Matcha Macarons with Matcha White Chocolate Ganache Recipe

A variation on my 2019 matcha macarons recipe, this updated recipe includes a whipped, swirled matcha white chocolate ganache. And a few more pointers on technique.

You can check out my YouTube tutorial video too:

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)
1 tsp matcha

To Decorate (Optional):

Sugar flowers
A little extra melted white chocolate (just 2 or 3 squares' worth)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C. Blend the ground almonds, icing sugar and matcha together for a few seconds in a food processor to combine, but only for a few seconds – you don't want almond butter or for the almonds to start exuding oil. 

2. Sieve through a fine sieve, and re-process the coarser stuff left behind if there's more than a teaspoonful (again just for a few seconds). If there's just a teaspoonful left, discard it.

3. In another large 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 (this technique is called 'macaronage'). When you can draw the figure of '8' a couple of times with the stream of batter when you lift the spatula up, stop folding: you're done.

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.

6. Leave to dry and form a little shell, so you can gently poke one and it doesn't feel sticky. Letting them dry helps form the 'feet' and prevents cracking, as the macarons are forced to rise upwards instead of outwards. Some people dry them for just 20 minutes or not at all, but this has never worked for me – I cheat with a hairdryer on its coldest setting for a few minutes so I can pop it almost straight in the preheated oven. If you're not using the hairdryer, you don't have to preheat the oven so early on, but you do have to wait a couple of hours for your macarons to dry properly.

7. 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 (and repeat this with another small bowl of just a couple of blocks of chocolate if you're decorating too). If you're decorating your macarons with sugar flowers, use a toothpick to dot a little melted chocolate from your smaller bowl onto the bottoms of the flowers to stick to the macarons. 

9. Whisk in the vanilla bean paste and cream into the bigger bowl of melted chocolate. Keep whisking until fluffy, which will take about 10 minutes. Divide into two bowls, and whisk the matcha into one. Then pop the bowl in the fridge for an hour, or until pipable.

10. Fill a piping bag with a star tip with the matcha ganache down one side and the plain ganache down the other. Pipe and sandwich the macarons with the ganache. Then pop in the fridge to store and firm the ganache back up again before eating.

Enjoy, and have fun.