These Thai milk tea macarons are an adaptation of one of Asia’s most popular beverages! It’s hard to describe the flavour but it’s the most luscious blend of creamy vanilla with an earthy undertone.
Thailand: The Inspiration
When I visited Thailand last summer, I developed a terrible addiction to Thai Milk Tea. It was unlike anything I’ve ever tasted before so I got HOOKED from the first cool sip of that creamy milky goodness. At first, the rusty-orange colour was a little off-putting, but then I found out that it’s because of the type of tea that it is made from.
Where to Buy Thai Milk Tea Leaves
First order of business when I got back from my trip was to hunt down all of the exotic ingredients that I would need to make my favourite foods from my SE Asia trip. Surprisingly, the ingredients were easier to track down than I initially thought. One of the local grocery store chains started carrying things like galangal (Thai ginger), lemon grass, Ma Kua Puang (pea eggplant) – all of the things that I need to make some killer curry!
Thai milk tea leaves are especially easy to find. Go with the top brand in Thailand and you’ll be set. It’s the ChaTruMue brand, iconic white bag with it’s red logo, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about when you see it. This is the tried and trusted brand that is used all throughout Thailand.
If you need it asap, Vancouver is an easy city to find Asian ingredients. Just go to T&T or any Asian grocer on Kingsway/Victoria like 33 Supermarket.
Macaron Methods: French vs Italian vs Swiss
These 3 methods differ in how the meringue is made. French and Italian are most common. Swiss is my new favourite for the stability in the meringue but it’s definitely less common.
French – This is the method that I used here. Meringue is made from whipping egg whites with granulated sugar.
Italian – Meringue is made from egg whites whipped with a hot sugar syrup.
Swiss – Meringue is made by heating up egg whites with sugar together before whipping.
How to Make Thai Tea Ganache
The easiest way to add flavour into Thai milk tea macarons, or any kind of macaron, is to infuse it via the ganache filling.
- Heat the heavy cream until almost simmering, then take off heat and add the thai tea leaves to infuse for 30 minutes.
- Once the cream had absorbed as much as the flavour as possible, pour it through a fine cloth or mesh strainer. You should have a deep orange coloured cream.
- By this point the cream has cooled down too much, so reheat it again gently then pour it over the white chocolate. Let it sit without touching for a minute then stir until the chocolate is melted through. Cover with saran wrap and refrigerate until firm.
I chose white chocolate so that the sweetness of the chocolate could complement the colour and bring out the earthiness in the tea. Also, I wanted to mimic the authentic flavour of Thai milk tea, specifically the condensed milk that gets swirled in so I used white chocolate for the ganache to get that flavour.
More Macaron Recipes:
- Nutella Macarons
- Pumpkin Ganache Macarons
- Matcha Mango Macarons
- Valentine’s Day Conversation Heart Macarons
- Early Grey and Gold Monogrammed Macarons
Thai Milk Tea Macarons
Ingredients
Macarons
- 130 g almond flour
- 130 g icing sugar
- 90 g berry sugar
- 100 g aged egg whites
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar
- “Copper” Wilton gel food colour
Thai milk tea ganache
- 3 cups white chocolate chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp Thai tea leaves
Instructions
Macarons
- Place egg whites into bowl, cover with saran wrap, poke holes in wrap and let “age” in fridge overnight
- Sift together almond flour and icing sugar, set aside
- Beat egg whites on low until it starts to froth
- Add cream of tartar, increase to medium speed
- When the egg whites start to aerate and the beater starts to leave “trails”, slowly add in the berry sugar
- Whip on med-high until soft peaks form
- Add a dab of food colour and beat on med-high until stiff peaks form. DO NOT OVERWHIP
- Gently fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into almond flour mixture until incorporated
- Gradually add in the rest of the egg whites and gently fold until the mixture flows like thick lava
- Pipe macaron mixture onto lined baking sheet in 1 inch circles
- Rest on counter until the surface of the batter is no longer wet
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
- Bake for 10-12 mins until feet have risen and centres are baked through
- Cool completely before peeling off baking sheet
Thai Milk Tea Ganache
- Heat cream in microwave until simmering
- Add Thai tea leaves and let steep
- Strain to discard leaves, reheat cream until simmering
- Pour cream over white chocolate, let sit for a minute then stir until chocolate is completely melted
- Cool on countertop then place in fridge until firm
- Remove from fridge and beat gently with a fork/beater until lightened and creamy, DO NOT OVERWHIP
Assembly
- Pair macaron shells that are the same size
- Pipe whipped ganache onto one shell
- Sandwich the other shell on top and squeeze together
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a comment below and tag @chocolateandconnie on Instagram.
Macarons inspired by one of Thailand’s most delicious and iconic beverages: Thai milk tea