Friday, June 17, 2011

Fusion green tea panna cotta

After a successful recent foray into the world of panna cotta, I thought I'd try another version using Japanese green tea (matcha) powder. Now, matcha is made by grinding up green tea to a fine powder. It is used mainly in tea ceremonies, so given that I don't have any tea ceremonies planned in the foreseeable future, using it in this fusion green tea panna cotta is the next best thing.

Don't you love Asian desserts?  I adore the ones that have adapted the finer aspects of Western confections (ie. the whipped cream-laden parts) with traditional Japanese ingredients like adzuki (red beans) and matcha. I remember the first time I saw a green tea dessert - "Wow, look at the wasabi ice cream". Duh!

My copy of the yoshoku cookbook came in handy for this dessert, as it's full of contemporary Japan-inspired dishes. So another panna cotta success - we're on a roll and not ready to apply the brakes just yet!

Green tea Panna cotta
serves 6

Ingredients
1 1/2 tsp Japanese green tea powder
600ml (21 fl oz) cream
1/2 cup caster (superfine) sugar
3 tsp gelatine powder
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method
1. Put the green tea powder in a saucepan with a little of the cream and mix to form a paste. Whisk in the remaining cream, ensuring there are no lumps. Add the sugar to the saucepan, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then slowly bring to the boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat.
2. Put the gelatine in a small bowl and whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot cream to form a smooth paste. Return the mixture to the saucepan, stirring until the gelatine has completely dissolved. Rest for 10 minutes to infuse.
3. Strain mixture into a large bowl and then pour in the milk and vanilla and stir to combine.
4. Pour into six 1/2 cup teacups or moulds and chill for at least 3 hours, or until set.

recipe adapted from yoshoku by Jane Lawson
Ingredients.
I used half full-fat cream and half 'lite' cream.

Mix the matcha powder with some cream to form a paste before whisking in the rest of the cream over heat.

You have to strain the gelatined mixture to get rid of undissolved bits before pouring into moulds (or teacups here)

Some grated white chocolate is sprinkled on top, or you could add stewed fruit

The intense green colour fades slightly as the panna cotta sets in the fridge.

The texture is smooth and creamy.
The panna cotta can also be unmoulded after dipping the cups in hot water for a few seconds.

29 comments:

  1. so many things i love about this post. first, your presentation! it's fabulous. second, i also forayed into the world of panna cotta this weekend (will write about it soon). lets compare notes :)

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  2. the color is so beautiful. And I love any desserts with matcha!

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  3. not gonna lie, I'm a huge fan of any fusion dessert that involves asian flavors. ANY. Green tea is an especial love.

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  4. Love all things Matcha and Panna Cotta. I can't wait for your next P/C invention :)

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  5. YUM! Love green tea anything :) It looks so creamy and very pretty in the tea cups

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  6. im crazy about asian desserts and anyting with green tea! your presentation is awesome and im def gonna have a green tea dessert of some sort tonight or this wkend!

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  7. Gorgeous stuff Bel, I hope you were wearing a kimono and loads of makeup when you were making these little beauties

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  8. mmh... giving dessert an azn twist! Kudos.

    love the cups btw!!!

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  9. Bel, I am a big fan of green tea. I know I will love this dessert. Your shots are gorgeous as always.

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  10. I love matcha... I think I might just start using it in my cheesecake... the japanese one of course :)

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  11. These look so fresh and delicate. Your presentation is always amazing!

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  12. I just LOVEEE anything to do with green tea..in fact I still have half a packet green tea powder left at home, maybe I'll try this recipe out! :)

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  13. I adore the delicate shade of green from the matcha. This looks so lovely!

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  14. Wow, I love panacotta, and yours look fabulous...love the green tea in it...so beautifully presented.
    Have a wonderful week ahead Bel :-)

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  15. I LOVE green tea, and it's amazing how a simple tasting tea could make everything tastes so good! The colors are just right too...and like your blog title, ooooooh, just look at those little tea cups...makes your panna cotta right in place!:)

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  16. Adding matcha to panacotta...that's brilliant! Love your teacups ;-))

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  17. A very nice idea and i think it is noi hard to do it, so i will give it a try. Thanks for sharing.

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  18. This looks beautiful and elegant very well done. Think I'll give it a try.

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  19. Nice one Bel. Loving the photography layouts with the ingredients. JL

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  20. sprinkle crushed oreo on top and it'll taste heavenly!

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  21. Wow~~ this recipe sounds so good^ ^ also looks amazing*o* I really wanna try this out but I'm not sure where you buy green tea powder???

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  22. hi Miichelle - thanks! Green tea aka matcha powder is available in Asian or Japanese grocery stores.

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  23. Gorgeous recipe, my girlfriend made these last night for a Japanese themed dinner party and they turned out beautiful.

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  24. when do u add the 1/2 cup of milk ?
    thx

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  25. hi Anonymous - milk is added in step 3. Had a typo in it that is fixed now. Thanks!

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  26. Thanks for this recipe! So easy to make it, and went down a treat!

    http://aroundleglobe.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/simplicity.html

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  27. Hi what would be used to strain the mixture before pouring it into the cups?

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  28. Use a fine sieve. You just want to remove any lumpy bits from the mixture.

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