Chocolate Macarons

The Chocolate Show has been in New York for the past few days, so I thought it fitting to dedicate this week’s blog post to something that even chocolate purists would love: classic chocolate macarons. I don’t claim to be a macaron expert – I haven’t exactly 

perfected my technique, and chocolate macarons can be especially tricky for some reason. I prefer to make a French (as opposed to Italian or Swiss) meringue for my batter, which is a bit less stable. A pastry chef who worked for Laduree for several years recently told 

me to try making them with an Italian meringue, and to use it while the meringue is still hot. This, he explained, is very stable and gives you the added bonus of a shorter drying time for the piped macarons. I will try that next time, but for now, my slightly 

imperfect macarons will have to do. I sprinkled the tops of each with cacao nibs, which are a slightly bitter counterpoint to the sweet macarons, and add a pleasant crunch. The filling is a classic ganache, and can be tailored to your taste by your choice of the cacao percentage of your dark chocolate. Because the macarons are sweet, a high percentage chocolate is ideal here (around 70%), particularly if you want to maximize the chocolate punch.

Chocolate Caramel Almond Tartlets

If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time, you probably know how much I adore the combination of caramel and chocolate. Add some toasted almonds, and my salivary glands go 

into overdrive and my body begins to quiver.  Combining these flavors almost guarantees a successful outcome when making a dessert, whether it’s in the form of a cake, ice cream or individually 

sized tartlets, as in this week’s feature recipe. I originally created a full-size tart version of this recipe for Fine Cooking magazine a few years ago, and this is the pint-sized tartlet version. It’s a tender-

crusted tart with a buttery caramel and toasted almond filling, topped with a rich dark chocolate ganache. At room temperature the caramel filling is luxuriously runny, making a full-size tart 

somewhat tricky to slice, so the individual serving tartlet is an ideal form for this particular recipe. I like to eat these tartlets chilled, so that the caramel and ganache has a little bite to it, but they’re also

delicious at room temperature. If you prefer to make a whole tart instead of tartlets, use a 9 ½-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.

A Trio of Tartlets

Palm-sized and portable, sweet tartlets are also an elegant and versatile dessert. You can fill them with anything from pastry cream, citrus curd, ganache or mousse, and top them off with fresh berries, fruit, cream or swirls of meringue—whatever suits your 

fancy. Make an assortment and your guests can choose their favorite. I like to make them with fillings that can be prepared several days ahead of time, so I only need to make the topping and assemble them a few hours before serving. The tartlet shells take 

some time, but they can also be made well in advance. Here I chose to make one with a lime curd filling topped with meringue (my favorite); orange-scented custard with fresh raspberries; and chocolate ganache with whipped cream. The lime curd and custard 

can be made several days ahead, and the ganache comes together in minutes, so they’re not as much work as you’d think. And they are adorable, non?