Vegan Coffee Macarons (plus video)

Hello friends! Let’s make some Vegan Coffee Macarons today! They are filled with Coffee Ganache! Also, make sure to check out the video on this page showing you exactly how to make these vegan macarons!

For more Macaron information and troubleshooting, visit the Vegan Matcha Macaron post to learn how to figure out your oven and why having an oven thermometer is so important. Also read this comprehensive Vegan Macaron Troubleshooting. And read this Vegan Macaron Basics Guide.

Making Vegan Macarons is becoming a great passion of mine! This is my 8th vegan macaron recipe on the blog. I have over 50 macaron recipes on my blog, including vegan and regular macarons. And a big list of flavors yet to be accomplished! I never run out of ideas for macarons!

Make sure you watch the video on how to make these Vegan Coffee Macarons, which is on this page, and can also be found on my youtube channel. You can also find more Vegan Macaron videos there on my channel.

It’s important to watch videos so you can get a visual on what each stage is supposed to look like: the meringue, the macaronage, the piping, etc. Videos can be really helpful, and I don’t mean just mine. When learning how to master macarons, make sure to read, watch, research every material you can get your hands on. There are a lot of resources out there that can help you learn how to make vegan macarons.

Tips on how to make Vegan Macarons

• Whip the aquafaba until it reaches stiff peaks. Make sure they are stiff, shooting straight up. It might take a long time. With my handmixer it takes about 10 minutes, sometimes more!
• Slowly add the granulated sugar in.
• Make sure the macarons are dry before baking them. If they have been resting for too long and still aren’t dry, then the batter could have been overmixed.
• Let macarons mature for 24-48 hours before serving. This might help solve some hollow macaron issues, and also will improve texture and flavor!

This are just some tips. I could write a book with so many tips on how to make these! But for now, I’ll cover them on my blog posts.

To see more tips, check out my other Vegan Macaron posts.

Here are some suggestions:

• Vegan Vanilla Macarons with sprinkles (French method)
• Vegan Pistachio Macarons (French method)
• Vegan Biscoff Macarons (French method)
• Vegan Avocado Macarons (Italian method)
• Lavender Lemon Vegan Macarons (Italian method)
• Vegan Salted Caramel Macarons (Italian method)
• Vegan Raspberry Macarons (Italian method)

I recommend using the French method, but that’s only because that’s the one I am able to obtain the best results with. Some people really prefer the Italian. Find out what works best for you. You may have to experiment with different methods, make some mistakes, have some failed batches, before finding your groove.

How to flavor Macaron shells

I recommend keeping the flavoring of macaron shells to a minimum. Focus on the filling to give your macarons the flavor you want. And that’s because the shells are very delicate, and if you add anything that’s oil based, or with a high content of water, it might destroy your shells.

Try to stay away from extracts, or anything that’s wet in order to give your shells flavor. Instead, use powders if possible.

Espresso powder, cocoa powder, matcha powder. Some people use raspberry powder or strawberry powder to flavor their macaron shells also, and I even heard of someone making their own lemon zest, letting it dry overnight, then grinding it and adding it to the shells. However, they reported finding that it barely added any flavor to the shells anyway. So I really recommend focusing on flavoring the filling of the macarons instead of the shells.

In this case, I chose to sprinkle the espresso powder on top of the shells instead of adding it to the batter. But you can add the espresso powder straight to the shells along with the dry ingredients.

I wanted my shells to be white, which is why I did it this way. If you add the espresso powder to the shells they will become brown, which is also cute, and that’s what I did with my regular (non-vegan) Coffee Macarons, but for the purpose of this Vegan Coffee Macarons creation, I wanted the white shells with the dark chocolate filling.

The Vegan Coffee Ganache is very easy to make, simply mix hot coconut cream, with chocolate chips, espresso powder, and some Kahlua (which is totally optional).

These are my favorite vegan chocolate chips!

These are the containers I use to store my macarons. They are specially great to freeze them.

These piping bags are also awesome! Very thick and sturdy!

I hope you enjoyed today’s recipe! You may also want to check out my Vegan Coffee Donuts, Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pistachios, and my Vegan Caramel Cupcakes! Which would all go fantastic along with a cup of coffee and also with these Vegan Coffee Macarons for a delicious afternoon coffee spread!

Thanks for reading my blog and following along! I appreciate all the love and support!

If you have any questions about macarons, don’t hesitate to contact me! You can dm me on instagram, send an email, etc… It also helps if you have a picture if the question is about troubleshooting!

Anyway, have a beautiful day! Much love and peace!

Vegan Coffee Macarons

Camila Hurst

Vegan Coffee Macarons filled with a Vegan Coffee Ganache. They are delicious and will go perfect with coffee time!

4.67 from 6 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 2 hours hrs

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 40 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine French, vegan

Servings 20 macarons

Calories 80 kcal

Ingredients

 

Vegan Macaron Shells

• 75 grams aquafaba (water from a chickpea can)
• 110   grams   almond flour
• 110   grams   powdered sugar
• 1/4   teaspoon   cream of tartar
• 66   grams   granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder**

Coffee Ganache

• 1/3 cup coconut cream 78 ml
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips 56.6 grams
• 1 tablespoon espresso powder
• 1 tablespoon Kahlua optional***

Instructions

 

Vegan Macaron Shells

• Gather all of your ingredients before starting to make macarons. Measure out all ingredients. Line two baking sheets with silicon mats. And fit a large piping bag with a round tip. You want everything ready to go when you need it.
• Sift almond flour and powdered sugar together. Set aside.
• Place the aquafaba in the bowl of a mixer with the cream of tartar.
• Whip for about 1 minute on low, or medium low if the low on your mixer is way too slow. (On my hand mixer I whip on low, but on my KitchenAid I whip on medium low)
• At this point, raise speed to medium, and whip for another 2 minutes.
• Raise speed to high and start to add granulated sugar, slowly, a bit at a time.
• Continue to whip until the aquafaba achieves stiff peaks.
• The whole whipping, from beginning to end, should last about 10 minutes, but sometimes it may last longer. Make sure you have obtained stiff peaks, shooting straight up.
• Add sifted dry ingredients to whipped aquafaba. Start folding with a spatula slowly.
• Add food coloring at this point, if using any. You can add the espresso powder at this point also, I sprinkled mine over the shells because I wanted my shells to remain white, and adding the espresso powder to the batter will make the shells brown.
• Fold forming a letter J with the spatula.
• Fold until the batter is flowing slightly. You don’t want the batter to be flowing continuously off the spatula. When it comes to vegan macarons, the folding time is very very brief. You are basically just looking to incorporate the dry ingredients with the meringue. Please watch the video to see what the consistency should look like. If you grab a spatula full of batter and hold it over the bowl, it should still be separating in chunks, and not flowing continuously on a ribbon. Do not get to the ribbons stage! If you get to the ribbon stage, the macaron feet will spread out in the oven.
• Transfer batter to the piping bag.
• Pipe 1 1/2” circles on a baking sheet lined with silicone mat. I usually use 2 sheets. This will depend on how big you pipe your macarons.
• Slam the trays against the counter to release air bubbles.
• Use a toothpick to pop any remaining bubbles.
• If sprinkling the espresso powder on top of the shells, make sure to do so them before the macaron shells dry.
• Let trays rest for 30-45 minutes until the shells are dry. Test this by touching a macaron gently with your finger. Depending on humidity levels and weather, it might take longer or less time for your macarons to dry.
• Pre-heat oven to 285F.
• Bake each tray separately.
• Bake for a total of 20 minutes, or until the macarons are easily coming off the silicon mat.
• Remember to rotate the tray every 5 minutes, to ensure even baking.
• Baking time might vary depending on your oven.
• Let macarons cool down before filling.

Coffee Ganache

• Heat up the coconut cream until hot. Pour over chocolate chips.
• Whisk until all chocolate chips have melted. If they aren’t melting, microwave it for just a few seconds and whisk again to ensure the ganache is smooth without any chocolate lumps in it.
• Add espresso powder and Kahlua, if using. Whisk until combined.
• Let mixture cool down. Chill it in the fridge for a few hours.
• Remove from the fridge about 40 minutes before you wish to fill the macarons. This will help the ganache have the perfect consistency.

To assemble

• Place Coffee Ganache in a piping bag. Pipe a dollop of filling on top of half of the shells. And then top with another shell.
• Wait for the macarons to mature for 24-48 hours before serving them. And let them come to room temperature for 10 minutes before eating, for optimal results and enjoyment.

Storage

• Store macarons in the fridge for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Notes

Aquafaba is the water you obtain from cooking chickpeas (or other legumes). The aquafaba I use is water drained from a chickpea can. Some people use the juice from other beans also, and some people like to boil their own dry chickpeas to obtain the aquafaba, and you can do that, but make sure to study what are the best ratios water:chickpeas so your aquafaba is concentrated enough

Aquafaba: I used to reduce the aquafaba before. But I don’t reduce it anymore, and not only it works perfectly, but also it’s way less work.

Macaronage: Do not let the batter reach ribbon stage. If it reaches ribbon stage it will be over mixed, the batter is supposed to be thick. Watch my videos on YouTube to see what it should look like.

Thick batter: If the batter is too thick while mixing, add a teaspoon of aquafaba as you mix, until you obtain the perfect consistency.

Oven thermometer: Please make sure to have an oven thermometer! I receive a lot of troubleshooting questions and the great majority are issues caused due to not having an oven thermometer. Read this post for more detailed information about how important this is.

Oven temperature: Please experiment with your own oven temperature. Temperatures will vary depending on your oven and technique. It’s important to experiment and see what works best for your own oven. In my old oven I used to bake this same recipe at 310ºF. However, with my new oven, I bake it at 285ºF. This comes to show that the temperature will vary greatly depending on your own oven. Please experiment and find out what works best for you.

Tray rotation: some bakers don’t need to rotate their trays when baking macarons. If your oven bakes evenly and doesn’t have any hot spots, you might be able to skip the tray rotation.

Troubleshooting: if your macarons are exploding, flattening out, with the feet spreading to the sides, that can mean a few things:

1- hot oven (make sure to have oven thermometer and experiment with the optimal oven temperature for your oven).

2- over mixed batter. It’s really easy to over mix vegan macaron batter. Mix it just until it starts to flow. Watch the videos on my youtube channel for reference.

3- under whipped meringue: make sure the meringue has really stiff peaks. It can take some time. Just be patient.

**You may either sprinkle the espresso powder on top of the shells after piping the macarons, or add the espresso powder directly to the batter along with the powdered sugar and almond flour. I wanted my shells to be white, and the espresso powder would have made them brown, which is why I decided to sprinkle the espresso powder on top of the macarons.

***The Kahlua can be substituted for another liquor of choice, or left out altogether.

Nutrition

Serving: 1macaronCalories: 80kcal

Keyword macarons

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