Matcha panna cotta

Am trying to use up my matcha and this is the final dessert that I will be doing with matcha this time around. Am using gelatine sheets for the first time and I must say that it's easier to use than powder. With powder, there are always lumps but not so with gelatine sheets. Matcha however was a pain to use and without a chasen to whisk the matcha, it was a real pain to ensure no lumps while also ensuring that everything is blended into the water. Somehow a whisk just doesn't work as well, even though I've used my trusty tiny sauce whisk.

Interesting tit bit from JOC is that 2 sheets roughly equals 5g of powder and used to soft set 1 cup or 250ml of liquid.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/cherry-blossom-milk-pudding/

However from other sources, I know that cream and milk need more gelatine powder to set it. As such, my recipe is adapted from these 3 recipes below based on my preferences and the volume of my ramekins but the basic method and ingredients remain the same.

https://www.thelittleepicurean.com/2014/05/matcha-green-tea-panna-cotta.html
https://cookingwithdog.com/recipe/matcha-panna-cotta/
https://www.justonecookbook.com/green-tea-pudding/

Ingredients (makes 4 ramekins)
2 tbsp matcha powder
300 ml of milk
300 ml of cream
50g (1/4C) + 2 tbsp sugar
4 gelatine sheets
2 tbsp hot water
4 tbsp anko (3 tbsp - 40g)

Method
1) Sift the green tea powder. Prepare the ramekins by spraying non-stick spray on the sides.
2) Cut gelatine sheets into smaller strips. Soak gelatine strips in cold water for 5 to 7 mins (instructions from the packet). Fish out of the water and squeeze out additional water. Put into the 2 tbsp of hot water and stir until dissolved.
3) In a pot, bring the milk and cream to just under a boil. You should see small bubbles forming at the side of the pot. Do not boil.
4) Remove from the heat and add the sugar and stir until melted.
5) Add the dissolved gelatine and whisk until incorporated.
6) Make the matcha paste. Add 5 tbsp of the warm liquid to the match and blend until a paste forms.
7) Place the paste into a sieve and using a spoon or spatula, slowly blend the paste into the milk-cream mixture. Whisk to ensure that everything is incorporated.

8) Optional: transfer to a pouring jug to facilitate pouring. Otherwise, pour into the ramekins. Cover with cling film and leave to set in the fridge for 4 hours or best, overnight.
9) Unmould with a plastic knife if desired. Serve with a tbsp of anko each.

Matcha swiss roll with tsubuan anko filling

After doing extensive research on swiss rolls and the different methods, I settled on a recipe that was matcha with red bean filling and which most matched my pan size, so there would be very little adjustments.

I settled on CWD and used some of the tips from other recipes. I like this recipe because it's very easy to remember.
https://cookingwithdog.com/recipe/matcha-roll-cake/

Ingredients
4 eggs, separated when out of the fridge and left to come to room temp
40g sugar
40g cake flour
1 tbsp matcha powder

Filling
120 ml heavy cream (full cream)
1 tbsp sugar (I omitted this as the anko is already very sweet)
120g anko (I used tinned anko because I read from Kitchen Tigress that the tinned version uses Hokkaido beans which is far more fragrant than beans from China. Saves me work, why not? I didn't bother draining the beans unlike her though.)
80g sweetened beans (substitute with fresh fruit; I omitted this)
Powdered sugar to dust

Method
1) Line the tin on the bottom and sides. My tin ie 24.5*34.5 cm.
2) Sift the flour and matcha twice. Sift onto a parchment paper (which you can save for later when you invert the cake)
3) Clean a bowl and the beaters with vinegar. Separate the eggs.
4) Using the beaters, beat the egg white until foamy. Add ⅓ of the sugar. Beat on medium until incorporated and add the next ⅓ of the sugar. Increase the speed and beat until stiff peaks.
5) Using the same unwashed beaters, in another bowl where the yolks are, add the remaining sugar and beat until pale and foamy. Remember to beat the yolks after the whites otherwise the whites will not rise.
6) Add the flour and matcha mixture to the yolk in two batches and use a whisk to fold in until all the flour is wet.
7) Add the meringue in 2 batches. The first batch will loosen up the batter so you don't have to be too careful but be more careful and use the whisk to fold in the second batch. Pour the batter into the bowl with the remaining meringue. Using a spatula, carefully fold in the batter so as not to break the foam.
8) Pour into the prepared tin. Use a scraper to spread the batter to the sides and corners and create a nice flat surface. Drop the pan on the table top several times to knock out big air bubbles.
9) Bake at 170 deg C for 25 mins. Produces a 2cm tall cake.
10) Remove from the oven and drop pan on the table top to prevent shrinkage. Invert the cake onto a parchment (from the sifted flours) and gently peel off the back. I decided that the bottom looked nicer than my crust so inverted it back again.

The crust or top of my cake. Not very flat because I didn't use a spatula to flatten!

Cover with another parchment and the pan to let cool. Some bloggers cooled on a wire rack but it didn't really make a difference to me.

11) While cooling, make the filling. Whip the double cream to stiff peaks and fold in the anko. Leave in the fridge while waiting for the cake to cool.
12) Once the cake is cool enough to handle, at one short edge, cut diagonally 45 degrees to make a nice seam. I didn't wait until the cake was completely cool, just cool enough not to melt the cream.
13) Spread the anko cream but leave 1cm from the diagonally cut edge as when you roll, the cream gets pushed to the ends.

The bottom of the cake becomes the outside. Pockmarked face because my pan has a braille-like raised surface supposedly for airflow!

14) Using the parchment to help, roll from the uncut short edge. Place the roll seam side down. Transfer to a clean parchment and use a spatula or ruler or knife to tuck the parchment tightly into the roll. Cover with the parchment and a plastic film. Leave in the fridge to cool from between 3 hours to 3 days. (Tigress recommends 3 days so that the cream's moisture melds with the cake)

Recipe feedback
- Initially once cool, the cake seemed very dry since there is no oil and matcha-based pastries always seem to be dense and dry. It wasn't very spongey too, maybe because I over-beat the egg whites until they became watery and 'crumbly'. Also, perhaps 25 minutes baking time was too long. I will have to re-attempt this another time.
- Cak wasn't too sweet. Excluding the sugar in the cream helped because the anko is very sweet.
- Cake is 2 cm tall.
- After leaving to chill in the fridge overnight, it really seemed much less dry as the moisture from the cream had permeated into the cake.
- Updated: Cake was eaten on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th day. It was moistest on the second day, so-so on Day 3 but by Day 4, it had dried out. As such, not a good idea to follow Kitchen Tigress's advice to keep to Day 3 because my pastries last more than a day in my house, so I'll be eating very dry cake from Day 4 onwards.

Swiss roll comparisons

I have finally bought a pan. Unfortunately in Aust, I can only find a slice pan and not a jelly roll pan which is the correct pan. The slice pan is 24.5*34.5, which is the largest slice pan I can find but a jelly roll pan is typically 25*35. I didn't think 0.5cm on each side would make too much of a difference as long as the heigh of the pan is tall enough. My slice pan is 2.5cm tall, am hoping this would be sufficient for the additional volume.

Bearing the volume of the cakes in mind, here are the recipes that I've short listed.

1) JOC Matcha (has video)
https://www.justonecookbook.com/matcha-swiss-roll/
- Genoise (whole eggs, less common method - moist texture) vs biscuit (aka chiffon method, most common - fluffier texture)
- Matcha cream filling
- 4 eggs in 38 by 25 cm jelly roll pan
- Hand whisk egg yolks.
- Sift flour 3 times.
- 190 deg C for 12-13 mins
- Don't over-bake or too dry and cracks during rolling
- Remove paper from bottom when hot. Cover with parchment and flip so that curst is inside.
- Roll when hot in parchment for 'muscle memory'. Cover in towel. Re-roll when cold but I noticed the cake stuck to the parchment.

2) Not quite Nigella
http://www.notquitenigella.com/2015/03/17/matcha-swiss-roll/
- Mascapone filling
- 4 egg whites, 2 egg yolks in a swiss roll tin (no dimensions given)
- Modified genoise method. Beat in whites to soft peaks then beat in yolks one at a time. Fold in sifted flour.
- 200 deg C for 10 mins.
- While hot, inverted onto parchment that has powdered sugar sifted on it. Remove parchment from the bottom and roll up before leaving to cool i.e. crust is on the outside. No wonder she had to sift so much matcha over the sugar to cover it!

3) Christines
https://en.christinesrecipes.com/2010/06/green-tea-matcha-swiss-roll.html?m=1
- Cream filling
- 6 egg whites, 9 yolks in 31.5*23 cm baking tray (altho she recommends 2 trays so that it's thinner and easier to roll)
- Lots of oil; 2 types of oil; plain and corn flour unlike everyone else who uses cake flour; hot water instead of milk as some recipes use
- 220 deg C for 10 to 15 mins
- Cool cake before removing parchment. After removing parchment, scores the cake so it's easier to roll. Spread on the cream and roll. Crust is outside.

4) CWD Matcha (has video) - Tested here
https://cookingwithdog.com/recipe/matcha-roll-cake/
- Red bean filling
- 4 eggs in 26 by 36cm pan
- Uses beater to beat egg whites then same unwashed beater to beat egg yolks till pale and fluffy and doubled in volume.
- Sifts flour 3 times.
- 170 deg C for 25 mins
- Drop pan to prevent shrinkage once out of oven. Place on a flat surface to cool and cover to prevent drying out
- Uses Kraft paper which is supposed to be easier to remove. Remove paper from bottom after just a few minutes of cooling.
- Flip again so the crust is on the inside to spread on cream. Roll when cool.
- Use ruler on to tuck the paper under the roll to tighten it

5) Rasa Malaysia Matcha
https://rasamalaysia.com/matcha-roll-green-tea-swiss-roll/2/
- Red bean filling
- 3 eggs in 10 (25.4cm) by 12" (30.48) pan
- Uses a beater.
- Fold melted butter in last (like madeleines?)
- 230 deg C for 10 mins
- Cool 10 minutes before removing the parchment. Roll while warm.

6) Kitchen Tigress Matcha (has video)
https://kitchentigress.blogspot.com/2015/02/matcha-green-tea-azuki-red-bean-roll.html
- Red bean filling; different brands of Hokkaido red bean paste superior to China red bean
- 3 eggs, oil
- 80g egg white (?) in 12 (30.48cm) by 9" (22.86cm) pan
- Uses beater to beat yolks.
- 170 deg C for 20 mins
- Shield top of pan. Has pan of water on lower shelf
- Drop pan to prevent shrinkage
- Cool on rack. Remove paper when cool. Roll when cool.
- Skinless bottom is outside of cake and crust is the inside of the cake.

7) Ochikeron Matcha (has video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzugYxNMD4Y
- Real strawberry filling
- Modified genoise method. Beat eggs whole.
- 3 eggs in 9 inch square brownie pan
- Uses beater throughout, even to beat in the flour.
- 180 deg C for 12 mins
- Drop pan to prevent shrinkage
- Roll when cool.
- Use paper to tuck the roll in

8) Bake for Happy Kids Real strawberry filling (has video)
http://www.bakeforhappykids.com/2017/10/strawberry-chiffon-Swiss-roll.html
- Real strawberry filling. Standard and easiest to roll.
- 4 to 5 eggs in 35*25cm pan (140g egg white, 60g yolk)
- Hand whisk yolks
- 180 deg C for 15 mins
- Better to slightly over-bake than under-bake.
- Cool on rack. Remove parchment after 5 mins cooling only.
- Outside of cake is crust.
- Roll when cool.

9) BHK Strawberry jam (has video)
http://www.bakeforhappykids.com/2018/07/Asian-basic-strawberry-jam-chiffon-Swiss-roll.html
- Thin cake and spreadable filling but harder to roll
- about 4 to 5 eggs in 35*25cm pan (175g egg white, 75g yolk)
- skinless bottom is outside of cake
- 180 deg C for 15-16 mins. Do not overbake or its too dry and hard to roll.
- Skinless outside of cake. Crust is inside.
- Remove cake to wire rack to cool for 5 mins. Remove parchment from bottom.
- Roll when cool

10) BHK Coffee (has video)
http://www.bakeforhappykids.com/2018/06/cottony-soft-coffee-chiffon-Swiss-roll.html
- cake is 20% more volume than real strawberry filling. Hardest to roll
- Extra thick fluffy cake with cream filling
- about 4 to 5 eggs in 35*25cm pan (175g egg white, 75g yolk)
- 180 deg C for 17 mins. Don't over bake or it cracks when rolling. Underbaking means the skin is not dry and hard to handle.

- Remove to rack to cool for 5 mins then remove parchment.

- Choose whichever side to be the outside, either crust or skinless bottom.

11) Kitchen 101 Pandan swiss roll (has video)
https://mykitchen101en.com/pandan-swiss-roll-cake/
- 3 eggs in 10*14" (25 by 36cm) pan
- After beating whites, beats yolks on low speed.
- 190 deg C for 18 to 20 mins.
- Has pan of water on lower shelf.
- Drop pan to prevent shrinkage.
- Transfer cake to wire rack to cool. Remove paper when cool.
- Roll when cool. Make shallow cuts in the cake to help with the rolling.
- Crust is outside

12) Woks of life Vanilla
https://thewoksoflife.com/2015/02/chinese-swiss-roll/
- uses heavy cream but no oil
- Sift flours twice
- 3 eggs in 13*9" (33.02*22.86cm) pan
- Hand whisk yolks
- 350 deg F (or 175 deg C) for 15 mins in middle rack
- Roll when cool
- Use rolling pin to help roll

13) Garnish and glaze - Western pink velvet
https://www.garnishandglaze.com/pink-velvet-swiss-roll/
- cream cheese filling
- 4 eggs in a 15*10*1" (38*25.4*2.54cm) pan
- Modified genoise method. Beat whole eggs, buttermilk, vinegar before beating in dry ingredients
- buttermilk, apple cider vinegar, only plain flour, baking powder
- 175 deg C (or 160 for dark pan) for 12 - 15 mins
- Invert while hot onto a tea towel. Remove parchment and roll up cake to cool on a wire rack.
- Crust is on the outside.

Gula melaka tau suan

This was the original recipe but this recipe comes from Domestic Goddess Wanna whom I rely heavily on for chiffons. Her chiffons have never failed and neither did this recipe. The beauty of the recipe is not needing to steam the beans beforehand. Also made the beans a lot less broken up after boiling!

http://thedomesticgoddesswannabe.com/2016/04/tao-suan-with-you-tiao-豆爽油条-split-mung-soup-with-chinese-cruller/

My ingredients are double of hers and of course, the addition of gula melaka.

Ingredients 
500g mung beans, washed
6 tbsp sugar + 2 tbsp sugar
½ block gula melaka, chopped
3 litres water
3 knotted pandan leaves
4 heaped tbsp tapioca starch
6 tbsp water or more to make into a slurry

Method
1) Wash the mung bean and soak in water for 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes are up, drain.
2) In a non-stick pan, fry the mung bean to dry up the water. Add the 6 tbsp of sugar. Fry until caramelised and the beans will turn a darker colour.
3) In a separate pot, boil the water with pandan leaves for 10 minutes.
4) Add the beans to the water and cook for a further 5 to 10 minutes until it reaches your desired level of doneness. I like it still whole but with a few burst beans.
5) Switch off the fire. Create the slurry and dribble it in, stirring the bean mixture vigorously so that huge lumps of starch don't form. Once it's reached your desired consistency, stop adding the slurry.
6) Serve immediately with crullers.

Crunchy matcha madeleines

This recipe is slightly different in terms of method than the previous choc chip madeleines which was adapted from the Roti&Rice guest post in JOC. The previous recipe did not have milk and beat the eggs and sugar, i.e. creaming the eggs and sugar like you would a cake. This recipe is based on the JOC's matcha madeleine recipe. This recipe has milk and weirdly, the dry (flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar) are mixed together while the wet (egg and milk) are beaten together. The two are then combined like a muffin, without too much mixing. I doubt the addition of matcha powder should make much of a difference. The effect in this recipe is less fluffy than even the previous. I've noted down the instructions here for the original matcha recipe but in future, I will use the method recommended for the R&R guest post and also what I used for my earl grey madeleine recipe which also had milk and used Sally's Baking Addiction's method.

Ingredients (makes 20 or 24)
113g butter, melted and brought to room temp + 2 tbsp melted butter for coating (28g)
⅔ C sugar (133g; can be reduced to 130g)
1 C flour (120g)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp matcha powder
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp milk, at room temp
2 large eggs, at room temp

Method
1. In a bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and matcha. Add the salt and sugar and use a whisk to combine.
2. In another bowl, whisk the egg and milk until light and fluffy.
3. Mix the dry and the wet but mix until just blended. Do not over-beat.
4. Add half the melted butter and blend and then add the remainder. Do not over-blend.
5. Cover and allow to chill for up to an hour. (The JOC recipe recommends 3 hours but I only did 2 hr and it was already a bad idea. As Sally explained, the butter congealed and make the batter really stick and hard to work with.)
6. Brush each mould with the melted butter. Using a tbsp measure, measure out ¾ tbsp of the batter for each mould (it should fill ⅔ full) to make 24, or 1 tbsp of batter to make 20 maddys.
7. Bake at 190 deg C for 11 to 13 mins until the top springs back.
8. Allow to cool in the pan for 3 mins before releasing using a fork and onto a wire rack to cool. Serve immediately while hot. Consume within 24 hours optimally but keep in an air tight box.

Recipe feedback
This recipe made adjustments like the muffin-like mixing and chilling for 3 hours. This also uses a lot higher temp for the same duration of time, yet it didn't come out dry. The result was that the madeleine wasn't very fluffy and hardly had the signature bumps! However, it was very moist yet the outside was crispy. Matcha can cause the cake to become very dry and I wonder if that was the point of using the muffin method. In future, I may attempt the same muffin method but perhaps chill for only 1 hr as Sally recommended.