Earl Grey French Macarons

Earl grey macarons filled with an earl grey chocolate ganache filling!

If you still haven't tried adding tea leaves to your macaron shells, I HIGHLY recommend it. There's just something about earl grey tea that is so delicate and unique, and pairing it with a chocolate ganache filling really just brings out the flavor.

Tips for Macaron Success

• Have a look at my very in depth post about how to make French macarons for tips, tricks, and how-to photos on the process!
• Make sure you sift and mix your powdered sugar and almond meal together really well. The best way to do this is to sift them into a bowl together, and then mix it with a spoon to make sure there aren't any separated parts in the mix.
• Set yourself up for success by getting everything you will need ready to go before even starting. The macaron process waits for no one, so you want to make sure everything is within reach for maximum success.
• The best way to get your egg whites up to room temperature is to pour them into a sealable mason jar and then submerge it in very warm tap water!
• Make sure your tea leaves are ground very finely for the earl grey macarons, you don't want big pieces of tea leaves to get in your teeth while you're enjoying them! 😉

Equipment Needed to Make Macarons

• Silicone baking mat- these are a really great investment, especially if you plan to make macarons frequently. You can get one on amazon, or a lot of stores like Target or Walmart carry them as well!
• Rubber spatula- if you don't already have a rubber spatula, they are inexpensive and are needed to fold the batter. Anything too heavy and blunt like a wooden spoon isn't going to be gentle enough for macarons.
• Baking pans- this recipe makes enough batter to fill a little more than one tray of macarons, so using two pans lets you give them a little extra room to breathe 🙂
• Disposable or reusable piping bags- I highly recommend investing in a reusable piping bag, they last for years and obviously create less waste. But disposable ones work great too especially so you don't have to wash it in between uses if you're going to need it more than once in a day.
• Mortar and pestle- this is only needed to grind up our earl grey tea leaves! We want them to be basically a fine ground pieces, so that our macaron shells look speckled and you don't get big pieces of tea leaves in your teeth!
• Round piping tip- in order for your macaron shells to be perfectly round, you want to use a round piping tip. They're really great to have in general for piping anything and are fairly inexpensive to buy in a pack!

How to Make Earl Grey Macarons

Whipping the egg whites

1. Sift the almond meal and powdered sugar together into a large bowl. If there are any large pieces of almond meal, discard. Using a mortar and pestle, grind the 1 tbsp of earl grey tea until it's finely ground and add to the bowl of dries. Set the bowl aside.

2. Add your room temperature egg whites to a stand mixing bowl with the whisk attachment. Begin whipping on medium speed (3-4) for 1 minute until foamy.

3. When the whites are foamy, add the cream of tartar.

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4. After adding the cream of tartar, start sprinkling in the sugar. Do not add too much at once or it will deflate your egg whites! Once all of the sugar has been added, increase the speed to medium high (5-6) for 6-7 minutes, or until the whites get glossy, shiny, and hold a stiff peak! The photo above is an example of medium peaks, which means we need to keep beating them!

Adding the dry ingredients

5. Using a rubber spatula, add the whites to a large bowl. Sprinkle in 1/3 of the dry ingredients and gently fold them into the whites. Try not to fold too aggressively, you want to preserve as much air as possible in this step. Continue adding the dries in thirds until all of it has been added.

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Macaronage

6. Once all of the dry ingredients are added. Add any food coloring if using. Then use the spatula to scrape the batter against the sides of the bowl. Every few scrapes test to see if the batter is ready. Pick up some of the batter and let it flow back down into the bowl. If it flows slowly and looks like ribbons, try to form a figure '8' . If you can make a figure 8 without the batter breaking, its ready! Another key sign that its ready to pipe is the batter will just barely look shiny.

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Piping and resting the macarons

7. Fill your piping bag with a #12 round tip. Better to have a smaller tip than a larger one! Flip a sheet pan upside down and lay down your parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Pipe directly from above into desired size.

8. Grab your pan and firmly tap it on the counter. Make sure you tap all sides of the pans. This will release any air bubbles to the surface and will flatten our your shell so there is no piping lines.

9. Use a tooth pick to pop any bubbles that come to the surface for the smoothest shell possible.

10. Let them sit at room temperature (make sure they are not under any vent or fan this will cause the shells to bake lopsided!) until they form a skin. You should be able to touch the top of the shells with your finger and it shouldn't leave a mark.

Baking the macarons

11. Bake the macarons at 275-300 for 13-14 minutes. Do not open the oven too soon. 10 minutes into their baking, open the door and touch the top of the shell. If it moves from the feet of the shell, bake it for a few more minutes. The top should not move from the feet when they're ready!

12. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before removing.

How to Make the Earl Grey Ganache Filling

1. In a tea steeper, add the 2 tbsp earl grey tea leaves. Then in a small pot, add 1 1/4 cup heavy cream. Add the tea steeper to the heavy cream and turn the burner on medium low. Heat the cream and tea together until its just starts to boil around the edges of the pan, about 5-6 minutes.

2. Remove the pan from heat and allow the tea to steep for another 1-2 minutes.

3. Add the 1 1/2 cups of chocolate to a medium bowl and pour the warm cream over it. Use a whisk to mix the cream as the chocolate begins to melt. Continue to whisk until they're both completely combined and smooth.

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4. Place the ganache in the freezer to cool. The ganache should be cool and slightly firm to pipe with, but not completely solid. This will take about 20-25 minutes. Every 5 minutes, take the bowl out and give it a good stir. Alternately if you're going to use it later, leave the ganache out at room temperature until its firm enough to pipe with.

5. When the ganache is ready to be piped, fill a piping bag with it and pipe round dollops onto one of the macaron cookies. Sandwich that half with the other cookie to finish the earl grey macarons!

More macaron recipes for you to try!