Black forest macarons

I love to take the inspiration from classic desserts and use it when making macarons. Because they are very versatile and can be infused with almost any flavor, the macarons are the perfect vessel to experiment and recreate well known desserts.

I'm not a big fan of a classic black forest cake, probably because of the huge amount of whipped cream people usually put on the cake. I do however, like the chocolate and sour cherry combination, and that was what I was going for in my macarons. The black fores cake is traditionally composed of layers of chocolate cake, whipped cream and maraschino cherries. The cake is then served with chocolate shavings on top and some more whipped cream. 

I substituted the whipped cream that is used in the cake with a white chocolate ganache. I did this for two reasons. Firstly, the whipped cream doesn't hold up well and can spoil fairly quickly and secondly, the white chocolate ganache just tastes better than plain old whipped cream.

In addition to the white chocolate ganache, I also made a sour cherry gelee and a dark chocolate ganache. The gelee was made with frozen sour cherries, Kirsch (cherry liqueur) and agar agar. It gives the macaron a tasty and refreshing center. The gelee is simple to make but it needs a few hours to firm up so I suggest that you make the gelee first.

The macarons were great and the taste was close to the original black forest cake. The only thing I was not happy about was the dark chocolate ganache because it overpowered the sour cherry gelee. Next time I will substitute the dark chocolate with milk chocolate so that the cherries will have a chance to stand out.

Black forest macarons

(Makes about 40)

Time:

Preparation: 50min

Resting: 30min
Baking: 15-18min

Cooling: 20min

For the macaron shells:

• 95g room temperature egg whites
• 125g granulated white sugar
• 40g water
• 135g almond flour or finely ground almonds
• 135g icing sugar
• red food coloring (optional)
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

For the dark/milk chocolate ganache:

• 100g dark or milk chocolate
• 100ml heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon Kirsch (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional)

For the white chocolate ganache:

• 150g white chocolate
• 50g whipping cream

For the sour cherry gelee:

• 200g frozen sour cherries (save a few thawed cherries for assembly) 
• 1/2 teaspoon agar-agar (or 3 gelatin sheets)
• 100ml water
• 1 tablespoon Kirsch cherry liquier (optional)
• 2 tablespoons white granulated sugar

Making the sour cherry gelee:

Place the frozen cherries in a small pot and cook gently until boiling. Blend the cherries with a stick blender or food processor until smooth. Pour the mixture in a bowl through a sieve, discard the fleshy bits, add the liqueur (if using) and set aside. 

Pour the water in a small pot add the sugar and agar-agar. Stir and cook until all the agar-agar powder melts, bring to the boil and keep stirring. Add the cherry puree, cook over high heat and don't stop stirring. When the mixture starts to boil, place it off the heat and pour in a small baking or heat-proof dish. If using gelatin sheets, soak them in cold water until soft then add them to the hot (max. 80°C) and strained cherry gelee but do not boil the mixture.
Leave at room temperature until slightly set, then transfer in a fridge to set completely, about 2 hours.

Making the shells:

The preparation for the shells is the same as in the Basic macarons recipe.
To achieve a marbling effect on the shells follow the basic macaron recipe and do not use any food coloring. When the mixture is ready to be pured in the piping bag, pour only 1/2 of the macaron mixture in a piping bag. Color the other half of the mixture with red food coloring. Pour the red mixture in the same piping bag. Place the spatula in the piping bag and gently mix the two different colored mixtures in the piping bag.

Pipe the macarons on a parchment paper/silicone mat. Tap the tray with the macarons on the table a few times to pop the air bubbles in the shells.
Place the cocoa powder in a small sieve and sprinkle over 1/2 of  macaron shells (shells that will form the top part).

Bake in the preheated oven at 150°C (302°F) for 15 minutes. If the macarons are still sticky at the bottom return them to the oven and bake more. Set aside to cool completely.

Making the dark chocolate ganache:

Chop the chocolate in small pieces and put it in a heatproof bowl, set aside. Pour the heavy cream in a sauce pan add the espresso powder and bring to the boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Set aside for 2 minutes, then stir until all the chocolate is incorporated. Stir in the Kirsch and pour in the piping bag. Put the ganache in the fridge to set.

Making the white chocolate ganache:

Chop the chocolate in small pieces and put it in a heatproof bowl, set aside. Pour the heavy cream in a sauce pan and bring to the boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Set aside for 2 minutes, then stir until all the chocolate is incorporated. Pour in the piping bag and put in the fridge to set.

Assembly:
Take the shell that will for the bottom of the macaron and pipe a small amount of the dark chocolate ganache, slice the cherry gelee into small pieces and place on top of the dark chocolate ganache. Place a few pieces of thawed sour cherries and pipe over the white chocolate ganache. Place over the shell with the cocoa powder.

Put the macarons in the fridge to set. This macarons will go soft fairly quickly because of the gelee and sour cherry pieces and it is best to eat them in two or three days, which was not a problem at all. When you are ready to serve them, take them out of the fridge 20 minutes before serving.