Today we are making Ferrero Rocher Macarons, filled with ganache, Nutella, and hazelnut. They are decorated with chopped hazelnuts, melted chocolate, and gold leaf on top.
Chop dark chocolate very finely, or you can use chocolate chips, but make sure to use good quality chocolate, I like to use Callebaut. Place the chocolate in a bowl.
Heat the 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 whisking until completely melted.
Let it come to room temperature.
If the ganache isn’t getting hard enough to achieve piping consistency, place it in the fridge for just 5 minutes, then remove it, stir, and leave it on the counter. The ganache will naturally get stiffer and thick. To be pipeable, the ganache should be thick, but easy to spread.
To fill the macarons
Place the ganache in a piping bag fitted with a round piping tip. I used a 1A.
Pipe a ring of ganache on a bottom macaron shell.
Place the Nutella in a piping bag as well.
Pipe a bit of Nutella in the center of the macarons, then top with a halved hazelnut, then top with more Nutella.
Place a top shell over the bottom filled shell.
Refrigerate the macarons until the filling has set and chilled thoroughly, about 20 minutes or so.
To decorate the macarons
Place the toasted hazelnuts in a food processor and process until they are ground, but not as fine as a powder, you want them to be finely chopped.
Melt the chocolate in the microwave for 15 second intervals until completely melted. Make sure to use very good quality chocolate, I used Callebaut.
Once the chocolate has melted, add the chopped hazelnuts in and mix to combine. You should have a thick mixture, but not so thick, make sure to watch the video to see the thickness of my mixture. Also have in mind that in my video I was making a larger quantity of macarons than just one batch’s worth, so just go by the quantities listed here for one batch. However, depending on the brand and quality of your chocolate, it might be thiner than what I am using, so you might need more or less hazelnuts to make it the proper consistency for dipping and creating the Ferrero Rocher effect on the outside.
Remove the macarons from the fridge and dip just the tops in the hazelnut and melted chocolate.
Give the macarons a little shake to spread out the chocolate.
Place the macarons back in the fridge until the chocolate has set.
After the chocolate has set, you can decorate it with gold sheets, I used a brush to help me place and stick the gold leaf in place.
Storage
Store in the fridge for up to 5 days, in the freezer for up to 1 or 2 months.
Notes
Recipe for the chocolate shells can be found here.Make sure to use good quality chocolate. I use Callebaut and never have to temper it.If the ganache breaks or separates, place it over a double boiler with barely simmering water and whisk vigorously until the ganache comes together again. You can also add a bit of heavy cream while you whisk to help it come together.The chocolate I use: CallebautThe gold leaves: Genuine Edible Gold Leaf