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
Camila, can I ask what brand of matcha powder you use? Can you provide a link for it? I love the updated recipe & the more vibrant color. The addition of dipping them in white chocolate is pure genius!
I was using matcha kari thank you so much!!!
I’m so excited!! I’m a custom cake artist and love to decorate with fresh flowers and macarons. This is only my third attempt at making them myself. The first two with the French method were total flops. These came out incredible!!!! Perfectly full beautiful shells. I can’t even believe I made them (lol)! I made the buttercream and ganache and added a bit of ganache in the middle of the buttercream. Perfect! Thank you so so much!!! Great tips and great recipe!
That’s so amazing!! Thank you dear!!!
Hi thank you so much for sharing your macaron expertise in such details. I’ve never made macarons yet , been searching good resources, love your site!! So grateful!
Question1: when you cool the macarons after baking, do you leave them out on the mat and baking pan? (I bake breads and I need to take them out of the pan right away, hence this question.)
Question2: is egg white powder a must in your matcha macarons? If not, do I just omit it or replace with similar amount of raw egg whites? Curious to know why sometimes you add it and sometimes you don’t 😅
Thank you so much!! I can’t wait to try making them!
1- I leave them on the baking pan yes, unless I’ve accidentally overbaked them, then I remove the mat from the pan immediately to avoid even further cooking of the shells.
2- egg white powder is not a must and you dont have to change anything in the recipe. I leave it out if the weather is too dry, because it makes the macarons too hard and chewy.
I’ve made these several times with success, however when I tried today, my batter was super runny. It also took quite a while in getting stuff peaks. The only thing I changed was I added 1/2 tsp cream of tartar AND egg white powder… I usually only add cream of tartar. I was super disappointed and threw the whole thing away.
Did you over mix by any chance? I also don’t recommend using both of those things, either egg white powder or cream of tartar.
Thanks for posting. I’ve been making macs for about a year now, and through trial and error have started using some of these methods and it was exciting to finally find a recipe that brings together everything I’ve learned. Making some for Xmas Eve dinner tomorrow, already did matcha, using this as the basis for my Earl Grey and Caramel chai as well. I love these frustrating little perfectionist trap cookies :). Came out perfect with the egg white powder, no hollows for the first time!
That’s amazing to hear thank you so much!!!!
Adorei essa receita!! Que lindos!!
I love your site and recipes. I am new to making macarons but not new to baking. I have found your site very helpful. My first two attempts were using French method and they did not come out nicely. I tried your matcha recipe and they came out perfect with full shell and smooth top, which was a surprise to me, as it was only my 3rd attempt making macarons. I made some matcha whipped cream for filling without adding any sugar. I always feel macarons is way too sweet. They are perfect matched! I wish I could upload picture here. Thank you so much!
Sounds wonderful! Thank you!!
Can you make a matcha ganache instead of a butter cream? Do you have a recipe perhaps for matcha ganache? I’m going to attempt to make these tomorrow with my daughter😊
omg that’s so funny, i literally made with ganache this week. And I am going to post the ganache variation in the next few days. But here you go, I will give you the ganache recipe now:
1 cup (170 grams) white chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup (60 ml) heavy cream
3/4 tsp (1.5 grams) matcha powder
To make the Matcha White Chocolate Ganache, begin by placing 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.
To make the Blueberry Curd, begin by placing the blueberries and lemon juice together in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, while stirring and using the back of the spatula to pop the blueberries as they soften.
Remove the pan from the heat and pour the mixture through a sieve. Press down to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the blueberry skins.
Meanwhile whisk the yolk and sugar together in a bowl. Add the butter and continue to whisk until smooth.
Slowly pour the blueberry juice in the bowl, while whisking.
Once everything is mixed together, pour it in a small saucepan. Slowly heat the mixture over medium low heat, while stirring non-stop. Don’t keep the heat too high, or the egg will scramble.
Continue to cook over the medium-low heat until the curd thickens. When the curd is ready, a thermometer should read 170ºF, it should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Remove the curd to a small bowl. Place it in the fridge until completely chilled, it will thicken as it cools down.
Once the Matcha White Chocolate Ganache is at room temperature, it should be thick, creamy, and spreadable. Place it in a piping bag fitted with a small round tip.
This is the very first time I tried making macarons and your blog helped make that experience less intimidating! It’s so informative and detailed, I loved the matcha macaron recipe. Even though I had some issues like cracking on some shells and a bit lop sided on my macaron shells, I will try it again tomorrow to perfect the technique.
Thank you so much Jessica!!! I appreciate it. If some shells are cracking or turning out lopsided, could be that your oven has some hot spots.
Can I mix the sugar and egg whites normally, without heating them up on a double boiler.
some people have made it with the french method. I have never tried this recipe with the french method, at least not for now. But I hope to someday. It does work for some people.
Hi! Curious why the matcha powder isn’t measured out while everything else is? Thanks! Just want to understand as I liked to attempt this recipe soon!!
It’s about 1 gram.
I tried this Matcha Macarons today, it was a success….thank u for the recipe, I followed as what u posted here….it was amazing.
That’s so nice to hear! thank you so much 🙂
This recipe was amazing!
Second time mac experimenter here.
This recipe was easy to follow, and straight forward. I also HATE the “lava” description. To me its more like honey thick? Glossy, thick, continuous flow.
My oven was too hot at 350 so 300 for 12 minutes was perfect for my Macs.
Thank you so much!
Thank you so much Vanessa! I’m so happy to hear!!
I love macarons but was always too intimidated to try baking them. This was my first try, and they turned out great! I wasn’t able to get the meringue stiff enough (I was whisking by hand) but somehow they were still fine. Thank you so much for this great guide!
that’s great to hear Marie!!! thank you!
Hi I’m 12 and I just want to say THANK YOU for such an amazing recipe and all the helpful tips. I’ve already tried making macarons 7 TIMES, and all of those tries were fails and my family was getting sick of eating my failed macarons. Then I found your website with all these helpful tips and macaron recipes. The macarons were delicious so thank you so much(:
I am so happy! Thank you so much for this comment Maddie!!!