diff --git a/clutter/clutter-cairo-texture.c b/clutter/clutter-cairo-texture.c
index 7931c055a..3ac096a58 100644
--- a/clutter/clutter-cairo-texture.c
+++ b/clutter/clutter-cairo-texture.c
@@ -125,15 +125,6 @@ static guint cairo_signals[LAST_SIGNAL] = { 0, };
 
 #define CLUTTER_CAIRO_TEXTURE_GET_PRIVATE(obj) (G_TYPE_INSTANCE_GET_PRIVATE ((obj), CLUTTER_TYPE_CAIRO_TEXTURE, ClutterCairoTexturePrivate))
 
-/* Cairo stores the data in native byte order as ARGB but Cogl's pixel
-   formats specify the actual byte order. Therefore we need to use a
-   different format depending on the architecture */
-#if G_BYTE_ORDER == G_LITTLE_ENDIAN
-#define CLUTTER_CAIRO_TEXTURE_PIXEL_FORMAT COGL_PIXEL_FORMAT_BGRA_8888_PRE
-#else
-#define CLUTTER_CAIRO_TEXTURE_PIXEL_FORMAT COGL_PIXEL_FORMAT_ARGB_8888_PRE
-#endif
-
 struct _ClutterCairoTexturePrivate
 {
   cairo_surface_t *cr_surface;
@@ -356,7 +347,7 @@ clutter_cairo_texture_create_surface (ClutterCairoTexture *self,
   /* create a backing Cogl texture */
   cogl_texture = cogl_texture_new_from_data (width, height,
                                              COGL_TEXTURE_NONE,
-                                             CLUTTER_CAIRO_TEXTURE_PIXEL_FORMAT,
+                                             CLUTTER_CAIRO_FORMAT_ARGB32,
                                              COGL_PIXEL_FORMAT_ANY,
                                              cairo_stride,
                                              cairo_data);
@@ -560,7 +551,7 @@ clutter_cairo_texture_context_destroy (void *data)
                            ctxt->rect.x, ctxt->rect.y,
                            cairo_width, cairo_height,
                            cairo_width, cairo_height,
-                           CLUTTER_CAIRO_TEXTURE_PIXEL_FORMAT,
+                           CLUTTER_CAIRO_FORMAT_ARGB32,
                            cairo_stride,
                            cairo_data);
 
diff --git a/clutter/clutter-cairo-texture.h b/clutter/clutter-cairo-texture.h
index 5dca82e2d..3de9cc684 100644
--- a/clutter/clutter-cairo-texture.h
+++ b/clutter/clutter-cairo-texture.h
@@ -44,6 +44,26 @@ G_BEGIN_DECLS
 #define CLUTTER_IS_CAIRO_TEXTURE_CLASS(klass)   (G_TYPE_CHECK_CLASS_TYPE ((klass), CLUTTER_TYPE_CAIRO_TEXTURE))
 #define CLUTTER_CAIRO_TEXTURE_GET_CLASS(obj)    (G_TYPE_INSTANCE_GET_CLASS ((obj), CLUTTER_TYPE_CAIRO_TEXTURE, ClutterCairoTextureClass))
 
+/**
+ * CLUTTER_CAIRO_FORMAT_ARGB32:
+ *
+ * The #CoglPixelFormat to be used when uploading image data from
+ * and to a Cairo image surface using %CAIRO_FORMAT_ARGB32 and
+ * %CAIRO_FORMAT_RGB24 as #cairo_format_t.
+ *
+ * Since: 1.8
+ */
+
+/* Cairo stores the data in native byte order as ARGB but Cogl's pixel
+ * formats specify the actual byte order. Therefore we need to use a
+ * different format depending on the architecture
+ */
+#if G_BYTE_ORDER == G_LITTLE_ENDIAN
+#define CLUTTER_CAIRO_FORMAT_ARGB32     (COGL_PIXEL_FORMAT_BGRA_8888_PRE)
+#else
+#define CLUTTER_CAIRO_FORMAT_ARGB32     (COGL_PIXEL_FORMAT_ARGB_8888_PRE)
+#endif
+
 typedef struct _ClutterCairoTexture             ClutterCairoTexture;
 typedef struct _ClutterCairoTextureClass        ClutterCairoTextureClass;
 typedef struct _ClutterCairoTexturePrivate      ClutterCairoTexturePrivate;