Jasmine Green Tea Macarons

makes about 80 pieces (based on 25mm size)

Ingredients:

110g almond meal

140g icing sugar (powdered sugar)

90g Jasmine green tea (I used Twinings)

10g egg white powder

2 drops of lemon juice

100g caster sugar (a sugar that’s somewhere between granulated and powdered sugar)

Jasmine Green Tea Buttercream

180g caster sugar
150g butter – diced
2 egg whites
a pinch of salt
optional: green food coloring
1 jasmine green in the teabag  – crushed extra to sprinkle on piped macronage

Instructions:

Making Shells

  1. Bring 150 ml water with 2 teabags for 4 minutes.
  2. Leave it to steep and cool.
  3. Just use 90g of the steeped tea.
  4. Quick pulse almond meal with icing sugar using food processor.
  5. Set aside.
  6. Add egg white powder into a mixing bowl.
  7. Whisk by hand, getting rid of any lumps.
  8. Add lemon juice.
  9. Whisk on low speed to soft peak.
  10. Add caster sugar and whisk until sugar dissolved to  form firm meringue.
  11. Add in almond mix in 2 or 3 lots.
  12. Mix in to make macronage by sweeping from ‘centre to side of bowl’ motion. Not too confident… start counting stroke (not to exceed 50 strokes altogether ;p).
  13. Piped onto greaseproof paper.
  14. Bang the tray against the kitchen bench… hard!!!.
  15. Leave the piped macronage to dry to touch about 30 minutes before baking.
  16. Pre-heat oven to 160C.
  17. Place the tray into the oven and lower oven temperature to 140C.
  18. Bake for 15 minutes.
  19. Note: rotate tray 180C after 10 minutes into baking.
  20. Check: Macaron is ready when the bottom doesn’t stick to greaseproof paper when lift up with thin knife.
  21. Leave to cool before piping in buttercream.

Making Buttercream

  1. Mix egg white, sugar and salt in heatproof bowl.
  2. Using double bath method, whisk until temperature reached 65C.
  3. Transfer to kitchen mixer and whisk on high speed until stiff peak glossy.
  4. Add crushed jasmine green tea.
  5. Optional: add green food coloring.
  6. Add butter chunk one at a time and beat until smooth.
  7. Place smooth buttercream in piping bag.
  8. Piped onto 1 shell and sandwich with the other.
  9. Refrigerate overnight for the flavors to mature