Flavor Profile: Matcha Macarons

If you’ve been on the internet for even a minute this past year, you’ve probably noticed people talking about “matcha” and it’s amazing health benefits, life-changing powers…heck, there’s probably even been something on how Matcha might be critical to the atomic structure of the universe (if this has actually been hypothesized…God help us all). People have been creating recipes to ride the craze as well…some that are borderline concerning for all of mankind (I’ve seen matcha burgers…MATCHA. BURGERS!!!! I guess I can’t knock it until I try it, though…).

For those of you still uninitiated into matcha-lovers anonymous (which I’m definitely not going to the meetings for every Saturday at 2:30 pm…), matcha is a Japanese green tea in powdered form, steeped (like the pun?) in history–it was the chosen drink of Samurai warriors and Buddhist monks! There are “grades” to matcha as well, from “cooking grade” to “ceremonial grade,” and each grade can have a massive difference in taste, texture, and color.

The general flavor of matcha is grassy, earthy, and sometimes slightly bitter; this makes it a great macaron ingredient (surprisingly!). This is because macarons must naturally use a lot of sugar (the base of the shell is a meringue…which is really just sugar and egg whites). So, at Poeme, I like to cut this sweetness with intense, pronounced flavors; matcha is perfect for this! The grassiness is mellowed out, providing a more complex, balanced sweetness than a sweeter flavoring would in the macaron.

I start with flavoring the actual shell with matcha (at Poeme, I rarely use food coloring…these shells are legitimately green from real ingredients, matcha in this case!). It provides a beautiful light green color, an earthy aroma, and a subtle matcha taste to the shell. Macaron shells don’t get flavored too often at many bakeries, but I find that it makes a revolutionary difference in the final taste, smell, and even appearance of the product.

Like many of the macaron flavors at Poeme, I use two fillings inside the pastry: a more intense inner filling, and a lighter outer filling. This provides added flavor as well as textural variety; if you make macarons, I’d highly recommend experimenting with multiple fillings (if you haven’t already!).

In the matcha macaron at Poeme, I use a creamy matcha custard in the center; it’s milky, silky, and matcha-y (I know this isn’t a real word, but I just felt like I should keep the whole rhyme scheme thing going here…). It subdues some of the more pungent, bitter notes that matcha can have while still retaining the essence of the flavor. If you’ve ever had a matcha latte, you’ll probably love this filling (you’re also probably a hipster, sorry to tell you…).

The outer filling is a velvety matcha buttercream; at Poeme, I use a variety of buttercream styles for my outer fillings. The style I use for this macaron is particularly creamy, which adds to the whole “drinking a matcha-latte” effect. Even people who’ve never liked matcha enjoy this macaron; the intense creaminess seems to relax the more jarring notes this tea can have.

Biting into this macaron is like eating a spoonful of matcha-filled happiness. Plus, since matcha is supposed to be good for you…then technically you can just say you’re eating these macarons for your health (just leave out the whole “contains enough butter and sugar to feed a small family”…the matcha definitely cancels that out!).

If you’re done salivating now and just want to eat some of these bad boys (I don’t blame you!), order some today by filling out this form (gotta do that promo, you guys!).

And if you want to check out more macaron flavor profiles, look here!

I also have a matcha recipe to match these matcha macarons (I feel like I’m saying the letters “match” more than I ever have in my entire life…): it’s a chocolate-matcha layer cake, inspired by the Croatian dessert, “madjarica.” Check out the recipe here!

Have a sweet day everyone!