Black and White Macarons are made from one vanilla cookie, one chocolate cookie, and a strawberry filling!
Back, several months ago at this point, I did a recipe of a gingerbread lantern filled with treats. And one those treats was a black and white Macaron. I had originally wanted to call it a Neapolitan Macaron but that didn’t feel right after learning about the naming behind Neapolitan. So Black and White Macarons it is!
Anyway, this dessert is made from one vanilla cookie, one chocolate cookie, and strawberry filling. And the cookies are macarons but meringue disc (which is what they effectively are) doesn’t sound as good.
I really like making macarons, they are super fun to make. But I was stumped on what I wanted to do with the filling. I always get worried about the filling being a little too smoochy and dripping out when I bite into the cookie. This led to me conduct a little experiment. For the strawberry filling, I decided to make the filling have a similar texture (ish) to Oreo filling.
Check out the Make section of MCG for more fun recipes like desserts and savory dishes.
Ingredients
I feel like there is both a lot and very few ingredients that go into making black and white macarons. The “interesting” ingredients that are needed are cream of tartar and almond flour. These are core to making the macaron cookies. I also used almond bark to help make a decorative drizzle on each cookie.
Process
Whisking the Meringue
Two-thirds of a black and white macaron is the cookie. The process for making a vanilla macaron and a chocolate macaron is nearly identical. I will mention the various difference in the next section, but they were not different enough to have two different dedicated sections.
The first step is whipping up the egg whites for the meringue. I started by placing the egg whites, salt, cream of tartar, and vanilla extract into a bowl. The it’s time to whisk and whisk until the mixture has become foamy and is just reaching soft peaks.
Then I added the sugar, in small portions, into the bowl while I continued whisking. The mixture became silky and glossy as it was brought to stiff peaks. I always get nervous when making meringue. I am never quite sure if I have the texture right and I’m too nervous of a person to do the over the head check. Flipping a bowl over to see if anything moves? That’s legit scary!
Macaron Batter
In a separate bowl, I whisked together the almond flour and powdered sugar to create my “dry mix”. This step is the only true deviation between the vanilla and chocolate cookies. While the amount of each ingredient may vary, this step adds cocoa powder for the chocolate macaron. That is really the only different ingredient between the two cookies.
Then I used a spatula to fold the dry mixture into the meringue. I find the cut and scrap folding method to be the most effective. But folding mixture can be brutal on the arms. Although it is necessary if you want to keep the air within the meringue. Still hate doing it though…
Then, I transferred the mixture into a piping bag. I did not use any tip because I was just piping mounds which can be done with the piping bag alone. The mixture is a little slacker after the dry mix was added. It can move a little more so piping the mounds is more about the amount in the mound than the shape.
The macaron cookies tend to only grow upwards rather than outwards so spacing is not as much of a concern. After all the cookies that could fit on a tray were piped, I gently tapped the tray to make sure any bubbles were removed. Then I let them sit for about an hour to let a film develop along the outside of the cookies. And all that’s left is baking!
Strawberry Filling
While the cookies are baking, I made the filling for the macarons. The filling is the simplest part of this whole process. Take all the ingredients and mix with together. Done! Well, done making it at least. I used a paddle blade to mix everything together because I wanted the mixture to be smooth but not fluffy.
I then put the mixture into a piping bag to get ready for the cookie assembly! This does make a drippier filling but it’s good and it cures better than I anticipated. Leaving the filling to cure can help with keeping the filling intact.
Decorating the Black and White Macarons
The last step of make the black and white macarons was the decorations! I melted white almond bark and chocolate almond bark and placed them in separate squeeze bottles. Then I did a drizzle with the chocolate on top of the vanilla cookie and the white chocolate on top of the chocolate cookie.
I thought this gave a good contrast to all the cookies really brought in the black and white theme. Well… I guess it is more brown and white. Some part of me does wish I used a charcoal chocolate powder to really get that black vibe
After, I piped a small to medium amount of filling on top of one vanilla cookie and placed a chocolate cookie on top.
Reflections
I really enjoyed this process. Making macarons is always fun because they always come out looking generally professional. And that makes me feel accomplished. One improvement I would have made is making them smaller. I think that I got a little too enthusiastic about making the macarons and made them a little too wide. But it’s hard to not like having more of a good thing.
Lessons
Why is it Called Neapolitan?
The inspiration for this dessert is Neapolitan ice cream (I know, it’s probably not a favorite). I thought the combination of flavors is good so why not make it in a macaron? But that did get me thinking, why is it called Neapolitan Ice Cream?
I know Neapolitan pizza is said to be from Naples and represents the Italian flag. Is this true about Neapolitan ice cream as well? Well, yes! It is said that Neapolitan ice cream (or gelato) did originate from Naples, but it was original vanilla, strawberry, and pistachio to represent the Italian flag. At some point, it got switch to chocolate, but the name stayed.
recipe
Black & White Macarons
Ingredients
Vanilla Macaron
- 4 Eggs Whites
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- ½ Teaspoon Cream of Tartar
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ⅓ Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 ½ Cup Almond Flour
- 2 ½ Cup Powdered Sugar
Chocolate Macaron
- 4 Egg Whites
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- ½ Teaspoon Cream of Tartar
- ¼ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ⅓ Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Cup Almond Flour
- 2 ¼ Cup Powdered Sugar
- ¼ Cup Powdered Sugar
Strawberry Filling
- 2 ½ Cup Powdered Sugar
- ¼ Cup Canola Oil
- ½ Cup Light Corn Syrup
- ½ Cup Strawberry Puree
Decorations Optional
- ½ Cup Milk Chocolate Almond Bark
- ½ Cup White Chocolate Almond Bark
Instructions
Vanilla Macaron
- Whisk egg whites, salt, cream of tartar, and vanilla extract until foamy and starting to reach soft peaks. Add sugar, one tablespoon at a time, and beat until stiff peaks and glossy.
- Sift together flour and powdered sugar in a separate bowl.
- Fold 1/3 of the flour mixture into the meringue (egg mixture). Repeat until all the flour mixture has been incorporated.
- Pipe 1-inch mounds onto a baking sheet. Tap the baking sheet against the counters to remove any air bubbles. Let rest for 45-60 minutes (the dough should develop a film on the top which makes it look dull or not shiny).
- Pre-heat the oven to 300° Fahrenheit.
- Bake 1 tray at a time for 16-18 minutes. Let cool on the tray before removing.
Chocolate Macaron
- Whisk egg whites, salt, cream of tartar, and vanilla extract until foamy and starting to reach soft peaks. Add sugar, one tablespoon at a time, and beat until stiff peaks and glossy.
- Sift together flour, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder in a separate bowl.
- Fold 1/3 of the flour mixture into the meringue (egg mixture). Repeat until all the flour mixture has been incorporated.
- Pipe 1-inch mounds onto a baking sheet. Tap the baking sheet against the counters to remove any air bubbles. Let rest for 45-60 minutes (the dough should develop a film on the top which makes it look dull or not shiny).
- Pre-heat the oven to 300° Fahrenheit.
- Bake 1 tray at a time for 16-18 minutes. Let cool on the tray before removing.
Strawberry Filling
- In a large bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, canola oil, corn syrup, and strawberry puree. Mixture should be dry enough to roll out and cut out circles. If the mixture is too runny, add more powdered sugar.
- Roll out mixture on a flat surface. Use a 1-inch cutter to stamp out circles.
Assembly
- Optional. Melt white chocolate bark and place in a piping bag or squeeze bottle. Pipe over chocolate macarons. Melt milk chocolate bark and place in piping bag or squeeze bottle. Pipe over vanilla macarons.
- Take one vanilla macaron, place a strawberry filling disc, and then sandwich with a chocolate macaron. Repeat to make all the cookies!
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