Matcha French Macaron with Red Bean Buttercream Filling

The procedure to make the shells was the same as the Chocolate French Macaron, except using green tea power instead of cocoa. Red bean seems to be a natural partner with green tea.

Ingredients:

Powdered sugar - 130 g
Almond flour - 120 g
Matcha (green tea) powder - 26 g
Egg white - 3 eggs, about 105 g, at room temperature
Superfine sugar - 92-100 g (used spice grinder to grind the granulated sugar)
Red bean buttercream (mix Swiss Meringue Butterceam with Red Bean Pastry Filling) - 1 cup

Steps:

1. Sift the powdered sugar, Matcha powder and almond flour through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing with a rubber spatula to pass through as much as possible. It will take a while, and up to 2 tablespoons of coarse almond flour may be left; just toss it.

2. Beat the egg whites with a stand mixer on medium speed until frothy. Increase the speed to medium high; gradually add the superfine sugar and beat until it holds a firm peak, about 5 more minutes.

3. Transfer the beaten egg whites to the bowl with the almond flour mixture. Draw a rubber spatula halfway through the mixture and fold until incorporated, giving the bowl a quarter turn with each fold. Continue folding and turning, scraping down the bowl, until the batter is smooth and falls off the spatula in a flat ribbon, 2 to 3 minutes. It takes about 35-40 folds.

4. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip. Holding the bag vertically and close to the silicon baking mat or baking sheet lined with Parchment paper, pipe 1 1/4-inch circles.

5. It is important to firmly tap the baking sheets twice against the counter to release any air bubbles.
6. Let the cookies sit at room temperature until the tops are no longer sticky to the touch, 15 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the humidity.

7. Preheat convention oven 310°F.
8. Bake for 5 minutes.
9. Reduce oven to 275°F, and bake 8 minutes.
10. Cover the cookies with a big sheet of aluminum foil and bake for the last 5-8 minutes.

11. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

12. Peel the cookies off the sheets and let it cool completely.  Sandwich the cookies with filling.

13. When cookies are cool, put in a sealed container in refrigerator. The cookies taste better after 1-2 days.