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“Matcha” Green Tea Macaron Recipe

Matcha macarons has green tea infused into the shells making them extra flavorful. White chocolate ganache is sandwiched in between for a delicious Japanese-bakery-inspired flavor pairing.

Matcha macarons has green tea infused into the shells making them extra flavorful. White chocolate ganache is sandwiched in between for a delicious Japanese-bakery-inspired flavor pairing.

Tea Infused Macaron Shells

Matcha green tea macarons is one of the most popular macaron flavors and for good reason. Matcha green tea has a slightly bitter taste and is a great contrast to sweet macaron shells which are comprised mainly of sugar and almonds. Green tea and white chocolate filling is a great pairing, especially so for those who find macarons to be “too sweet”. The astringency from the matcha powder will help to balance out the sweetness.

Matcha powder is one of my favourite flavourings to use in baking because the flavour is so stable and comes out true to taste across a variety of different baked goods. This is the case for matcha macarons as well.

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What is Matcha?

Matcha is a powdered tea specially cultivated from green tea leaves that have been shaded from the sun for several weeks before undergoing a special processing technique which involves stem removal and de-viening. It is then ground up into a fine green tea powder that has a beautiful vibrant green tea color. Popular culinary usage of matcha can be seen in a wide range of drinks an desserts like matcha latte, matcha crepe cakes and matcha cookies. It is also a beloved flavor used in desserts because the earthy profile and astringency contrasts extremely well with the sweetness in desserts. Here are a couple of my most popular matcha recipes: Matcha cake roll with red bean cream, Matcha pound cake.

Where Can I Buy Matcha Powder for Baking?

Matcha powder is an easy product to find in Japan where it is used for the elaborate traditional tea ceremony or for regular use in brewing everyday tea or baking desserts. I am able to find Matcha powder that is sourced from Japan in my hometown of Vancouver, Canada because we have a large population of Asians here. I can usually found it in Japanese convenience stores and other well-stocked Asian food stores. If you have difficulty finding matcha powder in your city, try this highly rated one with Japanese origns which you can find online.

The packaging will usually tell you if it’s either ceremonial grade or culinary grade Matcha. Ceremonial grade matcha is usually reserved for drinking on its own so many discerning connoisseurs look for the very best. For our use in matcha macarons, a culinary grade matcha is sufficient, especially if you want to cut down waste if you’re in the practice stage of macaron baking.

What Filling is Best for Green Tea Macarons?

I’ve tried pairing this matcha macaron with both a chocolate ganache and white chocolate “ganache”. The white one was the hands down winner because it did the best job in highlighting the distinct characteristics of the bitter matcha flavour. This will be the recipe that I will be sharing with you today.

Another classic flavor inspired by Japanese baked goods is matcha macarons filled with Adzuki red bean cream. I don’t have a dedicated recipe for this yet but the red bean cream can be easily made with this recipe for Matcha cake roll with red bean cream. Just make the red bean paste portion only and then use the white chocolate filling in this recipe to pipe a hollow circle to create a dam. In the center, add a dollop of the red bean cream. (I don’t recommend using the paste on it’s own as will be too soft.)

I hope you enjoy this new recipe for Matcha green tea macarons too.

XOXO,
Mimi

Note: This post was originally published on February 26th, 2015

Yield: 12 assembled macarons

"Matcha" Green Tea Macaron Recipe

A beloved Japanese flavor in macaron form. Matcha green tea is infused into the shells making the macaron extra flavorful. White chocolate ganache is sandwiched in between for a delicious flavor pairing.

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 14 minutes
Additional Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 44 minutes

Ingredients

Ingredients for the Shells:

Ingredients for the Filling:

  • 100 grams chopped white chocolate
  • 30 grams heavy cream

Instructions

Matcha Macaron Shells Instructions

  1. Set aged egg whites out at room temperature. 
  2. Print out free macaron template in the Subscriber's Only Area.
  3. Pulse almond flour, icing sugar, and matcha powder together in a food processor. 
  4. Sift dry ingredients. Discard big pieces of almond that can't be sifted. 
  5. IF YOU ARE NEW TO MAKING MACARONS, please read the instructions to my BEST MACARON RECIPE before attempting to follow the rest of the instructions since it is condensed for the advanced macaron baker. 
  6. With the balloon whisk attached, whip the room temperature egg whites on low-medium speed. 
  7. Add cream of tartar when it becomes foamy.
  8. Turn up the speed to medium. 
  9. Once the whisk starts to leave tracks in the egg whites, add sugar a little at a time.
  10. Turn the speed up to medium-high and whip until stiff peaks. 
  11. Add green gel colour if desired to meringue.
  12. Fold the almond flour and meringue together until the batter becomes a "lava" or honey-like consistency. 
  13. Transfer batter into piping bag fitted with a round piping tip. 
  14. On parchment paper or silicone mats, pipe the round macaron shells.
  15. Wait until the shells have developed a "skin" and have become completely dry before baking. This is critical to prevent cracking. 
  16. Bake at 325F for 12-14 minutes. Every oven is different, you may need to adjust your own temperature settings. Please read How to Use Home Oven Properly for Baking Macarons if you are unsure. 
  17. Once baked, let cool completely before removing from the baking mat/parchment paper.

White Chocolate Ganache Macaron Filling Instructions

  1. Chop up or grate white chocolate into fine pieces.
  2. Heat up the heavy cream in a small sauce pan on low heat, watch it so that it doesn’t over boil.
  3. Once it starts to steam and small bubbles appear on the side, immediately pour it over the chopped white chocolate.
  4. Blend well with a spatula until fully incorporated.
  5.  Let it cool and firm up a bit before piping

Assembly:

  1. Find two similar sized macaron shells.
  2. Pipe a dallop of the the ganache in the center of one of the shells, assemble with the other shell.
  3. Place in an airtight container and let mature for 24 hours before serving. Enjoy!

Notes

*Egg whites should be measured first and then aged. DO NOT use meringue powder as a substitute.

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Nutrition Information

Yield

12

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 123Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 5mgSodium 15mgCarbohydrates 15gFiber 1gSugar 14gProtein 2g

This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although indulgewithmimi.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

Did you make this recipe? Share your results with me 🙂

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

© Mimi
Cuisine: french / Category: Macarons

Comments

  1. Leni says

    hi Mimi! lately I’ve been obsessed with matcha. And I tried these and they tasted so good, but they turned out hollow and lopsided.also can you add less castor sugar in the egg whites? and also can you create a red bean butter cream.

    Reply

    • Mimi says

      Hi Leni,

      Please take a look at the troubleshooting guide for how to deal with hollows and lopsided macarons. You can reduce some of the castor sugar but sugar is an integral part of the macaron, it will be less stable the more sugar you have. For red bean buttercream, I will create a recipe once I find a bit more time. In the meantime, you can make the Adzuki bean paste from this Matcha Adzuki Bean Cake Roll and then fold it into the Swiss Meringue Buttercream or add it into another type of base.

      Reply

  2. Isabelle says

    How many does this recipe make? It says 12 but does not specify if it is 12 filled macarons, or 12 singular shells?

    Reply

  3. Lai Chin Yap says

    Hi, may i know how to achieve nice green colour? It is very hard to achieve nice green colour if matcha powder is used in the recipe. It tends to brown during baking. Pls share your tips. Thank you!

    Reply

    • Mimi says

      Hi Lai,

      As per the recipe, I also added some green gel food coloring. It’s not necessary to add it if you are looking for a natural macaron color but if you want to achieve the same look as the stores, then a bit of food color is needed. As for the browning, you’ll need to control the oven temperature a bit better. Have you ready my Oven Guide for Baking Macarons yet?
      XOXO,
      Mimi

      Reply

  4. Assile says

    Hi Mimi!

    I’ll be attempting to make these macarons soon! They look so yummy, btw. How many macarons does this recipe make? And also, will it be okay if I don’t use gel food colouring? Thanks a lot 🙂

    Reply

    • Mimi says

      oh and you can definitely leave out the colouring. It will just look a little more yellowish-brownish than the usual “matcha” green most people will be used to when they see matcha baked goodies.

      XOXO,
      Mimi

      Reply

  5. Assile says

    Hi Mimi!
    I’ll be attempting to make these macarons soon! The look so yummy, btw. How many macarons does this recipe make? And also, will it be okay if I don’t add the gel food colouring?
    ~ Thanks a lot

    Reply

  7. Su-Lyn says

    Hi Mimi!

    Thank you so much for helping me so far along in my macaron journey. Your little tips and amazing recipes have helped me perfect my home baked macarons!

    Quick question – for the white chocolate ganache. It hardens up quite a bit in the fridge when I pop the filled macarons in to ‘rest’ overnight. Is there any way we can get around this apart from taking them out of the fridge to ‘defrost’ for a while? Perhaps add a bit more cream to the white chocolate?

    Thanks <3

    Reply

    • Mimi says

      Hi Su-lyn,

      I’m happy to hear you are having such good results with my recipe.

      Macarons should be eaten after they come to room temperature so usually if you take them out of the fridge for 10 minutes, it becomes more tender and soft. Most of the time, I find they are often kept at room temperature for a while before eating so they tend to fall apart if the filling is too soft. If you do want to tweak this recipe a bit, I would recommend adding more cream or butter to reduce the hardness 🙂

      XOXO,
      Mimi

      Reply

  8. Mei Ting says

    Hi Mimi! I’ve tried making green tea macarons using your recipe as well as some others and for some reason my tops always come out wrinkly?? This only happens with the green tea ones. Plain shells with gel food coloring, shells with cocoa powder and food coloring, shells with earl grey tea leaves and food coloring that I’ve made using same ingredient amounts and baking conditions as well as batter making situations (same day, same methods, same tools) all come out fine. I’ve made green tea macarons successfully once years ago but haven’t made it since. Not sure why the last 6 or so times in a row they aren’t working. Any insight? I’ve even tried two different brands of matcha and decreasing the amount of matcha. Aside from the wrinkles, the shells otherwise have ruffled feet and are full/no hollows. >_<

    Reply

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