Halloween weekend would not be complete without a festive French macaron, especially when in cat form! These spooky cute cat macarons are filled with dark chocolate ganache, then studded with fresh blackberries that are bursting with flavor! Finished off with cat ears, faces and gold glitter, the macarons are the purrfect tasty treat to serve on Halloween!
BLACKBERRY CAT MACARONS
Cat shaped French macarons with a dark chocolate ganache core then finished with fresh blackberries. Similar to the the ispahan, this macaron has a delicious ratio of fresh fruit, filling and shell. Decorated with royal icing and glitter for Halloween. Dairy and gluten free.
HOW THEY TASTE
The juicy blackberries with rich dark chocolate result in the tastiest macarons!
They’re fruity, slightly tart paired with the sweetness from the dark chocolate and a light and chewy shell. A seasonal macaron worth bookmarking or trying over the weekend!
MACARON INGREDIENTS AND SUPPLIES
To make a batch of these blackberry cat macarons for halloween, you’ll need the following supplies and ingredients:
- Macaron recipe – check our my go-to guide here
- Black powder or gel food coloring
- 2 round piping tips for piping macarons and cat ears (Tip 12 for macaron rounds – Tip 3 for ears)
- 2 piping bags fitted with round tips
- 1 cup Dark chocolate – dairy free
- 1/3 cup coconut milk for ganache
- Piping bag fitted with round tip for ganache
- 1 -2 pints fresh blackberries rinsed and patted dry
- 2 tipless piping bags for royal icing
- Black and yellow royal icing (for cat faces – this step is optional) You can also use edible ink pens for faces.
- Edible gold luster dust/glitter
HOW TO MAKE CAT SHAPED MACARONS
Piping the macarons shells into cat faces is easy with no template required. Divide the finished macaron batter into two piping bags fitted with tips 12 and 3. You’ll only need a small portion of the batter in the piping bag with tip 3 since it’ll only be used for piping the ears.
Using tip 12, pipe the macaron batter onto rounds, filling each silicone mat. Then using tip 3, pipe the triangle ears onto the top edge of every other round of macaron batter, making sure the piped ears line up with the height of the round batter. Set aside to rest. Bake as directed and once cooled, use a tipless piping bag to pipe the yellow icing eyes onto each cat macaron. Then outline the ears with black icing, add the tiny nose and whiskers. This step is optional. Faces can also be added with edible ink pens. Repeat steps for all cat shaped macarons.
BLACKBERRY CAT MACARON ASSEMBLY
To assemble these halloween macarons, match up the cat macaron faces with a round bottom. Place the round shell, bottom side up on a clean working surface. Pipe the dark chocolate ganache into the center of the macaron.
Then add the blackberries to the shell, surrounding the dark chocolate with the fruit.
Pipe one more dollop of ganache in the center of the bottom macaron and top with the cat faced shell.
Repeat steps for all macarons then transfer to the fridge to mature.
You can also watch the quick macaron video below, for a step by step.

Blackberry Cat Macarons
- Prep Time: 45
- Cook Time: 45
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 24 1x
- Category: Holiday
- Method: Macarons
- Cuisine: Dessert
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Ingredients
FOR THE MACARON SHELLS:
- 106 grams of almond meal
- 106 grams powdered sugar
- 41 and 45 grams of egg whites divided
- 115 grams of granulated sugar
- 79 grams of water
- dash of cream of tartar or lemon juice for stabilizing
- Black powdered or gel food coloring
- Two piping bags fitted with round tips 12 and 3 (for ears)
FOR THE FILLING:
Dark Chocolate Ganache (Dairy Free):
- 1 cup dairy free dark chocolate
- 1/3 cup full fat coconut milk
FOR DECORATING:
Royal Icing:
- 1 tbsp meringue powder
- 2 tbsp warm water
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- yellow and black gel or powdered food coloring
- Tipless piping bags
- Fresh blackberries rinsed and patted dry.
- Edible gold glitter or luster dust
- Edible ink pens
Instructions
For the macarons:
- Wipe down the mixing bowl and whisk attachment with vinegar to remove any built up residue. This will ensure that the egg whites whisk up properly.
- Prep and measure all of the ingredients using a kitchen scale.
- Prep piping bags with a round tips. I use Wilton tip 12 and small tip 3.
- Line 2 baking sheets with silpat.
- Combine measured almond meal & powdered sugar together in a bowl. Sift one time to remove any lumps, discarding of them, then mix together to break up clumps.
- Make a well in the center of the dry mix and pour the 41 grams of measured egg whites into the center of the dry mixture. Fold together until blended then add black food coloring and mix well until fully incorporated. The finished mix will be paste-like. Set aside.
- For the sugar syrup:
- To make the sugar syrup, heat granulated sugar and water in a pot on medium heat with a candy thermometer attached to the side. **Be careful to make sure the thermometer is not touching the bottom of the pot**.
- Once the thermometer’s temperature reaches approximately 200 degrees F, place the 45 grams of measured egg whites in the stand mixer and whisk on medium speed, to soft peaks.
- Add a drop of lemon juice or dash of cream of tartar to stabilize, THEN continue whisking.
- If the egg whites are at soft peaks before the syrup reaches 248 F, turn the mixer down to low speed to keep the egg whites moving.
- Watch the sugar syrup closely.
- As soon as the sugar syrup reaches 248 degrees F, remove from heat.
- Quickly increase mixer speed to medium and begin slowly pouring the sugar syrup down the side of your mixing bowl into the meringue until thoroughly combined.
- THEN increase the mixing speed to high and whisk sugar and meringue together until glossy and stiff peaks form and the meringue has cooled. (The meringue should keep its form.)
- Gently transfer finished meringue into the almond/powdered sugar mixture in thirds, making sure that it’s fully incorporated before adding the additional 3rd of meringue.
- Start the macaronage process by folding the batter in a circular motion, going around the edges of the bowl, then once through the center. Repeat these steps until smooth and thick ribbons of batter run off the spatula.
- **Be careful not to over-mix**
- You want the batter to be slightly thick, but not so thin that it does not hold the ribbon shape. Err on the side of caution.
- Transfer batter to the prepped piping bag(s). You will only need a small portion of batter in the piping bag fitted with tip 3.
- Pipe 1 1/2 inch rounds about one inch apart on the lined baking sheet.
- Be sure to hold the piping bag about 1/2 inch directly above the baking sheet when piping the rounds holding the bag steadily. Continue to pipe until you’ve filled an entire baking sheet.
- Then go back and add the triangle ears to the top edge of every other macaron round, being sure that the ears level with the height of the round batter.
- *Tap the macarons on the counter three times to release air bubbles.
- *Pop any air bubbles that might’ve come to the surface, using a scribe or a toothpick.
- Before placing the macarons in the oven, let them to rest until a proper skin has formed on the outside of the shell. This can take anywhere from 20-30 minutes. Test by touching the piped rounds to make sure they’re dry to touch and that no batter comes off on fingers.
- Preheat oven to 305 degrees F.
- Once dry to touch, place the macarons in the middle rack of the oven.
- Feet will form halfway through the baking process.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool fully before removing the shells from the silpat/parchment paper.
- Once macarons are completely cool, gently remove from parchment paper/silpat.
- Repeat the same steps to bake the remaining macaron batter.
- They’re ready to decorate and fill.
FOR THE DARK CHOCOLATE GANACHE:
- Heat dark chocolate in a double boiler until smooth.
- Heat coconut milk to simmer in a separate pot until simmering.
- Slowly pour heated coconut milk into the dark chocolate stirring until completely combined.
- Allow to cool, then transfer to a piping bag to fill the macarons.
ASSEMBLY:
- Evenly pipe rounds of ganache into the center of the bottom of each macaron shell. Top with second shell to create a sandwich.
- Then add the blackberries around the dark chocolate ganache until they cover the shell. Each macaron will fit 5-6 blackberries.
- Pipe one more dollop of ganache in the center of the bottom macaron and top with the cat faced shell. Repeat steps for all macarons then dust with glitter. Transfer to the fridge to mature 12 hours or overnight.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Macarons with fresh fruit have shorter shelf life. I recommend eating within 24 hours of making, or 2 days max. Shells will soften and potentially breakdown if sat for much longer.
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DARK AND MOODY PHOTOGRAPHY
Although I do not often take moody or dark photos, I thought these black cat macarons would be a wonderful subject for experimenting!
I took the same photo with a marble backdrop and a simple black cutting board for contrast. As you can see the luster dust shows up so much better with the dark backdrop giving the cat macarons a spooky and magical vibe.
Considering how fun it was to shoot on the dark backdrops, I plan to experiment with more moody photography when time allows. Which style do you prefer?
Now back to these delicious and tempting blackberry macarons. If you’re hosting or attending a halloween party, guests will be obsessed with these cute halloween treats, not just for their looks but flavor too!
Admittedly, they are slightly more time consuming to make, but are totally worth trying if you have the chance this weekend!
Be sure to tag me over on Instagram if you end up giving these halloween macarons a try! Have a wonderful and safe weekend!!
This post titled Blackberry Cat Macarons was seen first on Posh Little Designs. All Rights Reserved. 2021
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