Matcha Flavored Custard with ginger poached pears and rice malt crumb on top, does not it say all?
I’m sure most of you already know that I speak from the heart. I am not the type of person who can lie very easily.
Last week I was talking about Francesco Tonelli with my friend Bart. If you do not know him I recommend you take a moment to look at his portfolio. I am hooked on his site and fell in love with his brilliant work. I was browsing through his blog the entire week looking at his camera and lighting and trying to understand how he became ‘Francesco Tonelli.’ One thing is certain: he loves food. Without loving food no one can be a food photographer. So if you are not passionate about food, you cannot be a food photographer. I am sorry for being rude. You can be a photographer, just not food photographer. I salute people like Francesco who takes food very seriously.
After browsing through his interviews and blog posts I learned that I have to start using Photoshop. I subscribed to Adobe’s Creative Cloud(CC) three months ago. Adobe Creative Cloud is a program where you can get all of Adobe’s software for a monthly subscription fee. So do not waste your money and get Lightroom. Get CC instead. It’s only 10 dollars a month–less than my daily food budget. I have been using Lightroom for over a year and it’s time that I got my hands dirty in Photoshop. I am also taking a Lynda.com class for PS and it’s helping me a lot.
This week I’ve been very busy with all of this, but back to the topic at hand…
I subscribe to several food Magazines such as Donna Hay, Saveur, Delicious UK and Gourmet Traveller Australia. While browsing through one of them last Sunday this Matcha Custard happened to cross my path. I thought nothing could be better than this for my theme based post.
This month we are doing tea infused cooking. Before I publish any recipes to my blog I sample them in small batches. I tried this one and loved it. The recipe calls for Matcha powder, which I got from Tealuxe, Harvard Square. You can find it in any speciality store. If you’re short on time, you can skip the poached pears or rice crumbs; the custard itself is gratifying. I was very worried about poaching the pears because the magazine makes it seem very difficult, but after speaking with Pallavi Roy from Heuristic Kitchens I gave it a try and it’s very easy!
For rice crumbs, the recipe suggests brown rice flour and Malt Syrup which I got it in my local Whole Foods.
Disclaimer:
Cooking With Friends: This blog post is part of the monthly “Cooking With Friends” themed blog post challenge. This challenge was started by a bunch of virtual friends united by their love of food, with the aim of tackling a different food related theme each month. If you want to try this month’s theme, please feel free to do so and link your recipe in the comments section. We’d love to check it out. Meanwhile, check out what the others in the group have come up with this month.
Anjana from At the Corner of Happy and Harried, Jayashri from My Veg Fare, Jyothi from Curry Tail, Madhuri from MADaboutkitchen, Subhasmita from The Flavors of Kitchen, and Sujatha from Spice n Treats.
Here is a recap of my previous months’ posts.
Roasted cauliflower fennel bechamel gratin
This recipe is adapted from Gourmet Australia
Recipe for Matcha Custard
Notes: You can find brown rice flour and malt syrup in your local Whole Foods. I thought brown rice flour was overrated, but after eating and learning about it’s health benefits, I am hooked on it. You can also use normal white rice flour.
Malt syrup is not the same as molasses, but if you can use it as an alternative.
Matcha powder is nothing but green tea powder. I am not sure how you can replace that 🙂
You can skip poaching the pears and making rice malt crumbs, but it’s highly recommended.
Ingredients
- Matcha Custard
- 1 cup light cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 teaspoon matcha
- 6 egg yolks
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- hot water
- Ginger poached pears
- 2 cups water
- 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 piece (1 1/2 inches) fresh ginger, grated
- 1 lemon rind
- 1 lemon juice
- 3 whole black cloves
- 2 pears, peeled, quartered and cored
- Rice Malt Crumb
- 1 cup brown rice flour
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon malt syrup
- 1 tablespoon unsalted melted butter
- 1 teaspoon matcha
Instructions
Matcha Custard
1. Set the oven to 300 degrees. Have on hand a shallow roasting pan lined with a tea towel.
2. In a saucepan, over medium-high, heat cream, milk and matcha. Bring it to a simmer.
3. Meanwhile, in a bowl add yolks and sugar. Whisk it well. Add hot cream slowly and whisk it to make a smooth liquid. {Please check the picture above}. Pour into a jug and skim the bubbles off the top. Then pour into small ovenproof custard bowls.
4. Add hot water to the roasting pan, lined with tea towel until it’s halfway through. Place the custard bowls inside and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until it is slight wobbly. Take it out and chill in refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours.
Ginger Poached Pears
1. In a saucepan, over medium-heat, heat water, sugar, ginger, lemon rind, lemon juice, and black cloves. Add peeled pears and boil it for 10 to 15 minutes, or until it is fork tender.
2. Take the pears out with a slotted spoon. Now increase the temperature to high and reduce the sugar syrup to half of the amount. Take the liquid aside. You can use this syrup in cocktails.
Rice Malt Crumb
1. Set the oven at 300 degrees. Have a shallow cookie sheet ready.
2. In a bowl, add rice flour, sugar, malt syrup, butter and matcha powder. With hands mix it to form a crumbly mixture. Spread it evenly on the tray and bake for 8-10 minutes by stirring occassionally, or until it becomes golden brown.
3. Set it aside and cool.
Serve matcha custard with poached pears and rice malt crumbs on top.
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Lovely share. I’m surprised to see so many components going together in a tiny bowl !!
Such a dainty and beautiful dessert!! Love the different flavors here with the matcha, the crumb and the poached pears…divine!!!
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