Matcha Macarons with Whipped White Chocolate Ganache – Recipe
It's been nearly six years since I last made macarons. During that time I've changed jobs twice, been promoted once, moved house twice, won a cooking competition that sent me to Japan, learned Mandarin, accidentally became an Instagram food blogger, and got married in China. Safe to say these six years have been quite an epic journey.
The journey's far from over of course, that's what life's all about. But how the heck have I not made macarons, which I obsessed over for a whole year, in six years??
I've made matcha macarons before, but after six years I'm a little rusty with technique. In fact, what you're seeing right now is the third batch: the first one failed horribly. BUT it helped me crack a few macaron mistakes, and find you guys a few tips to help you nail these more quickly.
You can also watch a hyperlapse to get a feel of the process on my Tashcakes Cooks YouTube channel.
Ready? Let's go.
Ingredients for Macarons:
60g ground almonds
100g icing sugar
1 tbsp matcha
2 egg whites
25g caster sugar
Pinch of sea salt
Ingredients for Whipped White Chocolate Ganache:
100g white chocolate
100ml double cream
1 tsp vanilla bean paste (optional)
To Decorate (Optional):
Sugar flowers
Method:
1. Process the ground almonds, icing sugar and matcha together for a few seconds in a food processor to get an even finer powder. (Blending the almonds with the icing sugar stops it from turning into almond butter too quickly). Sieve through a fine mesh sieve, and re-process the coarser stuff left behind if there's more than a teaspoonful.
2. Sift everything again. Process the leftover bits again, sift, and finally discard the last coarse bits (there should be no more than about a teaspoon to discard). This lengthy process is worth it, honest: it'll make the tops of your macarons smoother.
3. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks, as if you're making a meringue. Then whisk in the caster sugar and salt until glossy.
4. Very gently fold the ground almond mixture into the egg whites, until the mixture has a lava-like texture. I counted how many folds it took me with my spatula: it took me 56 folds to get to this point.
5. Pipe even discs onto a couple of baking trays lined with nonstick baking paper, about 2cm apart from each other. Lift and drop the trays on the counter a few times to level out the macarons and bash out air bubbles, and use a toothpick to pop the others that rise to the surface but don't pop.
6. Leave to dry and form a little shell for an hour or two. In the past just waiting 30 minutes worked for me, but this actually depends hugely on the weather and air atmosphere. In my new apartment during winter, it turns out it takes me a couple of hours. Letting them dry helps form the 'feet' and prevents cracking, as the macarons are forced to rise upwards instead of outwards.
7. Preheat the oven to 150°C. Now bake the macarons for 10-15 minutes, until risen and the tops are dry, just before they begin to brown. Let them cool completely before filling.
8. To make the ganache, melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Remove from the heat. If you're decorating your macarons with sugar flowers, use a toothpick to dot a little melted chocolate onto the bottoms of the flowers to stick to the macarons. Now whisk in the vanilla bean paste and cream into the bowl of melted chocolate. Keep whisking until fluffy, which will take about 10 minutes. Then pop the bowl in the fridge for an hour, or until pipable.
9. Sandwich the macarons with the ganache... and then scoff.
Enjoy, and have fun.
The journey's far from over of course, that's what life's all about. But how the heck have I not made macarons, which I obsessed over for a whole year, in six years??
I've made matcha macarons before, but after six years I'm a little rusty with technique. In fact, what you're seeing right now is the third batch: the first one failed horribly. BUT it helped me crack a few macaron mistakes, and find you guys a few tips to help you nail these more quickly.
You can also watch a hyperlapse to get a feel of the process on my Tashcakes Cooks YouTube channel.
Ready? Let's go.
Ingredients for Macarons:
60g ground almonds
100g icing sugar
1 tbsp matcha
2 egg whites
25g caster sugar
Pinch of sea salt
Ingredients for Whipped White Chocolate Ganache:
100g white chocolate
100ml double cream
1 tsp vanilla bean paste (optional)
To Decorate (Optional):
Sugar flowers
Method:
1. Process the ground almonds, icing sugar and matcha together for a few seconds in a food processor to get an even finer powder. (Blending the almonds with the icing sugar stops it from turning into almond butter too quickly). Sieve through a fine mesh sieve, and re-process the coarser stuff left behind if there's more than a teaspoonful.
2. Sift everything again. Process the leftover bits again, sift, and finally discard the last coarse bits (there should be no more than about a teaspoon to discard). This lengthy process is worth it, honest: it'll make the tops of your macarons smoother.
3. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks, as if you're making a meringue. Then whisk in the caster sugar and salt until glossy.
4. Very gently fold the ground almond mixture into the egg whites, until the mixture has a lava-like texture. I counted how many folds it took me with my spatula: it took me 56 folds to get to this point.
5. Pipe even discs onto a couple of baking trays lined with nonstick baking paper, about 2cm apart from each other. Lift and drop the trays on the counter a few times to level out the macarons and bash out air bubbles, and use a toothpick to pop the others that rise to the surface but don't pop.
6. Leave to dry and form a little shell for an hour or two. In the past just waiting 30 minutes worked for me, but this actually depends hugely on the weather and air atmosphere. In my new apartment during winter, it turns out it takes me a couple of hours. Letting them dry helps form the 'feet' and prevents cracking, as the macarons are forced to rise upwards instead of outwards.
7. Preheat the oven to 150°C. Now bake the macarons for 10-15 minutes, until risen and the tops are dry, just before they begin to brown. Let them cool completely before filling.
8. To make the ganache, melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Remove from the heat. If you're decorating your macarons with sugar flowers, use a toothpick to dot a little melted chocolate onto the bottoms of the flowers to stick to the macarons. Now whisk in the vanilla bean paste and cream into the bowl of melted chocolate. Keep whisking until fluffy, which will take about 10 minutes. Then pop the bowl in the fridge for an hour, or until pipable.
9. Sandwich the macarons with the ganache... and then scoff.
Enjoy, and have fun.
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