Matcha Macarons
Hello friends! Today I am going to show you how to make Matcha Macarons!
For these Matcha Macarons, I made two different fillings: Matcha Buttercream and Matcha Ganache. Check the recipe down below, and also check the video on YouTube or on this page, showing you exactly how to make these Matcha Macarons.
I initially wrote this Matcha Macarons recipe almost 3 years ago, and today I am updating it, with the recipe for the Matcha Ganache, and also with new pictures and a video.
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And that’s also why you will see two completely different styles of pictures here.
On the updated Matcha macarons recipe, I actually added green food coloring to make the green a bit more vibrant. This is a total optional step, and you can just let the matcha color the shells instead of adding food coloring, it’s up to you.
And another thing I’ve changed, is that I dipped the macarons in white chocolate for an extra beautiful decoration.
Which do you prefer? The more rustic macarons you see below, or the more colorful ones dipped in chocolate? Let me know down below!
And I will also say that I think the matcha ganache filling is incredibly delicious and if you like white chocolate ganache, then this will be right up your alley! The matcha is so smooth and compliments the velvety texture of the white chocolate ganache so well. It’s a treat!
Another thing that has changed since I first made this recipe, is that now I use egg white powder in my macarons. I add it along with the granulated sugar and egg whites when making the syrup.
Egg white powder isn’t the same as meringue powder.
It acts as a strengthener for the meringue, since it consists of dried egg whites only, so it provides extra protein to the structure of the meringue.
This is the brand I use Judees Gluten Free. You should only need a few grams per 100 grams of egg whites that you use in your recipe. I use 3 grams for the matcha macaron shells, 2 grams for chocolate shells, and 4 grams for regular shells.
I’ve experimented with different amounts for the matcha shells, and landed on 3 grams for my best results as far as feet and fullness of the shells go.
The egg white powder is totally optional but I love the results since I started using it. So now it became part of my recipes. However, I went by 5 years without using it, so you can totally get away without using egg white powder.
If you like experimenting with macaron recipes, I recommend trying it, because it does improve the quality of the shells.
To see more macaron tips, beginner’s guides, troubleshooting information, please visit Macaron School. Macaron School is a page I am building up with the best macaron resources and knowledge to help you bake better macarons!
Here are some recipes that may interest you if you like these Matcha Macarons:
- Earl Grey Macarons
- Coffee Macarons
- Tiramisu Macarons
- Chai Macarons
- Mint Chocolate Macarons
- Fig Macarons
- Honey Macarons
- Vanilla Bean Macarons
- Gingerbread Macarons
- Pistachio Macarons
- Hazelnut Macarons
And these Matcha Macarons were also featured in my 2020 Holiday Macaron Box which you can find here.
If you make this recipe tag me on instagram or leave a comment below! Thank you so much for reading!
Matcha Macarons
Ingredients
Matcha Macarons
- 3 grams egg white powder optional, read notes
- 100 grams egg whites
- 100 grams white granulated sugar
- 105 grams almond flour
- 105 grams powdered sugar
- 3 grams matcha powder
Matcha Buttercream
- 6 tbsp butter 85 grams
- 125 grams powdered sugar
- 1 tsp matcha powder (or more to taste)
- 2 tbsp milk (or water)
Matcha Ganache
- 170 grams white chocolate chopped
- 60 ml heavy cream (1/4 cup)
- 3/4 tsp matcha powder
Instructions
- Before you start, get all of the ingredients ready. Prepare a large piping bag, fitted with a large round tip, I use a 1/2” diameter tip. Set aside.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mat.
- Measure out all of the ingredients.
- Sift the powdered sugar, almond flour, and matcha powder together. Set it aside.
- Whisk the sugar and the egg white powder (if using) in a bowl, and place it over a pan with barely simmering water. Add the egg whites to the sugar and whisk the mixture until frothy and the sugar is completely melted. It will take a couple of minutes. You can test by touching the mixture between your fingers, and if you feel any sugar granules just keep whisking the mixture over the water bath.
- Make sure the bottom of the bowl isn’t touching the simmering water because you don’t want the whites to cook.
- Also, don’t overheat the sugar syrup, this may cause issues down the line, such as wrinkly macarons.
- Transfer the syrup to the bowl of a stand mixer.With the whisk attachment, start whisking mixture on low for about 30 seconds, then gradually start increasing speed to medium. Whisk on medium for one to two minutes, until the mixture is white and starting to become fluffy. Raise the speed to high, or medium-high and whisk for a few minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Best way to check this is to keep your eye on the whites. Once they get glossy and you start seeing streaks formed by the whisk, it might be time to stop.
- Whisk until stiff peaks have formed. When you pull your whip up, the peak should be stiff and shooting straight up, with possibly a slight bend at the top, but not bending down to the side.
- Pour the sifted powdered sugar, almond flour, and matcha powder into the stiff meringue.
- Start folding gently forming a letter J with a spatula. Add the food coloring at this point, if using. I have added a bit of green food coloring to deepen the color.
- How to know when to stop folding the batter: It’s time to stop folding when the batter is glossy and has a thick and flowing consistency. There are several ways to test this.First, pick up some batter with the spatula and try to draw a figure 8 with the batter that is dripping off the spatula. If you can form several 8 figures without the batter breaking up, that’s one indication that it might be ready.
- There’s another test you can do. I call it the Teaspoon test.
- Grab a teaspoon of batter and spoon onto the parchment paper or silicon mat. Wait a minute to see how it behaves.If the batter stays stiff, forming a point and doesn’t spread out, fold a little bit more, about 3 folds. Test again.
- Once the batter spreads out a bit and starts to look glossy and smooth on top, on the parchment paper, it’s ready.
- You don’t want your batter to be too runny either. So be careful not to overmix. It’s always best to undermix and test several times until the proper consistency has been achieved.
- When you hold the spatula with batter on top of the bowl and the batter falls off the spatula slowly but effortlessly the batter is ready. The batter will keep flowing off the spatula non-stop, but not too quickly.
- Transfer the batter to the piping bag.
- Place the piping bag directly 90 degrees over the center of each macaron template. Apply gentle pressure and carefully pipe for about 3 seconds, and then quickly pull the bag up twisting slightly.
- Once you’ve piped as many circles as you could, bang the trays against the counter a few times each. This will release air bubbles that are in the batter and prevent your macaron shells from cracking.
- Use a toothpick to pop any air bubbles in the surface of the shells.Let the trays sit for a while so the shells will dry out a little bit. I usually leave about 20-40 minutes, depending on how humid the day is. You’ll know they’re ready when you gently touch the surface of a macaron and it seems dry.
- Pre-heat the oven to 300ºF.
- Bake one tray at a time.
- Bake for 5 minutes, rotate tray.
- Bake for 5 more minutes. Rotate again.
- I bake each tray for about 15 to 20 minutes.
- When baked, the macarons will have a deeper color and formed feet. If you try to move a macaron, it shouldn’t feel jiggly. If the macaron is still jiggly, keep baking.Remove from the oven and bake the other tray.
- Let the macarons cool down before proceeding with the filling.
Matcha Buttercream
- While macarons cool down, you can make the filling.
- Cream the butter on medium speed, until creamy, for about 1 minute. Add the powdered sugar and matcha and beat until mixture is fluffy and incorporated, another minute. If mixture seems too stiff, add the milk, or water. Mix to combine and add more milk as necessary.
- If the buttercream is too runny, add more powdered sugar to make it thicker.
Matcha Ganache
- Place the white chocolate in a glass or stainless steel bowl.
- Add one tablespoon of heavy cream to the matcha and mix with a spoon or fork until a paste is formed.
- Slowly add the rest of the heavy cream while stirring to combine. This will prevent any lumps from forming.
- Heat the heavy cream and matcha together in a small saucepan until it almost comes to a boil.
- Remove from the heat and pour over the white chocolate. If you notice the heavy cream and matcha mixture is lumpy, you can pour it through a sieve.
- After pouring the heavy cream over the chocolate cover the bowl with a plate or a towel and let it sit for 1 minute.
- Next, stir the white chocolate and hot heavy cream together until the chocolate has melted entirely.
- Set it aside until it cools to room temperature. It will thicken as it cools down. If making ahead you can place it in the fridge and then re-heat it gently in the microwave before using, for about 5 second intervals, and stirring in between, until the ganache isn't super hard anymore. Careful not to over heat it, because if the ganache gets too runny, it needs to go back in the fridge or sit for a while at room temperature to get thicker. And also, if you re-heat the chocolate too much, it will separate and become grainy.
To assemble
- Put the filling in a piping bag. Pipe a dollop in each macaron and close the sandwich.
Storage
- These Matcha Macarons will last in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Notes
is not the same as meringue powder. Egg White Powder is made of only egg whites. They help with getting fuller shells, and specially when adding a lot of food coloring to the batter, because they make the shells dry faster. I recommend experimenting with it if you can find it. I use 4 grams for each 100 grams of egg whites for regular shells, and I have been using only 2 grams for each 100 grams of egg whites for chocolate shells.
Food coloring: Make sure to use gel food coloring, not liquid. If you are a beginner macaron baker, I recommend going easy on the food coloring, as it can alter the batter a lot, and it can take extra mixing time, specially if you continue to add the food coloring as you do the macaronage.
Scale: Please use a scale when measuring the ingredients for accuracy. Macaron amount: It will vary greatly depending on how big you pipe the shells, and on how runny or thick the batter is.
Baking time/temperature: Baking time and temperature will vary according to your own oven. I recommend experimenting with your oven to find out the best time, temperature, position of the baking tray. Read more about how to figure out your oven here.
Oven thermometer: Make sure to have an oven thermometer to bake macarons. It’s one of the most important things about making macarons. Home ovens aren’t accurate at all at telling the temperature, and even a slight 5 degree difference can make or break your whole batch.
Tray rotation: Lots of bakers don’t have to rotate the trays 180 degrees in the oven every 5 minutes, but I do have to with my oven, or I will get lopsided macarons. Please adjust this according to your oven.
Nutrition
Can I use the french method for the meringue instead??
I recommend using a recipe that is already made for french method. you can use this one https://www.piesandtacos.comcoconut-macarons/ just omit the cornstarch, and remove about 5 grams of powdered sugar and add 5 grams of matcha instead.
This is a fantastic recipe. I made these macarons along with a marzipan buttercream to use as the filling. These taste extraordinary together, and I will definitely make this recipe again, this time with the matcha filling.
Wow marzipan buttercream sounds so delicious!!! Thank you so much for your feedback Hannah!! 🙂
Italian Merengue is terrifying to an amateur baker like me, but SOOO worth getting over your fear of it!! I’ve been baking French Macarons this entire time, dealing with hollow insides 🙁 This recipe gave me the courage to leap into attempting an Italian merengue! I love how easy it is to follow these directions. No hollow insides for this girl and her Matcha Macarons <3 I am filled with joy (and so far about 4 macarons haha). Thank you again for your recipe and your helpful advice!!
That’s awesome! I am super happy for you! Thank you! 🙂
THANK YOU! This is my first ever time making macarons, and following your instructions- they came out BEAUTIFULLY. Four times in a row now!! Anyone looking to try baking macarons, should definitely read this page 🙂
That’s awesome! Thank you so much!!! I am so happy to hear!!!
Question: I made these and they tasted really good but somehow there was no film developed when I let them dry out and so I didn’t get any feet. Did I do something wrong?
Many things could have gone wrong such as over mixed batter, under whipped meringue, ratio of ingredients, humidity…
I am so excited! I’ve been trying recipe after recipe for a few weeks now and getting so close to the look I want but just not quite there. Until this recipe. You saved me! I cannot believe how gorgeous my macarons are, and tasty not to mention. Thank you thank you thank you!
Aweeee I am so happy! Thank you so much!!!!!
Do you have a chocolate recipe? I have made four different flavors, and they are all so gorgeous that I can’t even stop staring at them. I just started an acrylic painting class and I’m literally going to paint a plate of my macarons. You created a monster. When I finally get around to blogging this whole experience, you are getting huge credit. Id love to have you on sometime. Ok, so chocolate? I have heard they are finicky. I bought Giradellhi baking cocoa powder. Tips? Thanks again!!
Hello Johnnie! So here is the chocolate macaron recipe https://www.piesandtacos.comchocolate-macarons/
The recipe and method are the same but I substitute some of the powdered sugar for cocoa powder.
And wow acrylic painting class sounds super fun!!! I really want to see this plate!!! Thank you so much Johnnie! I’ll be checking your blog to follow up! Have a lovely day!
Good day. Love your macaron recipes, my favorite method is the Italian method but Swiss a close second.
When storing macarons in the freezer – is this with its filling?
Hey Ghowa, yes I do store them with the filling, unless it’s a jam filling, then I try not to store the filled macarons, unless the jam is very thick. Often times, if the jam is very liquidy it will end up making the macaron shells soggy. But if you are freezing any macarons with a buttercream filling, cream cheese filling, or any other creamy filling like that, you should be totally fine.
Thank you!
Can I use egg whites from carton or they should be egg whites cracked from a whole egg? Thanks
Hey there I have never tried making macarons with carton whites, but I’ve heard people saying they obtain good results!
Thank you!
Have a great day!
First time making macarons ever. I followed your recipe and they turned out beautifully and delicious! THANK YOU
Omg I am so happy!! Thanks for reporting back!!! So proud of you too. these are tricky cookies!!! YAY!! 🙂
These were perfection! I added some powdered honey and salt to the buttercream but otherwise followed exactly and they turned out perfectly! Thank you!
Awe thank you so much!!! 🙂
hi, thanks so much for this Recipe, I made it for Thanksgiving Dessert, and it came out reLLY GOOD EVERYONE LOVED IT. my first time made the macaroon matcha and it came out perfect, the shape and the taste, delicious.
Omg I’m so happy to hear that!!! Thank you so much!!! Happy Holidays!! 🙂
wow, this is great, im going to make it tonight for thanksgiving treat, thanks so much
Awesome, thank you so much! Happy Thanksgiving!!
Wow – your MATCHARONS look terrific! I’ve been dragging my feet on making macarons so thanks so much for all your tips here – I’m bookmarking this page to try soon!
Macarons are always such pretty cookies- and the addition of matcha gives them that bright, vibrant color! I love this recipe!
Hello! I just attempted macarons for the first time this week. Earlier in the week, I made your french vanilla macarons. They were beautiful and delicious. Today I tried this matcha recipe and had some trouble. My macaron shells didn’t rise properly or form “feet”. However, I had three separate trays, which I cooked separately. In the first tray, all of the shells were cracked and didn’t look right. For the second tray, all of the shells looked great. For the third tray, most were cracked with a few decent shells. I’m not sure what happened…
I initially thought that maybe I didn’t wait long enough for the shells to dry after I saw that the second tray came out okay, but then the third tray wasn’t great.
Do you have any ideas or suggestions? I weighed the ingredients. Although, I did not use the egg white powder. I didn’t use it in the french vanilla macaron shells, so I don’t think that’s the issue.
Please let me know! I really loved how the french vanilla macarons turned out and am a huge matcha fan, so I really want to make these gorgeous macarons!
this could be your oven, temperature fluctuations. do you have an oven thermometer?
I love the flavor of Matcha! I have a quick question, my stand mixer is out of commission…do you think a hand mixer will work? Let me know if you think it will hold up.
It sure will! Thanks for your question, Heidy! Have a great day!
Thanks!!! I’m excited to try these!!!