Japanese Matcha Tiramisu with Sweet Red Bean
Tiramisu with a Japanese green-tea twist: matcha-dipped ladyfingers, a layer of sweet red bean paste and an egg-free mascarpone cream.
Method
Sift the matcha and its sugar into a bowl to break up any lumps. Add 2 tablespoons of the hot water and whisk into a smooth paste, then whisk in the rest of the water. Pour into a shallow dish and let it cool completely. Water at about 80 °C (boiled, then left for 3 minutes) keeps matcha bright green and mellow; boiling water makes it bitter.
Add in this stepMatcha powder (for dipping) 2 tspSugar (for the matcha) 2 tspHot water at about 80 °C 120 ml
Put the cold cream, powdered sugar and vanilla in a bowl and whip for to soft peaks. Add the cold mascarpone and whip on low speed for , just until the cream is thick and holds its shape. Stop as soon as it does; overwhipped mascarpone turns grainy.
Add in this stepCold whipping cream (at least 35% fat) 100 mlPowdered sugar 30 gVanilla extract ½ tspCold mascarpone 125 g
Stir the red bean paste until spreadable. If it is very stiff, loosen it with 1 to 2 teaspoons of hot water.
Add in this stepSweet red bean paste (anko) 60 g
Dip each savoiardi in the matcha for 1 second per side and lay them in a single layer in a 15×10 cm dish or glass, breaking them to fill gaps. Spread the red bean paste thinly over the biscuits, then half the cream. Add a second layer of dipped biscuits and the rest of the cream, and smooth the top.
Add in this stepSavoiardi (ladyfingers) 8
Cover and refrigerate for at least , until set. Dust with matcha through a fine sieve just before serving; matcha dusted early turns dull and damp.
Add in this stepMatcha powder (for dusting) 1 tsp
Cook's tip
Culinary-grade matcha is fine, but choose a vivid green one: dull, yellowish powder tastes bitter and grassy. For a less sweet dessert, use chunky red bean paste (tsubuan) and cut the powdered sugar by a third. Without the red beans, it is still a lovely plain matcha tiramisu.
Cooking it at camp
With no raw eggs and nothing to cook, this one travels well: assemble it in a lidded container the day before and keep it below 5 °C in an iced cooler. Bring the dusting matcha in a small jar with a tea strainer.