Matcha Madness: Matcha White Chocolate Squares

Thing about matcha is, it's really really green.

In retrospect, the white chocolate (which frankly shouldn't be allowed to call itself chocolate in the first place, but that's another rant) didn't stand a chance.

After some small success working with dark chocolate ganache, I'd decided it was time to branch out to its 0% cocoa-solids cousin. [And don't even get me started on milk chocolate. Suffice to say, Kraft is welcome to all the Cadbury's they want.] Serendipitously, over at thecattylife, Catty has launched open season on all matcha-related goodness. Bring on those anti-oxidants.

They say a good cook tastes as they go along. So I did. What started as creamy melted white chocolate, gorgeously speckled with bright matcha swirls, slowly morphed into Ninja-Turtle green gloop, as I added more and more matcha for that green-tea (ninja-worthy) kick.

Note: white chocolate (because of it's uber-high cocoa-butter content) is a fiend to work with. My first batch "split" when I tried to reheat the half-melted chocolate, and something  bizarre, texture-wise, happened when I tried the process the other way round (i.e. melt the chocolate, add cream).

Undoubtedly, there's some highly scientific reason for all this, possibly involving molecules and words like emulsify. But until the chocolate experts chip in with a fool-proof white chocolate ganache recipe, here's the basics of how to make white chocolate ganache. Secret ingredient: trial and error.

On with the matcha madness!

Recipe: Matcha White Chocolate Ganache

Makes around 10 chocolates

Ingredients

• 100g white chocolate  
• 50ml double cream (amount depends on your chocolate - experiment)
• matcha powder (to taste)

Equipment

• Chocolate mould (e.g. Lakeland silcone moulds)

Cut up chocolate into very small pieces and place in mixing bowl.

In a pan, bring cream to boil and simmer for 1 minute. Stir in matcha powder (ideally with a matcha whisk) to taste.

Leave cream to cool slightly (it should reach the perfect temperature to melt but not "split" the chocolate when poured over it - tricky, eh?)

Pour very-warm cream over cut-up chocolate. Mix until smooth and creamy.

Pour mixture into moulds and leave to cool to room temperature. Then leave to set in fridge for 2 hours.

Remove from fridge and convince other human beings to eat small blocks of bright green "chocolate". (Use of air-quotes when describing your creation - optional.)

Comments

[Maria]

These look fantastic! White choc goes so well with matcha!

[Chocolate Shavings]

Love matcha - what a great dessert idea!

[Eugene Lee]

Thanks. This is inspiring!

[Anh]

LOVE anything matcha! This is wonderful!

[Melissa of Lovely Android]

Lovely! I bet this chocolate was so good.

[JenJen]

Awww, thanks all! Am still a die-hard dark choc fan though....

[Lori]

Your funny with the air quotes. I love this idea. I think I would throw some coconut in there as well. Have you ever tried melting all the white chocolate first and then whisking in the matcha, pour and cool? I will give it a try. Isnt it interesting when those funky things happen.

[Monica]

do you think I did something wrong? i melted choco, mixed cream with matcha, followed your instructions but the it didn't get hard.

[JenJen]

Hi Monica - white chocolate seems pretty hard to work with - it may be a case that we used completely different chocolates... Maybe try with less cream?

Thanks for stopping by =)

[md]

reminds me of soylent green lol. good idea btw. :)