Japanese Green Tea Petits Fours
Serves/Yields: 12 petits fours. (12 servings)
Prep. Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour
Category: Asian Cakes
Difficulty: easy
IntroductionGreen tea-flavored petits fours with a green tea whipped cream and decorated with green tea marzipan. This recipe could also be adapted to make a layer cake or tube cake. The powdered green tea used here is called matcha, the powdered kind used in Japanese tea ceremonies.Ingredients
2 eggs
3 egg yolks
6 tablespoons white sugar
1/3 cup cake flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon powdered green tea
2 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons powdered green tea
4 teaspoons superfine sugar
6 tablespoons almond paste
1 teaspoon powdered green tea
confectioners' sugar for dusting
Directions1 Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Grease an 11x7 inch pan. Line bottom with parchment paper and grease and flour paper. Sift together the flour, cornstarch and 1 tablespoon green tea. Set aside. 2 In a large bowl, beat eggs, yolks and 6 tablespoons sugar until tripled in volume, about 5 minutes. Fold flour mixture into whipped eggs. In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Add 2 tablespoons sugar, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whites into the batter, then quickly fold in remaining whites until no streaks remain. Spread batter into prepared pan. 3 Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until center of cake springs back when lightly tapped. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, then invert onto a flat surface. Let cool. 4 To make the Green Tea Whipped Cream: In a medium bowl, whisk the heavy cream with the 4 teaspoons superfine sugar and 2 teaspoons green tea until stiff peaks form. 5 To make the Decorative Green Tea Marzipan: Knead the almond paste with 1 teaspoon green tea. Roll out between 2 sheets of plastic wrap, or lightly dust with confectioners' sugar while rolling. 6 When cool, remove parchment paper from bottom of cake. Cut cake horizontally down the middle to make two layers. Spread bottom layer with 1/2 of the whipped cream, then cover with top layer of cake and spread top with remaining whipped cream. Cut assembled cake into 12 pieces using a knife or decorative cutters. Roll out the marzipan and cut into 12 pieces to match the shapes of the cakes. Place the decorative marzipan pieces on top of cakes.
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