Matcha macarons with chestnut buttercream
I thought, maybe I could do a chestnut macaron! Concurrently, there were also egg whites in the fridge, so I aged them for a couple more days, and I decided to make matcha shells, and a chestnut buttercream to pair with it for a Japanese themed macaron.
I used an Italian buttercream recipe, and added vanilla, dark rum (mmmmm), and the defrosted chestnut puree (I zapped it in the microwave for coupla seconds). I think I made the buttercream a little too moist (perhaps too much rum? heh...) and the matcha shells turned soggy quite fast. I'll probably have to adjust the proportions of chestnut puree + dark rum used in the recipe the next time I make it (of course I'll make it again, it was good!).
And it's the first time my attempt at matcha macaron shells turned out so good. I always had a problem with the feet being super uber flat - see here and here. Super pleased with the results. See? I zoomed in up close and personal with them just to show them off:
No flat feet for the matcha shells. For once! ^^
Close up of the macaron innards.
Oh, and besides the chestnut buttercream, I also added chopped chestnuts (the same Korean packaged ones I used before for the the mont blanc). So, all I did was, lay out the macaron shells, pipe a generous dollop of chestnut buttercream on half of them, add a piece of chopped chestnut on the buttercream, and press down the other half of the macaron shells.
Flavour combo was damn addictive. Though the buttercream made the shells soggy real quick, I like how the flavour combination together worked. Matcha and chestnut can never go wrong, it's like a fail-proof Japanese combination that is bound to work. The boozy buttercream was *ahem* yums, and the chestnut in the middle provided a little of texture to the overall bite. Now that's another flavour off my to-do list. More to come! (:
