Japanese Matcha Alfajores with White Chocolate Drizzle

Method

1. Beat the soft butter and icing sugar in a bowl for 2 min until pale and creamy, then mix in the yolk. When half a yolk is needed, beat one and use half (about 1 tablespoon).

   Add in this stepUnsalted butter, softened 35 gIcing (powdered) sugar 25 gEgg yolks 1

2. Sift in the cornstarch, flour, matcha and baking powder together; matcha clumps easily, so don't skip the sieve. Cut in with a spatula, then gently press together by hand and stop as soon as the dough is evenly green. Flatten, wrap and chill for 30 min.

   Add in this stepCornstarch (cornflour) 50 gPlain flour 30 gMatcha powder (culinary grade) 2 tspBaking powder ½ tsp

3. Preheat the oven to 160°C for 10 min and line a tray with baking paper. The lower temperature than plain alfajores keeps the matcha bright green. Roll the dough between two sheets of baking paper to 5 mm, cut 4.5 cm rounds and space them 2 cm apart. Make an even number.

   oven

4. Bake in the oven for 11 min, one tray at a time if you have 1. Take them out when the surface is dry and the bottoms are firm, before the edges brown; browning turns matcha dull and bitter. Leave on the tray for 5 minutes, then cool completely on a rack.

   oven

5. Turn half the cookies flat side up, pile on the dulce de leche and spread it to 5 mm from the edge. Top with the remaining cookies, press with a little twist and set them side by side on the rack.

   Add in this stepDulce de leche, thick baking type 140 g

6. Chop the white chocolate into a bowl and set it over a pot of barely steaming water (the bowl must not touch the water). Stir over low heat for 3 min; white chocolate scorches and seizes easily, so take it off when half melted and let the residual heat finish the job. Drizzle in thin zigzags over the alfajores with a spoon or a small plastic piping bag and leave in a cool place for 15 min to set.

   Add in this stepWhite chocolate 50 g

   low heat