Friday, June 11, 2010

Cool, Rich & Creamy Green Tea Creams

Loving all tea and any panna cotta-like desserts, I knew as soon as I saw these lovely Green Tea Creams in Delicious Magazine, that I would have to make them. They were from a feature on cooking with teas and looked amazing. The pictures don't really do them justice--I took a few quick shots and carefully put them in a container to transport to a friend's house for dinner. They turned out creamy and delicious--sweet but not too sweet.


The magazine says, "These little creams are easy to make...and very scrumptious. I've used matcha green tea powder, which is finely ground and has the most gorgeous emerald-green color.


Green Tea Creams
Belinda Jeffery, Delicious Magazine, Volume 7 / Issue 4
(Serves 6)

600 ml (about 20 ounces) pure (thin) cream
2 tsp matcha (green tea powder)
180 g (6.35 ounces) caster sugar
pared zest of 1 lime
5 gold-strength gelatine leaves
1/2 cup (125 ml) milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
thick cream and shaved dark chocolate to serve

Place 2 Tbsp pure cream in a small bowl and whisk in the green powder until smooth. Pour into a large saucepan, then whisk in the sugar, lime zest and remaining cream until well combined. Gently warm over low heat, stirring for 3-5 minutes until the sugar has dissolved. Gently heat the cream for a further 2-3 minutes, without stirring, until it is just below boiling point.

Meanwhile, soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for 5 minutes to soften. Squeeze to remove excess water, then add the leaves to the hot cream mixture and stir for a further minute until gelatine has dissolved.

Remove from the heat and gently whisk in the milk and vanilla. Strain through a fine sieve into a jug, then divide among 6 small glasses or ceramic dishes (delicate Asian tea cups look lovely).

Transfer to the fridge and leave the creams to set for at least 3 hours. To serve, dollop each cup with thick cream and garnish with shaved chocolate.


Notes/Results: Creamy and very tasty, these were a perfect dessert. I wasn't exactly sure how best to convert sheet gelatin to powdered, but I found some sheets in the gourmet section of a local store so I didn't have to. I used heavy cream for the topping, and unable to find thin or light cream, I just used some heavy cream (2/3), mixed with half & half (1/3) and it seemed to work just fine. I served these in my Japanese tea cups and rather than topping them with shaved dark chocolate, I used some little variegated curls I had on hand. These were really delicious--especially if you love green tea as much as I do. I will make these again.


Happy Aloha Friday!

16 comments:

  1. Those are adorable! I can't even imagine how they would taste...but I totally want to try them, they sound so unique!

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  2. Oh how cute! I love pannacotta, I love green tea icecream... so I would definitely love these! And Belinda Jeffrey is great. My mum has a couple of her books and they are very reliable.

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  3. yum! and I love the dishes you served them in.

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  4. I do love a good green tea dessert! Green tea ice cream is my current favorite, but given my love of pudding I would be all over this!

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  5. I love green tea ice cream, so I am sure that I would love these too!

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  6. mmmmm...I am just now starting to drink tea. This sounds DELICIOUS!

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  7. So beautiful and sounds absolutely delicious!

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  8. Looks delicious. I love anything green tea flavored, especially matcha!

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  9. My youngest daughter adores green tea ice cream. I'll be making this for her August visit. Your presentation here is spectacular. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  10. I love, LOVE green tea desserts too! Yours look spectacular, Deb! I really like the festive garnish too.

    We had some really amazing green tea and black sesame ice cream at a local Japanese place last night. The green tea flavor was so rich and pronounced. Yum!

    Have a great weekend!

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  11. You've presented these tasty desserts beautifully. For a second the striped chocolates made me think of Christmas, maybe candy canes or something...

    We love green tea desserts so these would be a great alternative to panna cotta.

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  12. How unique and pretty! They sound refreshing and delicious. I would love to try them!

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  13. These look fabulous, loving your japanese tea cups too.

    I've got matcha powder in my cupboard & can only think of ice cream.

    Your recipe certainly gives me something else to consider, thanks.

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  14. These tea creams look so fun and unique. I bet they were a big hit!

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  15. Great idea to use green tea this way.

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