Homemade Heart Macarons

Name: Homemade Heart Macarons
Prep time: 90 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 98 min
Ingredients: 1 cup powdered sugar; 3/4 cup almond flour (not almond meal); 2 large egg whites; pinch cream of tartar; ¼ cup superfine sugar; 1 tbsp fresh raspberry puree (strained); pink gel food coloring; 8 oz dark chocolate (melted); pinch salt; ¾ cup whipping cream (hot); Raspberry jam

By: Cayla Gallagher

Published: February, 11 2017 Last Updated: June, 5 2023

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Love is in the air and I’m here with a simple heart macaron recipe for Valentine’s Day! Whether it’s for yourself or a loved one, this cute, pink French dessert will melt any heart.

If you ask me, this recipe is every sweet tooth’s dream come true: we have a glossy meringue made of egg whites and superfine sugar, almond flour with more sugar, and then there’s the natural sugar from the raspberries. The macaron shells taste like raspberries and are filled with chocolate ganache and raspberry jam.

If the thought of making macarons scares you, don’t worry – this recipe is super easy to follow along, and I’ve even listed some expert tips for beginners to actually succeed! These macarons stay well for up to 7 days at room temperature, so there’s plenty of time to get it right before Valentine’s Day. And as always, the most important thing is to have fun!

Recipe Ingredients

Get these ingredients ready for the macaron shells:

Confectioner’s sugar – We will combine confectioner’s sugar with almond flour.
Almond flour – Make sure you get almond flour, not almond meal. Almond flour has a finer texture and contributes to the delicate, velvety bite of the macaron shells.
Egg whites – Separate two large egg whites to make a meringue.
Cream of tartar – Cream of tartar is a type of acid that stabilizes the meringue, thickens it, and gives it that glossy, stiff texture. Be sure to use just a pinch of it! You can also substitute it with lemon juice or white vinegar, both also acids.
Superfine sugar – For our meringue, we will use superfine sugar, which is a very finely blended granulated sugar, sometimes called castor sugar or powdered sugar. It is not the same as confectioner’s sugar.
Raspberry puree – Blend some fresh raspberries to make a sweet raspberry puree. Strain it to remove any large bits of raspberry.
Pink gel food coloring – What’s Valentine’s Day without a dash of pink color? Red gel food coloring is super pretty, too!

For the macaron filling:

Dark chocolate – Melt 8 oz of dark chocolate. I prefer the subtle bitterness in dark chocolate since the macaron already contains lots of sugary sweetness!
A pinch of salt
Whipping cream
Raspberry jam – Grab your favorite jar of raspberry jam for the filling, or use the raspberry puree that you just made! P/S: You could even make your own homemade raspberry jam.

How to Make Heart Macarons

Make the macarons:

Combine the confectioner’s sugar and almond flour in a bowl, then sift 3 times.
Place the egg whites in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until foamy. Add the cream of tartar, then beat until soft peaks form. Add the superfine sugar and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. Sift the dry mixture of almond flour into the egg mixture and gently fold with a spatula to combine.
Add the raspberry puree and pink gel food coloring and stir to combine.
Place the batter in a piping bag fitted with a large round tip and pipe hearts (1 inch) on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Tap the baking sheets on your countertop a couple of times to remove any air bubbles. Let the macarons rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375F for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325F. Bake the macarons, one sheet at a time, for 6-8 minutes, rotating halfway through. After each batch, increase the heat to 375F, heat for 5 minutes, then reduce to 325F and pop the next sheet into the oven!
- Tip: Since all ovens will have slight variations in temperature, be sure to keep an eye on your macarons. Once they’ve risen dramatically and are dried out at the bottom, that’s a sign that they are ready to come out of the oven.
Allow the macarons to cool on the sheet for 2-3 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to fully cool.

Make the chocolate ganache:

While the macarons are in the oven, prepare the ganache. Combine the melted dark chocolate, salt, and whipping cream in a bowl and stir. Place in the fridge until the ganache has cooled and thickened.
Beat the ganache with an electric mixer until it slightly lightens in color and becomes creamy with a whipped consistency.
Place in a piping bag fitted with a round tip.

Assemble the macarons:

Divide the macarons into two groups – bottom shells and top shells. Flip the macarons in the bottom shell and pipe the chocolate ganache around the border. Dollop some raspberry jam in the center, then place another macaron on top. Repeat for the rest of the macarons.

Enjoy!

What to Serve with Heart Macarons

My love for sweet desserts makes me want to say that you can enjoy these heart macarons with just about anything. In Japanese, the phrase betsubara (別腹) literally translates into ‘separate stomach’, meaning to say no matter how full you are, there’s always room for desserts in the tummy. And I fully agree! I have a betsubara and I’m proud of it.

For an extra chocolatey treat, try a warm cup of Nutella hot chocolate to complement the chocolate ganache in these heart macarons. I do this when I’m feeling indulgent or when I have extra strong cravings for sweetness 😋 On other days, I tone it down by brewing black coffee or a floral tea (chamomile, lavender, or peppermint). And if you’re feeling fancy, why not pour yourself a glass of sparkling wine or white wine?
If you’re putting together a grazing platter for Valentine’s Day, you can also throw in a few of these heart-shaped macarons. It’ll be quite the char-cute-rie board, if I may.

Recipe Tips

It takes time to perfect the art of making macarons, but don’t give up! Anticipate your macarons cracking, sinking, and browning if it’s your first time making it. Seasoned bakers will tell you that practice makes perfect. Hopefully, these tips will help:

Make sure your almond flour is fine – Sifting your almond flour and sugar gets rid of lumps or big chunks. But if there are still big, pesky chunks in your almond flour from the bag, put them in a food processor and pulverize until they’re gone. Poof!
Remove all air bubbles – After piping the macaron shells, give the baking sheet a tap to pop the air bubbles. If you see air bubbles at the surface of the shells that refuse to pop, gently poke at them with a toothpick or skewer.
How to tell if your macarons are ready – Fully baked macarons should come off cleanly from the parchment paper after they’ve cooled. If they still stick to the paper, they’re underbaked. For this reason, I suggest making a few extra batches if this is your first time.
Parchment paper tip – Dot some meringue at each corner of the baking sheet to help the parchment paper stick. You don’t want it to flap or fly about while you’re piping the meringue shells.

How to Store Macarons

Let your heart-shaped macarons cool down completely. After that, place them in airtight containers. Macarons have a very good shelf life and can keep in the fridge for close to 2 months. Since our macarons use a ganache filling and not buttercream filling, they’ll do fine even at room temperature for up to 7 days.