Matcha Macarons

I was in need of some serious baking therapy and decided it would be a good time to experiment with a new macaron recipe. I found myself at a large Asian grocery store (which was crazy intimidating and had ingredients I've never heard of) and ended up with matcha powder in my basket. What could be more unique than matcha macarons?

For those of you not familiar with matcha, it's very finely ground green tea leaves. It is only made in Japan, which is different from green tea powder in that it is very finely ground and apparently easier to bake with (which I have clearly never done...). There are different qualities and my research shows that lower qualities are better for baking because they tend to have stronger flavors which hold up well with heat.

Turns out the hype is true - it's pretty green, quite easy to use, and small amounts have a very concentrated flavor. You could add it to a smoothie to boost some antioxidants. I also found some fun recipes for the following:

• Matcha mochi cake
• Matcha ice cream
• Green tea layer cake
• Matcha and ginger panna cotta

Don't they sound delicious?! Oh yes, I am looking forward to trying these out.

Anyway, back to the macarons. Fortunately my sister and I were able to invade a local kitchen for baking and we had a ball. 

The largest difference between this macaron recipe and many of my other recipes to date is that I used a kitchen scale. While not super glamorous, it is super useful for highly technical recipes. I actually am buying one to use in the future -- after all it's not like I'm going to stop baking any time soon. Plus, if I tackle some of the recipes in my bread book, it will be imperative...

Time for an apron.

Start by adding confectioner's sugar, almond flour and matcha powder to a food processor. Blend for 1 minute until finely ground. Sift into a large bowl to remove any large pieces.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add egg whites and whip up a storm. 

It never ceases to amaze me how beautiful meringue is. Throw in a little sugar and a pinch of salt after you hit the soft peak stage and continue to whip until the whites are stiff and shiny and look like this:

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the egg whites. Fold in gently along with the vanilla. 

Transfer to a large piping bag and pipe 1 1/2 inch circles onto a silicone lined baking sheet. I only have 2 so I also had to use some parchment paper.

Bang on the counter 2-3 times to get out any excess air bubble.

Allow the shells to dry for 30-60 minutes.

Want to hear something exciting? This baking adventure occurred in a beautiful kitchen belonging to my sister's boyfriend's mother. Confusing, yes. BUT, she has gorgeous double wall ovens. I lust after double wall ovens on a regular basis. Plus, her top oven is a convection oven. I have never had one for baking. It is lovely. Absolutely lovely. 

I adjusted the temperature for 25F lower than in a normal oven and decreased the baking time by 2 minutes. The shells turned out light and crispy. Gorgeous. 

Anyway, I digress. 

While the shells were baking, we whipped up some matcha buttercream filling. This was subtle and enhanced the overall matcha flavor. However, this flavor was VERY strong. Thus, if you're not used to green tea flavor, you might consider adding less matcha powder or substituting this with something like white chocolate buttercream.

Think about it. 

Basically, we whipped butter, confectioner's sugar, heavy cream and matcha powder together in a stand mixer for 5 minutes until a light buttercream arose.

It was not nearly as stiff as many buttercreams thanks to the cream which made it significantly easier to pipe onto the macaron shells.

Once the shells cool, pipe the buttercream onto one side of a matching pair. Create a beautiful sandwich and stack for serving. 

Enjoy!

Matcha Macarons with Matcha Buttercream

Adapted from IronWhisk

Ingredients

Shells

• 113 grams almond flour
• 226 grams confectioner's sugar
• 1 tablespoon matcha powder
• 141 grams egg whites
• 71 grams granulated sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Buttercream

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 1 - 2 tablespoons matcha (depending on taste preference)

Instructions

1. Combine almond flour, confectioner's sugar, and matcha powder in a food processor and blend for 1-2 minute until combined and very fine. Sift out any large pieces and set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat egg whites on medium for 3-4 minutes until soft peaks form. Turn up to high speed and gradually add the granulated sugar and salt. Continue to whip for 3-4 minutes until stiff, dry peaks form.
3. Fold dry ingredients into the egg white mixture. Mix in vanilla and stir just until combined.
4. Transfer batter to a piping bag with a single opening tip of any size. Pipe 1 - 1 1/2 inch symmetric circles onto a silicone lined baking sheet.
5. Allow shells to dry for at least 30 minutes for form skin. Preheat convection oven to 300 F (use 325 F for normal oven). Bake for 14 minutes in convection oven, remove and cool.
6. While shells cool, mix buttercream. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip butter with a paddle attachment for 2 minute until smooth. Add confectioner's sugar, matcha powder and vanilla and continue to whip until smooth and fluffy. Transfer to a pastry bag.
7. Pipe filling onto one shell and match with a second shell of equal size to create a sandwich. Serve.