Matcha Latte & Raspberry Macaron Cake

It’s my sister’s 50th birthday and because she has been enjoying the macarons I’ve been making recently, I thought it would be the perfect occasion to create a Matcha Latte & Raspberry Macaron Cake for her celebration.

She loves matcha latte and berries, so combining those flavours into one elegant dessert felt like an obvious choice. The earthy notes of matcha pair beautifully with the brightness of raspberry, creating a balance of flavours that feels both sophisticated and refreshing.

I particularly love baking birthday cakes for my family. For me, it’s never just about the cake itself. It’s about the whole process, thinking about the design, choosing flavours the birthday person loves and putting time and care into every step. Every birthday cake I make is different, but they all share one thing in common: they are made with love. That’s something no shop-bought cake can truly replace.

Designing the Matcha Latte & Raspberry Macaron Cake

Macarons are incredibly versatile when it comes to flavours, colours and shapes, which makes them perfect for creative cake concepts.

For this Matcha Latte & Raspberry Macaron Cake, I decided to keep the cake shells plain so that the matcha and raspberry fillings would stand out. A neutral shell also provides a beautiful background for decorations on top.

I had never made number-shaped macarons before so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to try piping the number 50 for the birthday celebration. I also piped a few macarons in different sizes and colours, soft green for matcha and pink for raspberry to decorate the top of the cake.

Once the idea formed, I couldn’t wait to start baking.

For my first test batch, I baked white shells with matcha powder lightly dusted on top. They looked lovely but I eventually decided to keep the shells plain to allow more flexibility when decorating later. Both approaches work well, it really comes down to personal preference.

If you do want match shells, simply sprinkle matcha powder through a sieve over the piped batter before baking.

My go-to macaron shell recipe (Swiss method)

This recipe makes two macaron cake shells plus additional macarons for decoration.

I always use the Swiss meringue method for my macarons and simply adjust flavours or colours depending on the recipe.

Ingredients

• 120g egg whites (fresh or bottled)
• 110g caster sugar
• 140g almond flour
• 130g icing sugar
• Matcha powder (optional)
• Violet, green and pink food colouring

Making the Swiss meringue

Place the egg whites and caster sugar into the metal bowl of a stand mixer. Set the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water.

Using the whisk attachment, stir continuously to prevent the egg whites from cooking. After about one minute, the mixture should reach roughly 45°C and the sugar should be completely dissolved.

You can test this by rubbing a little mixture between your fingers. It should feel smooth rather than grainy.

Remove the bowl from the heat immediately and place it on the stand mixer.

Whip the meringue as follows:

• Mix at speed 2 for about 2 minutes to remove large bubbles
• Increase to speed 5 or 6 and whip until stiff peaks form

Avoid whipping at very high speed. Medium-high speed produces a stronger and more stable meringue.

Fresh egg whites usually take 12-15 minutes to reach stiff peaks. Bottled egg whites can take up to 20 minutes. Making macarons has definitely trained my patience.

Signs of a properly whipped meringue

A strong meringue is essential for achieving macaron shells with defined feet and good structure.

Here is what I look for:

• The meringue gathers inside the whisk and forms a firm peak
• Inside the bowl it forms a solid mass rather than sliding around
• When you swirl the whisk through it, you should feel clear resistance

Once you reach this stage, you have already won half of the battle.

Preparing the dry ingredients

While the meringue is whipping, briefly blitz the almond flour in a food processor (around 10 pulses). I no longer sieve almond flour after blending as it is unnecessary if pulsed properly.

However, I always sieve the icing sugar directly into the almond flour. Icing sugar often contains lumps and sieving ensures:

• Even distribution
• Smoother shells
• Better coating of the almond particles

You can certainly blitz the almond flour and icing sugar together too. Whisk the almond flour and icing sugar together thoroughly.

Macaronage (mixing the batter)

Because I plan to divide the batter and add colour later, I slightly reduce the initial macaronage time to avoid overmixing. Add all ingredients into the bowl of stiff meringue and use the paddle attachment:

• Mix on speed 1 for 10 seconds
• Stop and scrape the bowl
• Mix again for another 10 seconds

After this stage, transfer just over half of the batter to a separate bowl to make the macaron cake shells first.

Add the tip of a toothpick of violet food colouring and gently fold with a spatula. This helps offset the natural beige tone of almond flour and keeps the shells bright.

Continue folding only until the batter flows slowly like lava.

Over-mixing can cause problems such as flat shells, weak feet, spreading during baking. If anything, I prefer to slightly under-macaronage rather than overmix.

Transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 12 nozzle.

Piping and baking the macaron cake shells

Pipe two rings about 5 inches wide onto a macaron mat. After tapping the tray, the batter spreads to roughly 6 inches, forming perfect cake layers.

Use a toothpick to pop any visible air bubbles.

Bake in a preheated oven at 140°C. I keep the oven door slightly open for the first few minutes to help dry the shell surface before closing the door to bake fully.

For these larger shells:

• Drying time: 3 minutes
• Total baking time: 24 minutes

After the first 10 minutes, I slide an empty tray onto the rack above the macarons to shield them and prevent browning.

Making additional macarons for decoration

The remaining batter can be used to pipe decorative macarons.

I piped:

• number 5 and 0 macarons
• small white round macarons
• coloured macarons in green and pink

Bake decorative macarons the same way but reduce baking time to about 20 minutes.

Always bake one tray at a time and allow shells to cool completely before removing them from the mat.

Fillings for the Matcha Latte & Raspberry Macaron Cake

My Matcha Latte & Raspberry Macaron Cake uses three complementary fillings:

• Matcha latte ganache
• Raspberry Swiss meringue buttercream (optional)
• Homemade raspberry jam

Matcha latte ganache

Ingredients

• 200ml double cream
• 200g white chocolate, chopped
• 10g matcha powder
• 30g butter (optional for shine)

Method

Heat the double cream and sieved matcha powder in a saucepan. As soon as it begins to simmer, remove from the heat.

Pour the mixture through a sieve over the chopped white chocolate and butter. Allow it to sit for a minute then stir until smooth.

Chill slightly in the fridge before whipping briefly until the ganache becomes pipeable and fluffy.

Homemade raspberry jam

Add the following to a saucepan:

• 200g raspberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar
• a squeeze of lemon juice

Simmer gently for about 15 minutes. To thicken, add a small pinch of aga aga powder or use a cornflour slurry if preferred. For a seedless, smoother jam, run the mixture through a sieve. Allow the jam to cool completely.

Raspberry Swiss meringue buttercream (optional)

You can fill the cake and the small macarons with just matcha ganache and raspberry jam, but I like adding another layer of flavour.

Simply mix a small amount of homemade raspberry jam and freeze-dried raspberry powder into Swiss meringue buttercream to create a naturally flavoured raspberry buttercream.

Assembling the Matcha Latte & Raspberry Macaron Cake

Pipe matcha ganache onto one macaron cake shell and alternate with fresh raspberries. For a cleaner look, I like to fill each raspberry with jam, which prevents the jam from squeezing out and soaking into the shells.

Place the second macaron shell on top. Fill the decorative macarons as follows:

• green and white macarons: matcha ganache and raspberry jam
• pink macarons: raspberry buttercream and jam

Use leftover ganache to attach the number macarons and decorative shells to the top of the cake.

The final result

And here it is – my Matcha Latte & Raspberry Macaron Cake for my sister’s 50th birthday.

I’m happy to report that she absolutely loved it. Our family demolished the entire cake within minutes. The matcha latte flavour came through beautifully, while the raspberry jam added brightness and acidity. Together they created a perfectly balanced dessert.

Happy birthday to my beloved sister.