This dessert combines two of my favorite things, crème brulée and green tea. I love the natural jade color of matcha green tea powder, along with its distinctive flavor. It’s an ingredient I use a lot in desserts. Whether it’s in cookies, madeleines, pound cakes, crème pâtissière or chocolate truffles, the result is always a success.
My personal favorite application for green tea powder though is crème brulée. One could probably add spinach to crème brulée and it would still taste great, but there’s something special about the flavor of green tea that cuts the decadence of the dessert while enhancing its elegance.
1. Info for Matcha Green Tea Creme Brulee
- Cook Time: unavailable
- Total Time: unavailable
- Servings: 8
- Calories: unavailable
2. Ingredients for Matcha Green Tea Creme Brulee
- 2-1/4 cups heavy cream
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1-2/3 cups vanilla chips, (8 ounces)
- 4 egg yolks
- 5 tablespoons sugar, as needed
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon matcha green tea powder
3. Directions:
- Preheat the oven at 325°F
- In a saucepan, combine the cream and milk. Bring it to a near boil. Turn off the heat and immediately add the vanilla chips. Using a spatula, keep stirring until the morsels are melted (see tips).
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 2 tablespoons of sugar until they become pale yellow. Add the vanilla extract, salt and matcha green tea powder. Combine the dairy liquid with the egg mixture by slowly adding a ladle of the dairy liquid at a time to prevent the yolks from curdling (it’s called tempering).
- Strain through a fine mesh to make sure there are no chunks of vanilla chips or milk skin left.
- Fill up 8 Japanese tea cups (make sure they are heat-proof) with the custard. Place them in a warm water bath in a deep baking pan. The water should go half way up the side of the ramekins (at least a 2-inch-high level of water). Loosely cover the dish with a sheet of aluminum foil and place in the oven for 35-40 minutes. The texture of the crèmes brulées should be a little jiggly but not liquid.
- Allow the crèmes brulées to cool completely first, then plastic-wrap each individual cup and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. The fat from the cream may pick up some other odors from the refrigerator if the cups are not sealed properly.
- When serving, unwrap the cups and sprinkle about 1-1/2 teaspoons of sugar in each cup, then caramelize with a culinary torch.
- Bon appétit!
