Back in 2017, I spontaneously bought a KitchenAid mixer without knowing how to bake. I told myself that to make it worthwhile, I needed to master how to bake the most difficult thing I could think of: MACARONS
I always heard that it’s tough but can’t be THAT tough right? I mean not to brag but I do have many great skills – as attested by certification for ladder safety training for instance (true story). But oh boy, how wrong was… My first batch looked like a tray of loop-sided pointy nipples. Sexy, not the look I was going for unfortunately. So I kept persevering and after making my local supermarket filthy rich with my bulk ground almond and powdered sugar purchases, I finally managed to repeatedly bake evenly risen, smooth surfaced, non-hollow, unburnt batches of macarons. Hurrah! I felt invincible, like I could bake anything from thereon… (And then I tried making eclairs – but that’s a story for another day 🤡)
I do like macarons but oftentimes, they’re a bit too sweet for my liking. I tried to incorporate matcha into this batch and found it working very well – the slight bitterness of the matcha works well in toning down the sharp sweetness of the macaron shell and butterceam.
Matcha Macarons
Ingredients
Macaron Shells:
- 110 g egg whites divided into 2 x 55g portions
- 150 g almond powder
- 150 g Icing sugar
- 40 ml water
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 1 tsp matcha powder
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartare
- Matcha Buttercream
- 150 g Butter
- 150 g Icing sugar
- 2 tsp matcha powder
Instructions
- Macaron shells
- Sift the icing sugar, almond powder and matcha powder together. This is very time consuming but important if you want to get a smooth and glossy shell surface. Tip: you can also use a food processor to blitz this together but make sure you don’t overdo it otherwise it will become almond butter
- Add the first batch of egg whites into the sugar / almond / matcha powder blend and mix to form a sticky well blended almond paste. Cover and leave aside
- In a pot mix the granulated sugar and water and start heating it up. Stir the pot continually to avoid burning the syrup. Using a thermometer keep track of the sugar syrup temperature
- When the temperature reaches 115°C, in a separate bowl, add the second batch of egg whites with the cream of tartare and start mixing. When the sugar syrup reaches 118°C the egg whites should start to become foamy. Gradually pour the syrup into the egg whites and continue mixing until it reaches stiff peaks. If you flip the bowl around, the meringue should not move.
- Combine the almond paste and meringue mixtures together. Start with a small amount to loosen up the batter then gradually fold the rest in. Use a rotating hand movement going around the bowl and back to the centre to remove any air bubbles.
- Once the mixture achieves a ‘lava’-like consistency and when you lift the spatula, the mixture drips down in a ‘ribbon’ like effect, and dissolves into the rest of the mixture within 10 seconds – it means that the batter is ready.
- Transfer the batter into a piping bag with a round nozzle
- Prepare a baking tray lined with baking paper or a silicone mat. Tip: If you’re using baking paper, add a dot of batter on the four corners at the bottom of the parchment to stick the paper to the tray.
- Pipe the batter into circles of about 2 cm wide (they will spread out) by holding the piping bag upright at 90 degrees angle and pressing from the middle and gently lifting it up. pipe them at least 2 cm apart to ensure that they don’t stick together.
- Once done with the piping, ‘tap’ the tray gently by dropping it down a flat surface (your table) to remove any air bubbles. I also like to use a toothpick to poke any visible remaining air bubbles then leave the batter to rest for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven at 160°C (adjust accordingly according to your own oven, some can be a bit temperamental)
- After 30 minutes rest, the macaron batter should form as sort of ‘skin’ that’s not sticky when you touch it, that’s when you know they are ready to be baked
- Bake the macarons for 12-14 minutes at 160 degrees on a lower rack on fan mode (this combination works for MY oven and should only be used as baseline guidance, you will need to test and experiment a lot to see what works best for your own oven. Things like temperature, duration of baking will influence the outcome a lot, I even bought an in-oven thermometer to make sure that I got the right constant temperature)
- Once done, remove from the oven and leave them to cool down for 15 minutes before attempting to remove them from the baking paper / silicone mat. In the meantime, prepare your matcha buttercream!
- Matcha buttercream
- Sift the matcha powder and the icing sugar together and give it a quick mix until it’s well combined.
- In a bowl use a mixer and start beating the butter.
- Once the butter starts becoming soft, start adding the icing sugar and matcha powder in gradually
- Keep beating until you get a really smooth and even consistency.
- Once done, transfer the buttercream into a piping bag with your favourite nozzle. Usually a normal round nozzle should do, but I like to use a Wilton 2D nozzle to give it a nice pretty twist that makes gives the macaron some more volume and texture as well.
- Assemble the macarons by piping the buttercream and sandwich it between two shells. Tip: to make the easy ‘rose’ motif like I did, just move the nozzle in spiral from the centre out.
- That’s it hope you enjoy!
Did you make this recipe?
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