Matcha tiramisu
A classic without coffee — sponge fingers soaked in matcha instead of espresso.
Preparation
25 min
Total
25 min
Servings
8
Level
Medium
Replacing espresso with strong matcha changes everything in tiramisu: the creamy texture and mascarpone remain, but the roasted bitterness of the coffee is replaced by a grassy, slightly sweet note. The dessert comes across as noticeably lighter, even though the ingredients are the same.
Use culinary-grade matcha for soaking and make it stronger than you would drink it — the sponge fingers and mascarpone will dilute it considerably. For the topping, use ceremonial-grade matcha: it’s the only place in the recipe where matcha is eaten raw, and this is where its quality really shines through.
Ingredients
500 g mascarpone, chilled
250 ml whipping cream (30% fat), very cold
80 g icing sugar
3 egg yolks
200 g sponge fingers (savoiardi)
6 g culinary matcha for soaking
300 ml hot water at 80°C
2 g ceremonial matcha for dusting
Preparation
1
Sift 6 g of culinary matcha, pour over 300 ml of water at 80°C and whisk thoroughly. Leave to cool completely — the sponge fingers will crumble in an instant if the liquid is still warm.
2
Beat the egg yolks with the icing sugar until the mixture is pale and fluffy, for about 4 minutes.
3
Add the mascarpone and blend on the lowest setting just until combined. Mascarpone curdles very easily — at high speeds, the mixture will curdle and become grainy.
4
In a separate bowl, whip the very cold cream until stiff, then fold it into the mixture with a spatula, from the bottom up.
5
Dip the sponge fingers into the cooled matcha one at a time and only very briefly — one second on each side. They’ll soak up the rest of the moisture from the cream overnight.
6
Arrange a layer of sponge fingers in the dish, cover with half the cream, then repeat. Smooth the top.
7
Put it in the fridge for at least 6 hours, or preferably overnight. The dessert needs to set, otherwise it will run all over the plate.
8
Just before serving, sprinkle 2 g of ceremonial matcha on top. Do this at the very last minute — matcha darkens within a few dozen minutes when left on the moist cream.
