Chocolate Macarons

Yes, yes, yes.. I know that these aren't the most perfect macarons. However, everybody has heard how difficult it can be to bake them. (Except for those lucky people who bake them perfect on their first attempt. I'm not one of them.) Anyway, I'm going to try again and again until I learn how to bake them. I know what I did wrong this time - the oven was too hot. I preheated mine as it was written in the directions but every oven is different - be careful with that. And of course, I baked them too long. So I know what mistakes I did and hope that next time they will turn out much better. Don't think they were bad! Oh no, they were good enough as you can see in the photos. The taste was fine but not all of them rised well. That's it! I encourage you to try making them and don't be disappointed if they don't turn out perfectly on your first attempt - the next one can be successful. It's all about practice. 

Adapted from David Lebovitz

Macaron Batter
1 cup (100 gr) powdered sugar
½ cup powdered almonds (50 gr, sliced almonds, pulverized)
3 tablespoons (25 gr) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
5 tablespoons (65 gr) granulated sugar

Chocolate Filling

½ cup (125 ml) heavy cream
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
4 ounces (120 gr) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tablespoon (15 gr) butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 180º C.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2-inch, 2 cm) ready.

Grind together the powdered sugar with the almond powder and cocoa so there are no lumps; use a blender or food processor since almond meal that you buy isn’t quite fine enough.

In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. While whipping, beat in the granulated sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes.

Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag (standing the bag in a tall glass helps if you’re alone).

Pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1-inch (3 cm) circles (about 1 tablespoon each of batter), evenly spaced one-inch (3 cm) apart.

Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons.

Let the macaron rest for at least 2 hrs, then bake them for 15-18 minutes. Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet.

To make the chocolate filling:

Heat the cream in a small saucepan with the corn syrup. When the cream just begins to boil at the edges, remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let sit one minute, then stir until smooth. Stir in the pieces of butter. Let cool completely before using.

Assembly:
Spread a bit of batter on the inside of the macarons then sandwich them together