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When I saw the theme chosen by Clement of A la cuisine I first tried to think about the emotions that the simple word tea could bring to me. So I thought "Tea, Tea, Tea, reveal your meaning to me"and finally managed to remember the time when I was 9 and always having tea for breakfast. But not our usual sugar-less, milk-less tea. My special tea: Lipton yellow tea with semi-skimmed milk and a teaspoon of liquid caramel. This was a delight.
I don't have anymore that kind of tea. Actually I'm not a big tea drinker, but when it comes to the realm of iced tea, I can say that I am an addict. I love iced tea and could drink something like 5 litres in a single day.

After having noticed how I felt about tea, I decided to think of a recipe.
I've always wanted to try a recipe with Matcha tea and thought it's was a good occasion for a first try. So my first goal was to find Matcha - see what happened.
Once I was in possession of the crucial ingredient I could start thinking of a recipe (though I thought more quickly than it's written in here; but the word is "suspense").

There are one or two things I have to tell you before I continue: one of my favourite desserts is Tiramisu even if it's considered as cheap and gloomy. I simply love the creaminess of the mascarpone cheese along with the little sourness of the coffee sponge. And although I love Tiramisu in its original version I can’t help myself but give it a twist. I’ve already tried a Pink Tiramisu which will be published in my cookbook and I felt it was the good time to try a new version with a tea mascarpone cream and a chocolate sponge.

So here we go, drum roll please… My final answer to the 17th edition of Is My Blog Burning is a GREEN AND BLACK TIRAMISU or less fancily Matcha tea flavoured mascarpone cream on a dark chocolate sponge with a dark chocolate sauce. (Actually as you can see in the picture it doesn’t really resemble a tiramisu, but as it’s got mascarpone in it I though I could call it so…)

GREEN & BLACK TIRAMISU
serves 4

for matcha flavoured mascarpone cream
- 2 eggs, separated
- 10g icing sugar
- 250g mascarpone cheese
- 1½ gelatine leaves
- 15ml full-fat milk
- 3-5g matcha tea powder (to taste)
- 30ml double cream (or any whipping cream)
- 20g extra fine caster sugar
4 x 150ml ramekins

for dark chocolate sponge
- 60g butter, at room temperature
- 60g extra fine caster sugar
- 1 large egg
- 55g self-raising flour
- 50g dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa)
22cm springform tin

for chocolate sauce
- 100ml double cream
- 100g dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa)

matcha flavoured mascarpone cream
Whip the egg yolks with the icing sugar until white and frothy; it should take almost 5 minutes. Fold in the mascarpone cheese and whip again until the mixture is smooth.
Soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes and warm up the milk over medium heat (it shouldn’t boil). When the milk is hot enough dissolve the gelatine in it and sieve in the tea.
Mix the gelatine mixture into the mascarpone cream.
Whip the double cream until it forms firm peaks.
Whip the egg whites until stiff and add the sugar to make a soft meringue base. Fold in the whipped cream.
Finally fold the cream-meringue into the tea mixture, divide between 4 ramekins, cover with cling film and chill for at least 4 hours (though overnight would be better).

the next day : make the dark chocolate sponge
Pre-heat the oven at 180°C.
Cream together the butter and sugar. Mix in the egg and sieve in the flour.
Melt the chocolate in the microwave or over a pan of boiling water and fold into the prepared batter.
Pour the mixture into the lined tin and bake for about 10 minutes.
Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then unmould the cake and allow cooling on a wire rack for an hour or so.

assembling the pudding
With a cookie cutter, cut the sponge in circles of the same diameter as the ramekins. Unmould the tea mascarpone cream over the sponge and place in a plate.

making the chocolate sauce
Put the cream and chocolate together in a pan over medium heat and mix until you’ve got a smooth ganache. Spoon this over your puddings.

My feelings: at the first bite you feel the mascarpone cream melting in your mouth, a mellow tenderness of the mascarpone and a slight but not over-powering taste of tea then comes the depth of the chocolate (cake and sauce), which makes a perfect balanced pudding and finally you re-get the taste of tea that tickles your tongue.

One more thing: if you haven't any time to make the chocolate sponge (although it's not long to make nor it is to bake) or if you love the matcha mascarpone cream as it is (and i'm one of those) you can just make the cream and you'll get a wonderful MATCHA MASCARPONE PANNA COTTA. Indeed if the cream goes well with dark chocolate, it's good enough as itself and i might reckon that i prefer the cream alone, which allows the tea flavour to developp into the mouth along with the mascarpone creaminess. All i'm writing at the moment gives me the need to urge towards the fridge and pick another matcha mascarpone panna cotta.

Labels: chocolate, entremets, recipe inside

 plum said something sweet:

Looks lovely Fanny. And its name is a delicious pun on the famous brand of chocolate as well!

You certainly seem to like Australian cookbooks - I was surprised to see that you are in France when two of the books you covet are by Sydneysiders!

I look forward to reading more about your adventures in cooking - and what is this about your cookbook?

26 July, 2005 12:55 

 ChichaJo said something sweet:

That looks wonderful and sounds wonderful too! A cookbook coming out? Sounds promising...keep us posted!

26 July, 2005 14:45 

 *fanny* said something sweet:

Hi Plum, thanx for the comment. It's true that i love Australian cookbooks,my first Aussi cookbook was Donna Hay's classic2 and since i've discovered Bill Granger i am an addict. I find these books so fresh; i used to love Nigella (and still love what she doesn't, but not on the telly; have you seen that new show ?) and Bill's books are different from all that kind of English cookbooks. But don't worry i still love you : Nigella, Jamie...
Anyway i'm currently writting a cookbook; but i don't think it'll be finished until next year since i've got a lot of work from my school.

Hi (again) Chichajo, thanx very much for your nice words.
I actually think that even though this pudding is definitly a special take on the original version most of the people that tasted it loved it.

26 July, 2005 16:01 

 skypilotjourneyman said something sweet:

Just stumbled across your blog...looks unbelievable - now if only I could MAKE it!

27 July, 2005 14:08 

 *fanny* said something sweet:

Thanx Matt, i was very very pleased to see how nice your comment was.
xoxo
Fanny

27 July, 2005 14:16 

 Anonymous said something sweet:

hi Fanny - wow, that looks incredible! very intriguing flavor combination... and i'm also intrigued about this cookbook of yours - you must tell us more, even if it's still taking shape! :)

28 July, 2005 21:15 

 Anne said something sweet:

Hi! Ooh, that sounds really good! I can't seem to pull up the post on how you got your Matcha though, and I'm so curious since I have no idea where to look for it myself. And I'm really curious about the Pink Tiramisu, too! Do tell!

03 August, 2005 20:57 

 Martin said something sweet:

This looks scrumptious; i'm definitely going to try whipping one up the next time I have someone round who I want to impress :)

03 August, 2005 21:36 

 boo_licious said something sweet:

Fanny, the tiramisu sounds really yummy. How I wish I could taste it? Yeah, do tell more about the Pink Tiramisu, it sounds really interesting.

03 August, 2005 21:41 

 ac said something sweet:

Fanny, tiramisu!! i lurve desserts, and i always ask for tiramisu whenever i have cakes :) beautiful version you made here. and best wishes on your cookbook! who knows, maybe another tv chef would be born? ;)

thanks for the recipe.

04 August, 2005 05:31 

 *fanny* said something sweet:

Hi Anne. I don't understand why you can't open the post. I bought the tea from a local salon de the in Valbonne a pretty village. It's matcha powder from Mariage et freres. Go an have a look on the website, i reckon they sell tea on line. (http://www.mariagefreres.com/)

Thanx Martin. It's true that the dish is quite impressive, though i didn't have the good mould (i would have used rhodoid paper to make the matcha mousse and chocolate sponge fit perfectly together). Usually i'm not so much into posh and fancy cooking but everyone can change their mind sometime...

Hi boo_licious, thank you for dropping by. I wish i could send you one but i don't think it would still be good after the trip. Try and make one!

Hi ac, i love tiramisu too. It's one of my favourite dessert ever.


Here are some explanations about the pink tiramisu. As you may have guessed the pink tiramisu is pink. And all i can say at the moment is that it's made with a red fruit, a mascarpone mousse and a .... flavouring.
Now let your imagination speak for you !

04 August, 2005 11:10 

 Anonymous said something sweet:

that is such a clever and yummy way to use tea, and tiramisu is my favorite! although if i made something as pretty as this i probably wouldn't want to eat it all , but leave some on display for guests :D -- lovely post!

05 August, 2005 18:44 

 Anonymous said something sweet:

J'ai utilisé ta recette de crème au matcha, seule, en verrine, c'est délicieux. La texture, le gout, tout est parfait. Et grâce à toi, j'ai vaincu mon blocage psycologique en ce qui concerne la gélatine! Merci beaucoup!

12 February, 2007 23:00 

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