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Rich chocolate macarons filled with chocolate buttercream and homemade chocolate caramel! These macarons are for all you chocolate lovers out there. The flavors of chocolate and caramel blend together beautifully to create a cozy, indulgent experience.

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Chocolate Caramel Macarons

Chocolate macaron shells don’t always work out. The fat in cocoa powder can really throw off the chemistry of the macaron better. However, when they do work out, they taste absolutely delicious! I finally decided to whip up a batch of Swiss method macaron shells and I think I could eat these every day.

I’ve also been wanting to make my own caramel sauce. Until I made the pistachio, rose, and strawberry tartlets, I had never made any homemade caramel because I’m a chicken. It was so easy, so I scoured the pages of Les Petits Macarons for a caramel filling. I adapted one of the recipes to create this ooey gooey chocolate caramel filling.

Top Tips for Macarons

Pulse your dry ingredients in a food processor and sift out any large chunks.
Whip your meringue to stiff peaks. It’s best to whip at a medium speed for longer. Keep an eye on it!
Fold/ macaronage just until the batter flows like lava. It is best to slightly under mix if you are in doubt.
If you don’t have a macaron template yet, grab a free one from the Resource Library so that you pipe evenly sized shells.
Use a toothpick to smooth any nipples and remove any air bubbles on your piped macarons.
Bake one pan at a time and adjust the temperature and baking time if necessary.

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Swiss Method Chocolate Macaron Shells

Normally, I use a roughly 1:1 ratio for my Swiss method macarons. That won’t work with chocolate macarons, so I used the recipe from Macaron School to create a ratio for chocolate shells.

My ratios are always based on the egg whites. This way I don’t have to be exact when I measure them out. For Swiss method chocolate macaron shells, I used these numbers:

Powdered Sugar = EW x 0.75
Almond Flour = EW x 0.96
Cocoa Powder = EW x 0.14
Sugar = Egg Whites

Top Tips for Meringue

Wipe your bowl and whisk with a bit of vinegar to remove any residual fat or grease.
Separate your egg whites one at a time into a small bowl before adding them to your big bowl. This is to prevent any stray yolk from ruining the whole batch!
Acid (like cream of tartar or lemon juice) or egg white powder can help stabilize your egg whites.
Whip your eggs at a medium speed for longer to create a more stable meringue and minimize the risk of over whipping.
Room temperature egg whites will whip up faster, but it’s best to separate the eggs while they’re cold.

Related Reading: Salted Caramel Macarons

Chocolate Caramel Filling

This was my first time making actual caramel sauce, and it wasn’t too terrible of an experience. I used a dry caramel method, which means cooking just sugar in a pan, no water. Make sure the cream is warm/ hot when you add it to the caramel in order to prevent the mixture from seizing.

At first I wanted to use the chocolate caramel filling as the only filling. However, once it was set, I realized it might be difficult to pipe, and it could still end up oozing out. To thin my caramel, I simply warmed it up in a clean pot and mixed in more cream. You can always add more cream, but the recipe is written to show my final measurements, so it shouldn’t be necessary.

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Macaron Resources

5 Steps to Prep for Perfect Macarons
All About Meringue: Covering the Basics
Fun Ways to Fill Macarons
Macawrong Brownies or 4 Yolk Challah (delicious ways to use up extra yolks)
Basic Tools You Need to Make Macarons
Macaron Templates + Macaron Prep Checklist (available to subscribers only)
Easy Ways to Decorate Macarons

Chocolate American Buttercream

Since I made my chocolate caramel filling on the runny side, I absolutely needed some sort of dam to contain it. There are a number of options here, but I settled on a chocolate American buttercream.

Any type of chocolate frosting or ganache would work beautifully with these chocolate caramel macarons. I love that the chocolate ABC has a wonderful chocolate flavor, while not being excessively rich or heavy.

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Chocolate Frosting Recipes

Enjoy!

Biting into one of these chocolate caramel macarons is such a treat! The crisp macaron shell gives way to a chewy chocolate center with a gooey caramel filling. You won’t want to put that cookie down.

If you enjoyed this blog post, consider subscribing to Bakes & Blunders. You’ll get access to my Resource Library (which includes macaron templates and my fave macaron prep checklist) and one email a week with a new recipe or tutorial.

Chocolate Caramel Macarons

Chocolate macarons filled with chocolate buttercream and a homemade chocolate caramel.

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Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword almond, Caramel, Chocolate, Frosting, Gluten Free, Macarons

Prep Time 2

Cook Time 1

Resting Time 30

Total Time 3 30

Servings 23 macarons

Calories 163kcal

Author Colleen

Ingredients

Chocolate Caramel Filling

200 g sugar
120 g heavy cream
50 g semi sweet chocolate
1 tsp vanilla

Chocolate Buttercream

4 oz unsalted butter softened
7 oz powdered sugar sifted
3 Tbsp cocoa powder sifted
1/2 tsp vanilla
1- 2 Tbsp heavy cream

Chocolate Macaron Shells

95 g powdered sugar
115 g almond flour
15 g cocoa powder
120 g sugar
120 g egg whites room temperature
1/8 tsp True Brown Master Elite powder color dash

Instructions

Chocolate Caramel Filling

Place the sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring as needed, until liquid and amber in color.
Alternatively, you can add the sugar to the pan a bit at a time. Keep the heat on around medium- low and continue to add sugar and stir until it is all melted and amber.
While the sugar cooks, warm the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium low heat, covered. Place the chocolate in a heat proof bowl (we'll be adding the caramel, so make sure it is large enough). Microwave for 30 seconds on half power to slightly warm and melt the chocolate. Set aside.
As soon as the sugar has caramelized (be careful not to burn it!), remove the saucepan from the heat and slowly stir in the warm cream in 2 - 3 additions. It will bubble up, so be careful.
Once the cream has been incorporated, pour the hot caramel over the semi-melted chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted and combined.
Stir in the vanilla. Allow the caramel to cool on the counter (uncovered) for 2 hours. Then you can cover and refrigerate until needed. Bring the caramel back to room temperature before filling the macarons.

Chocolate Buttercream

Beat the butter in a stand mixer until light and fluffy, about 8 minutes. Add the cocoa powder, and a third of the sugar. Beat on low until combined, then on medium for a minute or two until creamy. Scrape the bowl.
Add half of the remaining sugar, a pinch of salt, and a tablespoon of cream. Beat on low, then on medium until combined. Scrape the bowl.
Add the rest of the sugar and beat on low, then medium- low until creamy. Beat in vanilla until well incorporated. If necessary, add cream a teaspoon at a time until you have the right texture.

Chocolate Macaron Shells

Prepare 2 baking sheets with silicone mats, teflon, or templates and parchment paper. Fit a piping bag with a round piping tip. Set aside. Preheat oven to 290°F.
Pulse the powdered sugar, almond flour, and cocoa powder in a food processor and sift into a bowl. Discard any large chunks. Whisk the dry ingredients and set aside.
Combine egg whites and powdered color.
In a clean stand mixer bowl, combine the sugar and the egg whites. Whisk to combine and place bowl over a double boiler. Heat, whisking regularly, until the sugar dissolves, about 90 seconds. Remove the bowl from the double boiler and carefully dry off the bottom.
Place the bowl in the stand mixer and whisk on a medium speed (KitchenAid 4) until you have stiff peaks, about 10- 15 minutes.
Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and begin folding the ingredients together. Once everything is combined, continue folding until the batter flows slowly like lava.
Pipe macaron shells onto prepared baking sheets. Let the macarons dry until you can lightly brush the tops with your finger (30 mins for me). Bake for 22- 24 minutes, rotating halfway through. Gently poke shell, if it is firm, remove from the oven to cool. If they wiggle, add another minute or two.
Let the macaron shells cool on the sheet for 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Assemble

Pair up the macaron shells. Fill a piping bag with buttercream and a smaller bag with room temperature chocolate caramel. Pipe a ring of buttercream on one shell. Fill the ring with the chocolate caramel, then top with the other shell. Repeat with the remaining macaron shells.
Place in an air tight container in the fridge overnight to let them mature. Remove 30 minutes before serving.

Notes

I was able to pipe 47 shells, which made 23 macarons. You could have a few more or a few less depending on how large you pipe your shells.
For maximum color intensity, mix the egg whites and color powder about an hour before beginning the recipe.
If the caramel is too stiff and cold, warm it gently in the microwave.

Chocolate Caramel Macarons