Beautiful and delicious matcha and strawberry macarons with a trompe l’œil look for a stunning wow effect! This is a fresh, indulgent dessert that I really enjoyed — the strawberry and matcha combination is delicious.
The matcha is in a light mascarpone cream, while the strawberries sit at the heart of the macaron, simply cut into pieces. All of this comes together with the flavor of almond and the softness of the macaron shells.
For this recipe I used the summer matcha, but you can also use organic premium matcha.
This recipe makes 7 matcha strawberry trompe l’œil macarons.
Recipe for matcha strawberry trompe l’œil macarons
Ingredients for 7 matcha strawberry macarons
The light matcha cream
- 115g of organic full-fat heavy cream
- 8g of summer matcha or organic premium matcha
- 30g of organic egg yolks
- 25g of organic granulated sugar
- 2g of organic gelatin (1 sheet)
- 125g of organic mascarpone
The macaron shells
- 85g of organic egg whites
- 48g of organic granulated sugar
- 100g of organic almond flour
- 140g of organic powdered sugar
- Strawberry red food coloring
+ about 300g of fresh strawberries
+ green fondant
+ sesame seeds
Method for the matcha strawberry macarons in trompe l’œil
The macaron shells
- Sift the almond flour with the powdered sugar. Add a touch of red food coloring to one side.
- Whip the egg whites, adding the granulated sugar once they start to foam. You get a beautiful, glossy meringue.
- Fold a small portion of the meringue into a small portion of the almond flour/powdered sugar/food coloring mixture to dilute the powdered coloring. Then add the rest of the meringue and perform the macaronnage (mixing with a spatula). Stop folding as soon as the batter forms a beautiful ribbon that spreads slowly when lifted.
- Using a piping bag fitted with a large plain tip, pipe macarons 5 cm in diameter onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Tap the tray on the work surface to remove any air bubbles and allow the macarons to spread out a little.
- Sprinkle the shells with a few sesame seeds and put the macarons straight into the oven. Bake at 140°C for 10 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 135°C and continue baking for 14 minutes. Leave the oven door slightly ajar at regular intervals to let the steam escape and prevent the shells from cracking.
- The macarons are done when they peel easily off the parchment paper. If not, extend the baking time by a few minutes. As soon as they come out of the oven, remove them immediately from the baking tray.
The light matcha cream
The day before, make the crème anglaise: First, rehydrate the gelatin. Heat the cream with the matcha in a small saucepan, and at the same time whisk the egg yolks with the sugar. When the cream first starts to boil, pour it over the yolk-sugar mixture, stir, and return everything to the saucepan. Cook over low/medium heat at 83°C, stirring constantly.
Off the heat, add the squeezed-out gelatin, transfer the cream to a container, press plastic wrap onto the surface, and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, once the cream is set and well chilled, whip it with the mascarpone using an electric mixer until you get a light, airy cream. Put it in a piping bag fitted with a plain tip and keep it in the fridge for 45 minutes before assembling the macarons.
Assembling the matcha strawberry macarons in trompe l’œil
While the light mascarpone cream rests in the fridge, make the trompe l’œil strawberry tops using green-colored fondant and a flower-shaped cookie cutter. Place them in small half-sphere molds so they curve, and leave to dry. Make the stems as well and glue them on afterwards with a tiny dab of glucose.
Take the piping bag filled with light matcha mascarpone cream out of the fridge and pipe small dollops all around the edge of the macarons. Also add a very thin layer in the center.
Wash the strawberries and cut them into small pieces, then generously arrange them in the center of the macarons (be careful not to add too much matcha cream so you have enough room for plenty of strawberry pieces!).
Close the macarons, then attach the tops with, here again, a tiny dab of glucose (or, if you don’t have any, melted white chocolate).
Leave the matcha strawberry trompe l’oeil macarons in the fridge for 3-4 hours before enjoying them, so that the flavors spread well throughout the whole cake. Enjoy them on the same day (the macarons absorb moisture easily).
Happy baking!
Olivia is passionate, she is 20 years old, and she loves music, drawing, and baking.
