These Tiger Nut Macarons with Dark Chocolate Ganache are dedicated to those that cannot enjoy macarons due to a nut allergy or sensitivity! When you replace almond meal with Tiger Nut Flour, the macaron shells still retain their shape, have a developed foot, and look incredibly similar to the almond meal macarons I’ve made! Ever heard of Tiger Nuts before? They’re a nut-free and gluten-free ingredient – keep reading to learn all about it!
What is Tiger Nut Flour?
Although you may think that a Tiger Nut is a nut, it’s actually not! They’re a small root vegetable that grows in Northern Africa and the Mediterranean. Once processed, Tiger Nut Flour can be used as a gluten-free and nut-free alternative in all kinds of recipes, including macaron recipes!
How to use Tiger Nut Flour in Recipes?
You can use tiger nuts and flour in recipes that would otherwise use almond meal or flour! Whether that’s cakes, tarts, granola, or even french macarons! The options are endless.
Where to buy Tiger Nut Flour?
You can find tiger nut products in a number of different health food stores as well as online! You can purchase them whole, slivered, or ground such as the tiger nut flour that is used in this macaron recipe.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Tiger Nut Macarons
- Egg Whites
- Granulated Sugar
- Tiger Nut Flour
- Powdered Sugar
Dark Chocolate Ganache
- Dark Chocolate
- Cream
- Glucose or Corn Syrup
- Unsalted Butter
How to make Dark Chocolate Ganache
- Add cream & glucose to a saucepan and bring to a slight boil. Remove from heat and pour over the dark chocolate. Stir to combine as the warm cream continues to melt the chocolate.
- Add the butter into your warm chocolate mixture and, using an immersion blender or whiisk, blend ganache until the butter has fully incorporated and your mixture is smooth. Allow to cool until chocolate ganache has set before assembly.
Storage Tips for Macarons
Technically, allowing your completed macarons to sit overnight in the fridge allows for the best texture for consuming! If you have the patience, place your macarons in the fridge overnight and enjoy the following day. Macaron shells can be stored in the freezer in an airtight container for a month and still taste as good as new! Take the frozen macarons out of the freezer and let them sit for 10-15 minutes before enjoying, In the fridge, filled macarons should be stored in an airtight container for no more than 3 days.
Tips & Tricks for Making Macarons
Want to make sure that you have perfectly circular macarons? Use a template! Before I pipe my macaron batter, I like to draw identical circles onto a piece of parchment paper that I will then flip over before piping. You can use a cookie cutter, small lid, salt shaker – anything that is about 1 inch in diameter that you can then trace onto your parchment.
After renting various apartments throughout the west coast, I have experienced my fair share of…let’s say quirky ovens. Without an oven thermometer, I would not have known that a couple of my ovens were running 50 degrees hotter than what I had actually set my oven temperature to. If you don’t have an over thermometer already, I would highly recommend grabbing one to make these delicate macarons. Here’s the one I use!
Since macarons require such precise measurements, I would encourage those that do not own a kitchen scale to invest in one! Here’s a link to the scale I used throughout pastry school, and to this day. When working with pastry and confection recipes such as macarons, even a slight over-measurement of say, egg whites, will alter and potentially ruin your recipe. Macarons only require four ingredients – if one of those ingredients is not measured correctly, your odds for macaron success are considerably decreased.3
The French term “Mise En Place” means to set up your working space in preparation for an activity. With macarons, it’s extremely important to make sure that set yourself up for success before starting. The meringue and batter you will be making are quite sensitive – if you take too much time in-between each step, you won’t see quality results. Take that extra bit of prep to measure your ingredients and prepare the tools you need before starting these macarons.
Here are some other Macaron Recipes to try!
- Black Sesame Apricot Macarons
- Dark Chocolate Raspberry Ganache Macarons
- White Chocolate Hibiscus Macarons
Tiger Nut Macarons with Dark Chocolate Ganache
Equipment
- Food Processor
- Fine Mesh Strainer
- Mixer with Whisk Attachment
- Spatula
- Bowls
- Parchment Paper
- Baking Tray
- Piping Bags & Piping Tips
- Saucepan
- Immersion Blender (optional) or whisk
Ingredients
Tiger Nut Macarons
- 76 g (1/3 cup + 1 tsp ) Granulated Sugar
- 90 ml (About 3 egg whites ) Room Temperature Egg Whites
- 80 g (3/4 Cup + 1 Tbsp) Tiger Nut Flour, Blanched
- 150 g (1 1/4 Cup ) Confectioner’s Sugar, Powdered Sugar
- Gel Food Coloring, optional
Dark Chocolate Ganache
- 100 g (1/3 Cup + 1.5 Tbsp) Heavy Cream
- 32 g (1.5 Tbsp) Glucose Syrup, or Corn Syrup
- 175 g (2/3 Cup) Dark Chocolate, Roughly Chopped and melted
- 25 g (2 Tbsp) Unsalted Butter , Room temperature
Instructions
Macarons
- Line each baking sheet with your prepared parchment templates and prepare your piping bags along with your piping tips. I like to use a small, round piping tips for piping.
- Pour your egg whites into the bowl of a a kitchen aid and start whisking on medium speed. Once they start to foam, slowly add your sugar and bring up your speed to medium for about three to four minutes.
- While your meringue is whisking away, grind together your measured powdered sugar and tiger nut flour using a food processor for one minute. Sift these dry ingredients into a large bowl with a fine sieve and set aside.
- Your meringue is complete when it holds stiff peaks – add desired food coloring (I added a touch of yellow) and gently whisk for a few additional seconds to incorporate,
- Now it’s time for the ever so important Macaronage! This is the act of mixing your dry ingredients into your french meringue and folding these ingredients enough to allow for the perfect desired consistency. To start, pour your dry mixture onto the meringue and slowly start to fold with a spatula. While rotating the bowl, continue to fold ingredients together. Press mixture on the side of your bowl until the mixture the batter flows off your spatula rather slowly and smoothly. You should see that the batter will drip off the spatula back into the bowl, and rest on top for a moment. Then, the batter from your spatula will slowly sink back into the mixture. One too many folds and your batter could be over mixed leading to it being impossible to work with, so be careful not to overmix!
- Pour your macaron batter into your prepared piping bag and pipe in circles onto your templated parchment paper. In order to get rid of any air bubbles within your piped shells and to even out your tops, tap your baking sheet firmly on a flat surface. You can always use a toothpick to gently pop any extra air bubbles that you see hovering on top of your shells.
- Allow the shells to rest for approximately 30 minutes. Once the top of your shells are dry to the touch they are ready to bake!
- Place your macarons in your oven that has been preheated to 310 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 9 minutes, then rotate the baking tray and bake for an additional 2 minutes.
- You will know that your macarons are ready to remove from the oven when you gently touch the upper shell, and it barely moves, while the developed foot of the macaron stays set to the parchment paper. Remove from the oven to cool completely before removing shells from the parchment paper.
Dark Chocolate Ganache
- Add cream & glucose to a saucepan and bring to a slight boil. Remove from heat and pour over the dark chocolate. Stir to combine as the warm cream continues to melt the chocolate.
- Add the butter into your warm chocolate mixture and, using an immersion blender or whiisk, blend ganache until the butter has fully incorporated and your mixture is smooth. Allow to cool until chocolate ganache has set before assembly.
Assembly
- Once cooled, the shells will peel easily off of your parchment paper. Find each shell's matching half and pipe a circle of ganache into the middle. Finally top with the matching half.
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