Friday, 27 August 2010

• Matcha Macarons

  This is a guest post from Kirbie's Cravings.
  
  

  Ever since making my successful chocolate macarons batch, I've been making macarons like crazy. Unfortunately, I had several failed attempts following my early success. One of the biggest problems I was having was that after my macarons left the oven, the shells seemed to be too thin, causing an opaque top layer. They were fine when they exited the oven, but after they cooled, part of the bottom separated from the top skin layer. 

  

  So last week, I did some more research and went back to the basics. And while these macarons didn't come out as great at the chocolate macarons, they are a big improvement over my last few attempts.

  As I've been baking with matcha green tea, I've noticed that a lot of other food bloggers have matcha desserts with a much deeper green color. So I've been asking around to see what kind of powder everyone is using. Roxan from Kitchen Mediation, was kind enough to remember to look up what brand she uses. She uses a Maeda-En matcha green tea powder, which I was able to find at my Nijiya supermarket. The matcha powder comes in a little can and is a bit pricey, but right away I noticed the difference.

  The powder is a much darker, vibrant green. The taste is also much stronger in my baked goods. One of the problems I've been having with my previous matcha powders is that once they bake, they turn a yellowish green or start to brown.  With this powder, while the green got lighter after it baked, my macarons stayed green.

  

  There were quite a few different fillings I thought of trying, but in the end I simply didn't have time to make them. So I filled them with ready made red bean paste (azuki), something you can buy in your local asian grocery store. Red bean paste is often matched with matcha (especially in mochi), so the combination makes sense.

  

  Matcha macarons with red bean paste filling (adapted from Annie's Eats)

  Ingredients:
  For the macarons:
  110 gm blanched almond flour (I used JK Gourmet Almond Flour) 
  200 gm minus 1 1/2 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
  2 tbsp. cocoa powder (Dutch-process preferred)
  100 gm egg whites (from about 3 eggs), aged at room temperature for 24-48 hours 
  50 gm granulated sugar

  Directions

  1. Add the confectioners' sugar, almond flour and cocoa powder to the bowl and process until blended.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites on medium-high speed until foamy.  Gradually add the granulated sugar and continue beating until a smooth, shiny meringue with stiff peaks forms.  Add the ground almond mixture to the bowl with the meringue and quickly but gently fold together using a wide rubber spatula until no streaks remain.  You want to achieve a thick batter that ribbons or flows from the spatula when lifted.  
  
  2. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.  Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a plain wide round tip.  Pipe into small rounds on the prepared baking sheets (each round should be about 1-1½ inches in diameter), spaced about 2 inches apart.  Let sit at room temperature for about an hour to develop a hard shell.  
  
  3. Preheat the oven to 300˚F.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, depending on size.  Transfer the pans to a wire cooling rack and let cool completely before moving the cookies.  
  

  4. Once the cookies are totally cooled, match them up by size.  Pipe with red bean paste.  Sandwich together with the remaining cookie, pushing the filling to the edges.  Store in an airtight container. Macarons can be stored in the freezer.

  

   Do you like macarons? Have you ever added matcha or green tea to a recipe?

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