Mocharons

I could have, and probably should have, called these Mocha Macarons. But I decided to cut out the middleman... and I have a thing for alliteration.




Mocharons
Makes 14

For the Macarons:
90g egg whites
200g icing sugar
110g ground almonds
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
15g cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
25g caster sugar

For the Filling:
70g icing sugar, sifted
70g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon milk if needed

Make the Macarons:
Put the egg whites in a small bowl and leave them on the bench at room temperature overnight.

The next day, line two baking sheets with baking paper. Set aside.

Put the icing sugar, ground almonds, espresso powder and cocoa powder into a food processor and blitz to combine. Set side.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites and vanilla until soft peaks form.

While the mixer is running, gradually add the caster sugar and beat until the mixture turns into a soft meringue (one that just holds its peaks).

Stop the mixer and use a spatula to fold the almond mixture into the egg whites. You will have a thick, sticky mixture which is perfect.

Scrape the mixture into a disposable piping bag, cut a 1 cm hole in the tip and pipe the mixture onto the prepared baking sheets, keeping the size as uniform as you can. If your macarons end up with little peaks in the middle, just wet your finger and push it down lightly to flatten.

Give the baking sheet a quick rap on the bench to pop any air bubbles and set them aside for at least 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 140C.

Bake the macarons for 15 to 20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Once they are done, turn the oven off, open the door to the oven and leave the macarons in there for a further 15 minutes to dry out and set.

Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the Filling:
Put the butter into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until smooth. Reduce the speed of the mixture to low and add the icing sugar and espresso. Mix on low until incorporated. then turn the speed up to medium to whip it (whip it good - Devo reference). Add a little milk if the mixture is too thick.

Assembly:
Match the macarons into pairs according to size. Spoon the filling into a disposable piping bag and cut a 1 cm hole in the tip. Pipe a dollop of filling onto the bottom side of half of the macarons and top them with the other half of macarons, sandwiching the filling between them.