Matcha Basque Cheesecake with Sweet Red Bean

Method

1. Take the cream cheese, eggs and cream out 1 hour ahead to reach room temperature. Preheat the oven to 220°C for 15 min (top and bottom heat).

   oven

2. Crumple a sheet of baking paper into a ball, open it out and press it into a 12 cm round pan so it stands 4–5 cm above the rim.

3. Sift the matcha and flour into a small bowl, add 2–3 tablespoons of the cream and whisk into a smooth, thick paste, then whisk in the rest of the cream. Lumps of matcha turn into bitter green specks after baking, so take your time here.

   Add in this stepMatcha powder (culinary grade) 6 gPlain flour 6 gHeavy cream (at least 35% fat) 125 ml

4. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and salt on low speed for 2 min until completely smooth.

   Add in this stepCream cheese, full-fat block (room temperature) 250 gSugar 90 gSalt 1 pinch

5. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing each in fully, then pour in the matcha cream and mix evenly. Pour the batter through a sieve into the pan and tap the pan on the counter to release big bubbles.

   Add in this stepEggs (room temperature) 2

6. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven at 220°C for 21 min. Take it out when the top is deeply scorched brown, the sides are set and the centre (about 5 cm) wobbles like jelly. It bakes about a minute shorter than the plain version so the inside stays vividly green.

   oven

7. Cool in the pan on a rack for 1 h, then cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Overnight, the matcha flavour gets deeper.

8. Peel off the paper and slice. Serve each slice with a spoonful of red bean paste and a light dusting of matcha through a small sieve.

   Add in this stepSweet red bean paste (anko) 50 gMatcha powder (for dusting) ½ tsp