Thursday, November 29, 2007

Matcha (Green Tea) Macarons and a Christmas Musical


I have come to realise that macarons, well, they GROW on you. I now understand why so many people are 'infatuated' with this cookie - the many colors that they come in and the many flavours that it can carry . I could not be happier with my second attempt at making this cookie - they were smaller and daintier, and the flavor of 'matcha' or green tea goes incredibly well with dark chocolate eventhough it wasn't the filling that I had originally intended for it.




I had initially planned to use a matcha butter cream for the filling, but for some reason that didn’t turn out – it was too runny, and I was tired and didn’t want to start another batch of butter cream. So, I just made some chocolate ganache – easy, quick and fuss-free. As expected, the flavour combination of matcha and dark chocolate was sensational.




The first time I made macarons, I left the piped batter to sit for half an hour for the ‘skin’ to develop. I felt though, that the ‘skin’ was too thin, so this time around, I left the piped batter to sit for two hours instead and the outcome was a crisper and less fragile skin. To make the matcha macarons, all I did was add 2 teaspoons of matcha green tea powder to the basic macaron batter.



I also wanted the macarons a little less sweet, so I lessened the powdered sugar by 35 grams and it turned out great.



Matcha Macaron Batter

125g almond flour
190g powdered (icing) sugar
100g egg whites
25g granulated sugar
Pinch of cream of tartar
2tsps matcha green tea powder




Baking instructions and the recipe for the chocolate ganache can be found on my previous post.






I’ve not had time to do any blogging the last two weeks because of the many rehearsals we had to attend for a Christmas musical that our Church is staging this Saturday. It’s a really entertaining and enjoyable musical, so if you live on my side of the world, I welcome you to attend. You will not be disappointed!



EVENT: "Heaven's Lamb" Christmas Musical (SUPPER Provided after)
DATE: Saturday 1st December 2007
TIME: 6:00 P.M.
PLACE: Perth Christian Life Centre
3 Rangerview Place, Canning Vale 6155
ADMISSION: FREE