Eye-catching naturally coloured matcha macaron shells with a matcha ganache and a refreshing core of apple puree and lime. This little flavourful treats will positively surprise you.
Special material requirements
Mixer
Thermometer
3 Piping bags
Round nozzle (I used Ateco 12)
Small leaf stencil
2-3 Silicone mats for macarons (optional)
Recipe
Yield: approx. 40 macarons | Difficulty: medium
Ingredients
Matcha macaron shells
85g powdered sugar
80g almond flour
31g egg white (approx. 1 egg white) at room temperature
1/2 tsp matcha powder
31g egg white (approx. 1 egg white) at room temperature
85g caster sugar
25g water
1 tsp matcha powder
Matcha ganache
120g white chocolate
45g cream
17g butter (room temperature)
1 tsp matcha powder
Apple lime puree
63g apples (approx. half an apple)
10g powdered sugar
1 tbsp lime juice
Lime zest of half a lime
Decoration
2 tbsp powdered sugar (plus extra)
1/2 tsp matcha powder
1 tsp water
Directions
Matcha macaron shells
Preheat the oven to 150°C fan and place the silicone mat/baking paper onto the back of a baking tray.
Sieve the almond flour and powdered sugar, removing bigger bits of the almond flour. If there are many bits you remove, add some additional almond flour to even out the weight.
Place the powdered sugar, almond flour, first part of the egg whites and first part of matcha powder into a large bowl and mix with a rubber spatula until you have a paste.
Place the caster sugar and water into a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.
In the mean time, place the second part of egg whites into a bowl and start whisking on medium speed, until you have soft peaks.
When your syrup reaches 118°C and your egg whites are at a soft peak, remove the saucepan from the heat and slowly pour the syrup to the egg whites, while still whisking.
Keep whisking the egg whites on high speed until they have increased in volume and are fluffy and shiny.
Add the second part matcha powder to de egg whites and whisk again, until the meringue is evenly coloured.
Add one third of the beaten egg whites at a time to the almond flour paste, incorporating it completely every time.
IMPORTANT: mixing the macaron dough is the most important step. Mix your dough with a rubber spatula in circular motions, starting from the outside working yourself towards the centre. Spread the dough along the walls of your bowl and then scrape it down, again working in circular motions from the outside in. Repeat this process several times. Check in between if the dough is ready. The dough is ready when you pick up some dough with your spatula and let it drip back into the bowl. If it comes off in chunks it is not ready yet. If the dough flows down in one string without breaking, it is ready to be piped.
Transfer the dough into a piping bag with the nozzle and pipe circles with 2.5 - 3cm diameters onto the silicone mats. Try to pipe all of the dough at once. Use baking paper to pipe on if necessary.
Tap the bottom of your baking tray to release any air bubbles. If you have air bubbles on top that won't pop, use a toothpick.
Bake the shells in the middle of the oven for 9 minutes. Depending on your oven you may need to adjust the temperature or baking time.
Take the shells out of the oven and let them cool completely. Then gently remove them from the silicone mat/baking paper.
Matcha ganache
Place matcha in a bowl and add a little bit of heavy cream to it. Mix well until you get a paste like consistency. Then add some more heavy cream, and mix again until the matcha has evenly dissolved in the liquid and forms no lumps. Then add the rest of the cream
Add white chocolate to the cream and microwave in 30 second impulses, while stirring in between, until all of the chocolate is melted.
Add the butter and emulsify with an immersion blender.
Pour the ganache into a piping bag with the nozzle, flatten the piping bag on a straight surface and let it cool to room temperature.
Apple lime puree
Peel the apple and cut into bigger chunks. Place in a blender cup and immediately pour the lime juice over the apples. Blend the apples into a puree. Do not let the peeled apples sit for too long without the lime juice, otherwise they will oxidise and turn brown.
Place the apple puree, lime zest and powdered sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Let it cook for about 2 minutes to evaporate most of the liquid.
Transfer into a piping bag and let it cool completely (room temperature or fridge).
Decoration
Place powdered sugar and water into a small bowl and mix.
Add matcha powder and mix well, until there are no lumps.
You should get a paste-like consistency, it should no be runny. If it is, add up to 1/2 tbsp more powdered sugar.
Cut baking paper into small squares. Put you stencil onto the baking paper and spread your matcha icing over it, removing the excess.
Gently peel the baking paper off the stencil and place onto your macaron shell. Gently press the baking paper onto the macaron shell, so that all edges of the icing stick to the shell.
Place the macaron shells with the leaf icing into the fridge for about 10 minutes (you only need to decorate half of the macaron shells).
Take the macaron shells out of the fridge and gently peel off the baking paper. If the icing comes off with the baking paper, place the macaron shells back into the fridge.
Assembly
Check the ganache, the piping bag should be soft, but not runny. It should hold its shape when you pipe it. If its too runny, let it rest more.
Check the apple puree, it should be either at room temperature or cold, but not warm anymore. If its still warm, place into the fridge.
Pair same sized macaron shells (one with and one without decoration) together and lay out on a flat surface.
Pipe an outer circle with the matcha ganache and pipe the apple-lime puree in the middle.
Place the other half of the shells on top and gently push the shells a little bit together.
Notes
Silicone mat: I use a silicone mat that has circles printed on it as guidelines for piping the macaron shells. If you do not have a silicone mat, you can use baking paper. If you also prefer guidelines, you can print macaron guidelines on a paper an place it underneath the baking paper. Don't forget to remove the paper before you place the macarons into the oven.
Egg whites: 31g of egg whites is approximately the amount of one medium egg. However, this may vary. For the macarons it is important to have the exact amount for all ingredients. The easiest way is to weigh your egg whites and adjust the other ingredients to your egg white amount.
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