MATCHA GREEN TEA TRUFFLES

October 29, 2007

Ingredients

35 % Cream 100 g
Matcha Green Tea 8 g
White Chocolate 175 g (Use the best quality chocolate you can afford)

White Chocolate 350 g for rolling.

Bring the cream to a boil and remove from the heat. Add the tea to the cream and infuse for 5 minutes. Pour the cream over the 175 g of chopped white chocolate and mix in with a whisk until you have a smooth cream. You will now have a smooth, green ganache.

The word ganache refers to the chocolate and cream mixture.

Spread the ganache in a shallow dish and refrigerate (covered in saran wrap) until it is firm to the touch. Make small scoops of the ganache using a spoon or a melon baller. If you use a melon baller, you will need to dip it in hot water between scoops. Make sure you dry it before you scoop as you don’t want water on your truffles.

Once you have made all of your scoops, roll them into nice balls with your hands. I wouldn’t make these too big as this is a very rich truffle.

Melt the remaining white chocolate (not too hot). Place a dab of chocolate in the palm of your hand and roll the truffle in it. You want to coat it lightly. Once all of the truffles have been given one coat, you can decide if you want to coat them again. They will crack less if they have two coats, but they will be sweeter.

If you choose, and if you have a lot of Matcha, you can coat your truffles in white chocolate and then roll them in Matcha tea while the chocolate is still wet. This gives you a stronger tea flavor, but it will cost more.

Keep them refrigerated in a Tupperware container for up to two weeks. Bring to room temperature before you eat them. They will have more flavor. Please note that cold chocolate “sweats“ when exposed to air. The humidity in the air will condense on the cold surface of the chocolate and give it a moist sheen. If you leave your chocolate in the airtight container as it comes to room temperature, it will not do this.

As with all chocolate recipes, we use the best quality chocolate that we can afford. If you use Couverture, then you will have to temper your chocolate (only the one used for rolling). Couverture is not a brand, it is a mark of quality. It has much less sugar and no added vegetable fats, such as palm oil. For instructions on tempering, check the internet. If you do not temper, you may have white streaks on your finished product. This does not affect the taste. If you roll the truffles in Matcha tea, you will not have to temper them as no one will be able to see if there are streaks or not.

This is an authentic recipe for a traditional Japanese dessert, translated from the original by a Japanese friend.

I am very grateful to my sister, the fine chocolatier that I’ve told you about in another post, for contributing this recipe. I’m hoping it will be just the beginning of a wonderful collection.

Posted by Christine Scaman | Filed Under Food & Recipes