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Matcha Tiramisu Recipe (Scroll for HK Milk Tea Tiramisu Recipe!)

As you might pick up from this page, I’m a huge matcha fan! This recipe combines the aspects of a true Italian tiramisu (meaning no heavy cream) and the strong, bitter, but addictive taste of high-quality Japanese matcha. Heavy cream in a tiramisu is more common in America (whereas in Italy, true tiramisu is mainly eggs, sugar, and mascarpone). I love a stronger matcha taste in any of my matcha treats, but if you’re looking for a more subtle flavor, feel free to add more water to the matcha soak before soaking your savoiardi biscuits (ladyfingers).
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Servings: 9
Course: Dessert
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 4 large pasteurized eggs, separated whites from yolks*
  • 100 + 13 gram granulated sugar, divided
  • 8 oz mascarpone, cold from the fridge
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract or paste
  • 24 savoiardi biscuits (ladyfingers)
  • 12 + 4 grams matcha + extra for dusting
  • 3/4 cup water (set at 175 degrees Fahrenheit)

Method
 

  1. Make your matcha soak by combining 3/4 cup of hot water (make sure it’s not boiling water to avoid burning your matcha!) with 2 tablespoons of matcha and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Whisk well with a matcha chasen, electric frother, or in a jar and shake for at least 2 minutes or until all combined. Let it cool completely.
    2. If you like things sweeter, you can add another tablespoon of sugar
  2. In a large bowl, take your egg whites and use a hand mixer on high and beat until frothy. Slowly add in 1/4 cup (50 grams) of sugar while keeping the mixer on high. Beat until stiff peaks form (3-5 minutes). If you’re able to flip your bowl upside down and nothing moves, then you know it’s done.
  3. In another bowl, take your egg yolks and the remaining 1/4 cup (50 grams) sugar and beat on high speed until it turns a pastel yellow (about 2 minutes). Then, on low speed, mix in the vanilla and mascarpone cheese.
  4. Take a spatula and gently fold half of the egg white mixture into the egg yolk/marscapone cheese mixture. Gently fold in the mixture until smooth and fully combined. Repeat with the other half of the egg white mixture.
  5. Take an 8×8 baking pan and add a small amount of your fully combined cream and spread it over the bottom of the pan.
  6. Dip your savoiardi into the matcha soak for about 2-3 seconds and evenly line the bottom of your pan in a single layer.
    7. If you like a drier tiramisu, you can dip your cookies for less time. For a wetter tiramisu (my preference), you can dip them for a tiny bit longer. But be careful! If you dip savoiardi for too long, they can fall apart. Avoid dipping them for any more than 4-5 seconds.
  7. Spread half of the cream on top of the savoiardi, smoothing into an even layer.
  8. Repeat with another layer of matcha-soaked savoidardis. Top with the other half of the cream and spread into an even layer.
  9. Let the tiramisu sit in the fridge, uncovered, for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
  10. Before serving, take a sifter and 2 teaspoons of matcha and evenly dust the top of the tiramisu.
    11. High-quality matcha can be quite pricey. You’re more than welcome to use more than just 2 tsp of matcha powder for dusting, but no more than 4 tsp. Matcha powder shouldn’t be used like cocoa powder on regular tiramisu – its caffeine content is quite powerful, along with other components that you don’t want to overdose on.

Notes

* In Italy, using raw eggs is common and considered safe because cooks use very fresh eggs and keep the finished dessert chilled. However, in the U.S., where I live, our eggs are not as safe to eat raw, so make sure to get pasteurized eggs! If you can’t find pasteurized eggs near you, you can use regular eggs and cream the egg yolks and sugar over a double boiler and swap the egg whites for 1 cup of heavy cream.
Looking for alcohol in this? Feel free to replace up to 1/4 cup of water in the matcha soak with rum or brandy.

Variations:

Once you get the basics of a tiramisu down, it’s quite easy to create fun variations of it. See below for my Hong Kong Milk Tea Tiramisu recipe.

Simply replace the matcha soak with a milk tea soak and dust the top of the tiramisu with cocoa powder right before serving.

Milk Tea Soak:

 

    • 10-15 black tea bags (depending on how strong of a flavor you want)

    • 2 cups water

    • 2 Tablespoons condensed milk

Bring water to a boil. Turn off the heat, add tea bags to the saucepan. Let the tea bags steep for 10 minutes, remove and discard. Stir in 2 tablespoons of condensed milk, then cool completely. Feel free to add rum or alcohol to the soak while it cools.