“I love matcha in all its forms. I also love tiramisu.”
It only makes sense, then, that Lee Ho Fook chef Victor Liong found a way to combine the two. He shared the recipe with Broadsheet as a sweet end to a retro, Chinese Christmas. But it’s so good, you can (and should) have it all-year round.
“It’s the perfect dessert for a large party and with the combination of coffee and green tea, it’s a nice cleansing finish to a heavy Christmas feast,” he adds.
Best of all, you can make this up to five days ahead and tick dessert off your social gathering to-do list in advance.
Matcha tea-ramisu
Serves 6 to 8
Preparation time: 2 hours
Chilling time: 2.5 hours
Ingredients:
Cocoa glaze
8g gelatin leaves
120ml water
100ml cream
150g sugar
50g cocoa powder
Matcha and Chartreuse mousse
5g gelatin leaves
50ml Chartreuse liquor
500ml cream
75g sugar
75g egg yolks
30g matcha powder (Liong uses Tea Craft)
20ml water
500g mascarpone
Base and garnishes
Pot of strong coffee, unsweetened (Liong prefers the brand Trung Nguyen: “I love the aroma and it’s pretty easy to come by.” If you can’t find Vietnamese coffee, a classic espresso works just as well.)
1 packet sponge fingers (savoiardi biscuits)
Extra matcha powder, for dusting
1 punnet strawberries, sliced and mixed with a dash of Grand Marnier (optional)
Method
Cocoa glaze
Soak gelatin leaves in cold water until softened.
Bring the remaining ingredients to a boil in a saucepan, whisking to ensure there are no lumps. Once boiled and smooth, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Add softened gelatin leaves and stir to dissolve.
(Note: This can be made in advance and stored in the fridge. To reuse, melt in the microwave in short, low-temperature bursts. The mixture should be liquid at 40°C; use when it’s at 30–35°C for best effect. This is also an amazing chocolate glaze for cakes and parfaits.)
Matcha and chartreuse mousse
Soak gelatin leaves in cold water until softened. Warm up Chartreuse and melt the leaves of gelatin in the liqueur (don’t boil or it’ll ignite). Once mixed together, set aside.
Whip cream until thick and soft peaks form, then set aside at room temperature (cold cream will set the gelatin too fast and won’t work with the rest of the recipe).
Whisk sugar, egg, matcha and water until the mixture has doubled and is pale and thick. It’s ready when the mousse falls in thick ribbons from the whisk (this is called a sabayon). Add the mascarpone to the sabayon and beat until smooth and well combined.
Stir in the Chartreuse mixture. Fold in the whipped cream until evenly mixed through. Transfer mixture into a piping bag and store in the refrigerator.
To assemble
Pour coffee into a large flat dish. Place sponge fingers into the coffee to soak.
In a large dish, arrange a layer of soaked sponge on the base, then pipe a generous layer of mousse to cover the sponge layer. Repeat the process so there are two alternating layers of sponge and mousse, finishing with mousse as the top layer. Smooth the top layer off with a palette knife and refrigerate for 2 hours until mousse is set.
Warm up cocoa glaze and pour over the chilled dessert in a uniform thin layer, then return to the fridge and allow to set.
To serve, remove from the refrigerator and dust generously with matcha. Serve with strawberries if so inclined.
Looking for more cooking inspiration? See Broadsheet’s recipe hub. And for more Japanese-inspired dishes, visit Broadsheet's Japanese recipe hub.
