted with a #10 round piping tip.
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On parchment paper or silicone mats, pipe out the donut shape.
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Add rainbow sprinkles on top of the donut macaron shells before it dries completely.
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Wait until the shells become completely dry before baking.
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Bake at 325F for 12-14 minutes. Every oven is different, you may need to adjust your own temperature settings. Please read How to Use Home Oven Properly for Baking Macarons if you are unsure.
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Once baked, let cool completely before removing from the baking mat/parchment paper.
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Pair two similar sized donut macaron shells together, fill them with the Coffee Chocolate Ganache filling. Place in an airtight container in the fridge and wait for it to set before decorating.
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Chop up chocolate into small pieces, place in a bowl with the butter.
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In a small pot bring the heavy cream and instant coffee crystals to a light simmer. Take off heat.
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Pour over chopped chocolate and butter, let it sit for 1 minute.
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Stir until incorporated. Add vanilla extract and stir until fully incorporated. Let it cool to set before transferring to piping bag.
* Most cocoa powders purchased at supermarkets in North America will be natural cocoa powders, not Dutch Process cocoa powder. A popular brand of Dutch processed cocoa powder would be Fry's.
** The brand of coffee crystals used in this recipe can be found in the shopping list at the end of this post.
*** Coffee contains caffeine, take caution when serving to children or pregnant women.
Coffee donut macarons made into a pretty bouquet for a birthday or special occasion.
Shopping list for this project. Disclosure: affiliate links.
Lydia Paulger says
This recipe is absolutely the most decadent! I absolutely love how my macarons turn out beautifully every time and I get so many compliments and I give your recipe all of the credit. Somehow, I have never succeeded at your basic macaron recipe and I have tried over 20 times. Do you have any suggestions? I obviously use the same ingredients and method to weight them, I use the same everything and yet there are never any feet and the tops are fully cracked! I am so obsessed at succeeding at least once. Please help me 😉
Mimi says
Hi Lydia,
I’m happy to hear this recipe has worked well for you. In regards to why your regular macarons don’t turn out as perfectly as this version… I can’t see your process so I can’t say exactly where there is a problem… It sounds like the meringue hasn’t been whipped enough and the batter is a bit thin, causing the cracking. Perhaps there is something in the coffee crystals that is compensating for this with a dehydrating effect. I don’t know but wish I did! Perhaps try the regular recipe again but make sure to whip until it’s a bit stiffer, then let it rest for a bit longer. Sometimes resting even further past the no-stick on fingers point helps.
Xoxo, Mimi
Shana says
Is there an actual donut template in the subscriber’s area? If there is, I can’t seem to find it. If not, which size of round template do you recommend using as a template?
Mimi says
Hi Shana,
The regular round ones work as the donut template. Follow the black outline and avoid adding any batter in the center “white” area. In the photos of my donuts, I am using 1.25 size 🙂
xoxo,
Mimi
Shana says
Awesome, thank you!
Carrie says
I don’t see the shopping list for this recipe. What type of coffee crystals did you use? Also, do you have a brand for the chocolate for the ganache?
Thank you!
Mimi says
Hi Carrie,
I’m sorry for the delay. I’ve been having trouble with my shopping app. It’s all fixed now. You can see get the link to the product again in the post. XOXO, Mimi