Orange Macarons
Hello friends, today we are making Orange Macarons filled with Orange Marmalade and Dark Chocolate Ganache. The rich and intense Dark Chocolate ganache cuts through the sweet and citrusy Orange Marmalade in a way that will make your tastebuds sing a tune.
For such a long time I’ve been meaning to make Orange Macarons. Then last week I made the most delicious Orange Marmalade, and figured what would be a better way to use it than to fill Orange Macarons.
Of course, immediately dark chocolate came to my mind, because I simply adore the combo orange and chocolate!
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The intense orange color of the Orange Macaron shells was obtained by using Wilton Food Coloring. Nowadays I prefer using Americolor, I have a whole article about food coloring here.
When to add food coloring to the macaron batter?
This is a common question, and the best time to add the food coloring to the batter for me is when I first start to fold the dry ingredients in with the meringue.
People that make the Italian method usually fold the color in with the paste made at the beginning of the process, which will then later be folded together with the whipped meringue.
In the case of the Swiss Method, and the French Method (which I use for my Vegan Macarons), I add the color right along with the dry ingredients when I start incorporating them with the meringue.
The reason why I add the food coloring right at the beginning of folding, is because I will have a chance to add more and adjust the color as necessary without over folding the batter.
If you add the color at the end of folding the batter, you might not be able to keep adding more food coloring and adjusting it without over mixing the batter.
And if you add the color to the meringue too early, before it’s fully whipped, you run the risk of breaking the meringue.
Another important thing to remember is to always use gel based food coloring, and not water based. The water will react with the egg whites and it might break the meringue.
Egg whites have proteins that are hydrophobic, that are protecting the pockets of air formed in the process of whipping the meringue.
Therefore, you don’t want to ever add any water, extracts, or anything that might add moisture to the batter, to avoid spoiling your whole macaron batch.
If you like making macarons, or want to learn more about it, check out my Youtube videos, or my other blog posts.
I currently have over 60 macaron recipes on the blog, and my posts contain lots of tips and information that will be valuable to your macaron baking journey.
And if you liked these Orange Macarons, here are some other macaron flavors and ideas you might enjoy:
- Raspberry Macarons
- Chocolate Macarons
- Lemon Macarons
- Blood Orange Macarons
- Passion Fruit Macarons
- Cranberry Orange Macarons
- Key Lime Macarons
- Strawberry Lemonade Macarons
- Blackberry Macarons
- Pomegranate Macarons
Thank you so much for reading my blog! Have a great day!
Orange Macarons
Ingredients
Macaron Shells
- 100 grams egg whites 3.5 oz
- 100 grams granulated sugar 3.5 oz
- 105 grams almond flour 3.7 oz
- 105 grams powdered sugar 3.7 oz
- Food coloring optional I used orange
Orange Marmalade
- 1 cup peeled and chopped oranges 1-2 oranges
- 3 tablespoons water 44 ml
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar 50 grams, 1.76 oz
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
Dark Chocolate Ganache
- 4 ounces dark chocolate 113 grams
- 1/3 cup heavy cream 78 ml
Instructions
Macaron Shells
- Before you start, get all of your ingredients ready. Prepare a large piping bag, fitted with a large round tip. Set aside.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mat.
- I use a baking mat with the macaron template already in it. You can make your own or print it from the internet, and just place it under silicone mat, or parchment paper. I recommend using a silicone mat.
- Measure out all of your ingredients.
- Sift powdered sugar and almond flour together. Set aside.
- Place egg whites and granulated sugar in a heat proof bowl or in a double boiler. Over a pan of simmering water, whisk the whites and sugar until frothy and sugar completely melted. It will take a couple minutes. You can test by touching the mixture between your fingers, and if you feel any sugar granules just keep whisking mixture over the water bath.
- Make sure the bottom of the bowl isn’t touching the simmering water.
- Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer.
- With the whisk attachment, start whisking mixture on low for about 30 seconds, then gradually start increasing speed to medium. Whisk on medium for one to two minutes, until mixture is white and starting to become fluffy. Raise speed to high for a few minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Best way to check this is to keep your eye on the whites. Once they get glossy and you start seeing streaks formed by the whisk, it might be time to stop.
- Whisk until stiff peaks have formed. When you pull your whip up, the peak should form a bird’s beak shape, but shouldn’t be falling to the side, the peak should be stiff, forming a slightly curved shape at the top.
- Pour sifted powdered sugar and almond flour into stiff whites.
- Start folding gently forming a letter J with a spatula.
- Add the food coloring at this point, if using.
- It’s time to stop folding when the batter is glossy and has a thick and flowing consistency. There are several ways to test this.
- First, I pick up some batter with my spatula and try to draw a figure 8 with the batter that is dripping off the spatula. If you can form several 8 figures without the batter breaking up, that’s one indication that it might be ready.
- There’s another test you can do. I call it the Teaspoon test.
- Grab a teaspoon of batter and spoon onto the parchment paper or silicon mat. Wait a minute to see how it behaves.
- If the batter stays stiff, forming a point and doesn’t spread out a bit, I start folding a little bit more, about 3 folds.
- Test again.
- Once the batter spreads out a bit and starts to look glossy and smooth on top, on the parchment paper, I transfer my mixture to the piping bag.
- You don’t want your batter to be too runny either. So be careful not to overmix. It’s always best to undermix and test several times until the proper consistency has been achieved.
- The best way I can describe this stage being perfect is when you hold the spatula with batter on top of the bowl and the batter falls off the spatula slowly but effortlessly. The batter will keep flowing off the spatula non-stop, but not too quickly.
- Place piping bag directly 90 degrees over the center of each macaron template. Apply equal pressure and carefully pipe for about 3 seconds, and then quickly pull the bag up twisting slightly.
- Once you’ve piped as many circles as you could, bang the trays against the counter a few times each. This will release air bubbles that are in the batter and prevent your macaron shells from cracking.
- Use a toothpick to pop any air bubbles in the surface of the shells.
- Let your trays sit for a while so the shells will dry out a little bit. I usually leave about 20-40 minutes, depending on how humid the day is. You’ll know they’re ready when you gently touch the surface of a macaron and it seems dry.
- Pre-heat the oven to 300ºF.
- Bake one tray at a time.
- Bake for 5 minutes, rotate tray.
- I bake each tray for about 15 to 20 minutes.
- When baked, the macarons will have a deeper color and formed feet. If you try to move a macaron, it shouldn’t feel jiggly. If the macaron is still jiggly, keep baking.
- Remove from the oven and bake the other tray.
- Let the macarons cool down before proceeding with the filling.
Orange Marmalade
- Place chopped oranges, water, sugar, and orange zest in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, and let the oranges cook in the syrup for about 40 minutes. Take care not to let the marmalade dry out and the oranges stick to the bottom of the pan. Keep the heat low, and regulate as necessary, adding a bit of orange juice if the marmalade gets too dry at any point.
- Once the marmalade is very glossy, thick, sticky, turn the heat off. Let the marmalade cool down for about 5 minutes, then place it in a small blender, and pulse a few times until smooth.
- Transfer it to a bowl and let it cool down completely in the fridge before using.
Dark Chocolate Ganache
- Chop dark chocolate very finely. Place it in a bowl.
- Heat heavy cream in a small pan over medium heat, or in the microwave. No matter what method you choose, be very careful not to boil the heavy cream.
- Pour hot cream over chopped chocolate. Let it stand for a minute.
- Start stirring with a spatula until completely melted.
- Let it come to room temperature. Refrigerate for a bit before using, until it has piping consistency.
- To achieve the piping consistency for the ganache, you will have to rely a lot on the temperature of the ganache.
- If it has been in the fridge for a while, and it’s too thick and hard to pipe, insert it in the microwave for a few quick seconds, and stir it again. Test for consistency and keep going until you achieve the desired consistency.
- To be pipeable, the ganache should be thick, but easy to spread.
- If it happens that the ganache is too thin, you might want to put it in the fridge for a few minutes so it will harden up.
To assemble
- Line a piping bag with a round tip, I used Wilton number 7. Fill it with the Chocolate Ganache.
- Once the macarons have cooled down, simply pipe a ring around the edge of a bottom macaron, fill it up with about 1/4 teaspoon of Orange Marmalade. Top with another macaron cookie.
- Macarons are best after they’ve matured in the fridge for a day, or at least a few hours.
Storage
- Since these macarons have a marmalade filling, which is a very wet filling, they won’t keep as well in the fridge for so many days, and I don’t recommend freezing them. You might get away with freezing it, if your marmalade is very very thick.
- I would recommend refrigerating these Orange Macarons for up to 4 days.
Acompanho todos seus posts Ca, esses macarons são um dos meus favoritos, fantásticos!!!!!! Parabéns!!!!!!
Obrigada!!! Que bom! Fico tao feliz!
I love your recipes! What kind of food coloring do you use, and what quantity? I really want vibrant cookies but I can’t get the color to work. They either end up to wet or pale 🙁
I use this https://amzn.to/2SGlDa9 it’s Wilton concentrated food coloring 🙂
Have you ever thought of selling your recipes on Etsy? You put so much work into them ( descriptions, originality, quality pictures ) and I’m sure there’s people who would want to buy them. Or maybe even selling specialty macaroons online? Just curious, I love your work! Found you on Instagram.
Love you site! I have a few questions:
1. About how much orange food coloring did you have to use to get this bold orange? I have never been able to achieve the color pictured when I use the quantity of food coloring listed on other site’s recipes.
2. What brand of chocolate do you use?
3. Does the chocolate just need to be dark chocolate or a certain percentage cocao?
4. Can you use the Italian method to make this recipe?
Thank you!
Hello, I use about 1 teaspoon of food coloring I guess. I dont measure, I just keep adding until I achieve the color. I am using wilton gel here I believe.
I am using callebaut lately because I bought a huge bag, such an awesome quality. And you can use whatever chocolate you prefer. You could even make it with milk chocolate if you’d like.
I am not sure about using the italian method for this recipe. I try not to use the Italian method since I don’t care for it too much.
Thank you so much for the questions Becky! have a lovely day!
Would be helpful if this was in traditional measuring baking units like cups. Americans bake too, you know. My great grandmother was an award winning baker and never used a scale for ingredients in her life, so off with that superiority complex about grams. Precision down to the molecule is for atomic science not culinary matters.
Invest in a baking scale. Soo worth it!!+
Oh, believe me – for macarons, you definitely want a digital scale! They’re incredibly finicky cookies!
Actually baking is a science, especially items like macaroons. I am sure your grandmother was a fine baker, as were both of mine, however that doesn’t mean they knew it all. You can get a good kitchen scale for about $12. Instead of being so critical, give it a try. Oh and the metric system is way more precise. And I am a born and bred American, and I went to culinary arts school in America where they also use scales and the metric system.
This recipe is amazing! Thank you so much!
As for @truthievox, everyone knows you must weigh the ingredients to achieve perfect macarons. Take it from me, I work in a French bakery, there is no other way to do it well. Sounds like she should stick to Betty Crocker cake mix. Sounds like the grandmother never made macarons. I’m sorry having a blog warrants rude comments like these. So uncalled for!
Thank you so much!! I appreciate those words!! 🙂 If that person begins to bake macarons they will quickly understand how important it is to weigh the ingredients lol!! And how exciting that you work in a French bakery!!! Awesome!!
Have a fabulous day!
I have been trying for so long to make the perfect macaron…this recipe was the winner!! So easy and perfect. Fluffy with the crunch. The flavor is amazing.
All of these recipes are great!!! I’m so glad I found Pies and Tacos!
That’s great to hear Brianna!! I appreciate it so much!
I haven’t made this one – yet – but have a question: I made banana macarons some time ago, with a banana curd in the center surrounded with banana buttercream. The shells of those that weren’t eaten immediately started getting a bit soft under the curd. Someone in a mac FB group said to spread a thin layer of buttercream under the curd, or whatever’s going in the center. Have you had any issues with the shell getting soft if you use jam or a curd or anything other than buttercream?
Thanks!
yes the buttercream trick does work, however, if the shells are on the soft side (due to batter being on the over mixed side, or soft meringue, or on the under baked side) the fillings will make the shells soggy.
I use jam fillings and curds all the time, and don’t encounter this issue unless the macarons have been sitting in the fridge for over 5 days or so, and I absolutely don’t freeze those.
So, if you do encounter these issues with soft shells, try to make sure the batter isn’t too mixed, or that the meringue isnt on the soft side, and that you bake the shells enough. You could even bake it a minute longer than you’re used to (without over baking them).
And also try the buttercream trick. however, if the shells are on the soft side, they might end up soggy anyway.
Also! I always make the jam a bit thicker, which is why I tend to add more cornstarch to my custard and jam when making them for macaron filling, to make sure they are on the sturdy side and not too runny, so that’s another option, making sure the filling is a bit thicker also!
Awesome. Thank you SO much!!
Is there an alternative to a ganache to make the recipe dairy free? Does it work with just the marmalade? Thank you
You can use coconut cream in the ganache instead of heavy cream. Just the marmalade would be ok.
I am making these for a baby shower on Saturday. I plan to make them Thursday. Do you think they will hold up (not get a soggy spot) for those 2 days? I usually make macarons with fresh raspberries and basically have to eat them the same day or they’re soggy.
A few things you can do: brush the bottom of the macaron shell with melted chocolate, let it dry out, then fill the macarons, you only need to brush the center, where the filling is going to go. This will offer a layer of protection against the filling. However, I never do this and my macarons turn out fine. I keep macarons filled with jelly for up to 5 days in the fridge and even up to a month in the freezer and they keep just fine. When you say fresh raspberries do you mean just raspberry? Or like a jam? The raspberry itself will probably be too watery, but if you use a jam or a marmalade, you should be ok. Also, check the consistency of your shells, are you by any chance under baking them?
Hi! I was wondering if you could add orange flavoring to the macaron shells themselves? I want to put a lemon frosting in the middle.
one of the ways would be to add orange zest (dried and finely ground) to the shells but it barely adds any flavor. Another way would be orange extract but I just dont like it. you can definitely try it and see how it goes, add about 1/4 to 1/2 tsp to the meringue once its whipped.
Olá suas receitas são maravilhosas.
Sou Brasileiro, faço macarons, em algumas vezes da errado por causa do clima no Brasil.
Qual tipo de forno é recomendável usar?
Desde já muito obrigado e parabéns pelos Macarons!
O melhor tipo de forno pra se usar é o forno de convecçao. Mas por exemplo quando eu estava no brasil usei o forno a gás da minha mãe e funcionou, só precisei fazer algumas vezes até descobrir como usar. no caso do forno dela, eu precisei colocar na menor temperatura possivel, e tinha que deixar o forno um pouquinho aberto na hora de assar. E os macarons tinham que descansar muito tempo antes de entrar ao forno.