Chocolate-orange macarons

I made chocolate-orange macarons a few weeks ago when I went to a job interview (or more like a consultation). It went really well and they were also impressed by my sweet gift.

I made an orange peal confit for my pralines a few days before and had a little left, so I decided to include it in my next macarons. Because orange and chocolate go so well together the logical filling for the macarons was a dark chocolate ganache.

I also made an orange jelly, which gave the macarons a little freshness and zing. The jelly made the macarons very soft and melt in your mouth delicious.
The flavor combination reminded me of a Jaffa cakes which I absolutely adore. I could eat a pack of this cakes and still want more.

This time I made a few basic macaron shells and an equal amount of orange colored shells. I made a star shaped stencil and I colored the basic shells with gold powder, using this stencil. The star looked good, but the work was quite tedious. After the assembly the macarons looked cute and delicious.

This week I realized how much I love my equipment and my own tiny kitchen. Working and creating in my kitchen comes so naturally to me and I try to use the best ingredients to produce delicious and good looking desserts. Using poor or average quality ingredients does not pay off, and the flavor is not the same. Try to use the best quality chocolate and almonds for this recipe because this is the main and most important flavor.  

Chocolate-orange macarons

(Makes about 35)

Time:

Preparation: 1 hour

Resting: 30min
Baking: 15-18min

Cooling: 20min
Assembly: 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
• orange gel food coloring (optional)
• gold food coloring (optional)

For the chocolate ganache:

• 100g dark chocolate 
• 100g heavy cream
• grated orange zest (1 orange)
• a pinch of salt

For the orange jelly:

• 200ml fresh squeezed orange juice
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice (to taste)
• 1 tablespoon white granulated sugar (to taste)
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar (I used muscovado)
• 1/2 teaspoon agar-agar
• 4 segments of orange
• 1/2 teaspoon orange liqueur (optional)

For orange confit:

• 2 oranges (not chemically treated)
• 200g white granulated sugar
• 200ml water

Making the orange confit:

Peal the orange with the help of a potato peeler or with a knife. Cut the orange zest in thin strips. 

Place the strips in a small pot and fill with cold water. Bring the water and zest to a boil, pour over the strainer and place the zest back in a pot and top with cold water. Bring to a boil and repeat the process two more times.

This process is repeated three times to remove the bitterness from the orange zest. After the orange zest is blanched three times, place the sugar and the water in a pot and heat until the sugar dissolves. Add the blanched zest and cook on low heat until tender, about 30 minutes. Place a circle of parchment paper on top of the syrup, to ensure that the zest is fully submerged.

After the zest is cooked, pour it in a heat-proof jar and wait for it to cool down completely.

Making the orange jelly:
Pour orange juice in a small pot and add sugars, orange liqueur, lemon juice and agar-agar. Cook the mixture until boiling, then boil for a few minutes. Remove the white "gunk" as much as you can with a spoon.

Pour the hot mixture in a plastic container and set aside. Take the orange segments and cut them in small pieces.

 Place the segments evenly in a jelly mixture. Place the jelly in a fridge and leave to set completely.

Making chocolate ganache:
Pour the cream in a small sauce pan and heat until boiling. Meanwhile chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in a heat proof bowl. When the cream is hot enough, pour it over the chocolate and wait 2 minutes.

Stir the mixture until smooth and glossy. Add the grated orange zest and salt and mix. Pour the ganache in a piping bag and place in a fridge to set.

Making the macaron shells:

The preparation for the shells is the same as in the Basic macarons recipe.

Pour half of the mixture in a piping bag and pipe the macarons on a parchment paper/silicone mat. Add a drop of orange food coloring to the second half of the mixture and mix gently. (Make sure you are using gel food color or powder and not the liquid kind. Adding additional liquid to the mixture may effect the look of the shells.) Pipe the orange mixture on a second tray. Tap the trays with the macarons on the table a few times to pop the air bubbles in the shells.

Bake in the preheated oven at 150°C (302°F) for 15 minutes. Let the macarons cool completely, if the macarons are still sticky at the bottom return them to the oven and bake more. I found out that the colored macaron may need more baking time than the basic ones.

After the macarons have cooled down, take the stencil (if using) and paint on gold stars. I also brushed on some orange stripes for a pop of color. Here you can improvise and decorate the shells however you want.

Assembly:
Pipe a generous dollop of the chocolate ganache on a bottom half of the macaron. Pipe along the edges of a macaron, then with a palette knife smear the ganache to the center, making a small dent in the middle.
Cut out small circles of orange jelly. I used a round end of a piping attachment and it worked great.
Place the jelly in the middle and top with a few orange confit peals and more chocolate ganache.

Top with the upper macaron shell. Store them in the fridge in an air-tight container. Wait 24 hours before eating them (if you can).Waiting or "maturing" allows the flavors to come together and the macarons will become soft and extremely flavorful. Take them out of the fridge about 30 minutes before serving for the best flavor.