Chocolate Heart Shaped Macarons with Template

I love making macarons at all times of year but they really do make a great Valentines gift idea and these cute heart-shaped Macarons are perfect for a valentines themed treat. Of course hearts aren’t just for valentines day – think jelly cat style heart macarons, wedding favours, thank you gifts – the possibilities are endless!

Here you’ll find easy-to-follow, tested, step- by-step instructions with photos, my easy Swiss meringue chocolate macaron shall recipe, rich chocolate fudge buttercream recipe – and I’m also sharing the heart shaped macaron template that I made as a FREE printable! I can’t wait to hear how you get on with making them!

The batch of heart shaped macarons pictured are filled with a chocolate fudge buttercream – an easy to follow recipe that uses dark cocoa powder to create a rich fudge effect.

To add a luxury feel to the macarons I dipped them in melted milk chocolate and once that had cooled slightly, I topped them yet more chocolate – finely grated.

I made a batch of pink hearts with white chocolate decoration at the same time as the chocolate ones and gifted them all in boxes to family and friends (anything to stop me from eating them all!) The heart theme and macaron template really are so versatile and the decorating & filling options are endless. How about an oozy salted caramel centre along with the chocolate fudge buttercream? It sounds delicious to me.

If like me you are a little scared of moving away from the round macarons that you have perfected – fear not.. as far as shaped macarons go these ones are pretty easy – just one shape piped consistently and it’s rounded on all sides, to make it fit with the shape of a round piping tip. A good one to try if you are just starting to experiment with shapes and templates!

The instructions in the chocolate macaron recipe below are very detailed and if you have made macarons before you might not need to read all the steps but making macarons by following all of the steps below.

Making macarons can feel daunting but following these steps, starting by taking the time to prep my equipment and ingredients, really makes it easier and helps me to work efficiently!

Step-by-Step Instructions to make Chocolate Heart Macarons

Step 1 – Prepare Equipment

Prepare baking tray/s with printed heart templates underneath a silicone mat or grease proof paper. I use my baking trays upside down for better heat circulation. And each of my trays fits two a4 template sheets – overlapping slightly in the center. 

Prepare piping bags by inserting the piping nozzles that you will be using. I like to stand my piping bags upright in pint glasses to make it easy to pour the batter into them. 

Clean whisks, bowls and silicone mats using a little white vinegar or lemon juice. This removes any traces of fat and grease that may cause your meringue to fail. I wipe off the excess vinegar with a paper kitchen towel.

Put a heatproof bowl on top of a pan with around 2 cm water in it and pop it on the heat with a lid on to bring it to a simmer.

Preheat the oven to 140 degrees C fan oven (285 degrees F) or 160 degrees C non fan oven (320 degrees F)

Step 2 – Prepare Ingredients

Sift almond flour into a mixing bowl discarding any large pieces that get stuck in the sieve.  Sift the icing sugar and cocoa powder into the same bowl. 

Weigh egg whites into a heatproof bowl.  Add the granulated sugar to the same bowl and whisk then together until combined

Step 3 – Heat and whip the egg whites

When the pan of water is simmering, turn the heat to medium and place the heatproof bowl containing the egg whites and granulated sugar on top. Stiring very regularly – so that the egg whites don’t start to set on the sides of the bowl – and heat the mixture until it reaches 50 degrees C (120 degrees F). It’s best to use a sugar thermometer to check the temperature.

When the egg whites are at the correct temperature, remove bowl from the heat and pop a lid on the pan to avoid adding extra moisture to the room.

Now it’s time to start whipping up the meringue. What you are aiming for is a strong meringue that is stiff and glossy – but not too stiff. To achieve this start with the mixer on a low speed (2-3 on kitchenaid) and keep to the low speed for around 2 minutes when the egg whites should be covered in foam like bubbles. Turn the speed up to medium (6-7 on kitchenaid) and whip for another minute or two. The remaining whipping time can be done at high speed (8-10 on kitchenaid)

You can test the meringue at any stage by removing the whisk. If the meringue stays in a straight upright peak and the peak doesn’t bend much – just slightly – when you wobble the bowl – the egg whites are ready. The egg whites on the whisk will also stay on the whisk in a clump when the meringue is ready.

Step 4 – Macronage (combining the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients)

Macronage is a fancy word for gently combining the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. To do this, add all the meringue mixture into the bowl with the almond flour and icing sugar. Then with a rubber spatula, slowly and gently combine the mixture. The dry ingredients will gradually stick to and combine with the meringue.

The aim with macronage is to get the mixture to a flowing consistency where the mixture flows off the spatula back into the bowl in a continuous ribbon like stream. You should be able to do at least one figure 8 shape in a continuous flow. If the mixture is over mixed the macarons will collapse to it is important to stop as soon as the flowing ribbon consistency has been reached.

Step 5 – Piping

Finally – the exciting part! Pour the macaron batter into the piping bag(s). To make sure you achieve a consistent heart shape pipe each one using the same technique. I start on the left side at the top, move down slightly to fill the bottom section of the heart then I move up top the top right, stopping pressure just before the heart shape is filled then once the batter has stopped flowing I move the piping bag away.

Bang the tray against the worktop firmly, to bring any air bubbles to the surface. You can then use a cocktail stick to carefully smooth any holes away.

Step 6 – Rest the macarons

You now want to let the macarons rest until they form a skin. If you brush them lightly with a finger when the skin has formed, no mixture will stick to your finger. It is important to rest the macarons to make sure that they develop ‘feet’ in the oven.

Step 7 – Bake

I can’t stress enough that this is the most important step! Oven thermometers really are the key to understanding your oven. My oven increases in temperature above the set temperature during cooking so I need to keep an eye on the thermometers and adjust the temperature as necessary. The temperature by this stage should have reached the desired temperature -140 degrees C fan oven (285 degrees F) or 160 degrees C non fan oven (320 degrees F). As a rule of thumb you want to bake the macarons for 9 minutes, turn the tray and then continue to cook for around 9 minutes or until the macarons are stuck solidly to the tray and have firm tops that don’t collapse when tapped.

Let the macarons cool on the tray then pair like sized macarons ready for filling.

Step 8 – Make the Filling

Put the softened butter into the bowl of a stand mixer or a normal medium sized bowl if you are using an electric hand whisk. Beat the butter until it is light in colour and texture. This will take 3-5 minutes.

Next add in the sifted cocoa powder and icing sugar. Slowly combine and once all of the icing sugar is combined turn up the speed of your mixer and beat for around 2 minutes.

Then add in the vanilla extract and 2 tbsps double cream and beat for another minute. If you think the buttercream seems too thick to pipe at this stage add another spoonful of cream and beat again.

Step 9 – Fill the Macarons

Using a piping bag with a round or star shaped piping nozzle add a blob of filling to one side of each macaron and top with the other half.