Matcha Parfait (Matcha Pafe)
抹茶パフェ Matcha pafeSay it: MAH-chah PAH-feh
Matcha parfait is the modern Japanese café treat at its most photogenic: a tall glass layered with matcha ice cream, wobbly matcha jelly, chewy shiratama rice dumplings, sweet azuki bean paste, softly whipped cream and a scatter of cornflakes for crunch, all finished with black sugar syrup. It is eaten all year round, most famously in Kyoto's tea shops, and tastes of fresh green tea — bittersweet and grassy — against sweet cream and beans. Each spoonful gives a different mix of cold, chewy, crisp and smooth.
Matcha Parfait (Matcha Pafe)
抹茶パフェ, Matcha pafe
Pronounced MAH-chah PAH-feh
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 1 hr
- Level
- Medium
Also nut-free.
Allergens: contains gluten, milk, egg. Check labels on packaged ingredients.
Ingredients
Amounts are scaled. Cooking times and pan sizes stay the same.
Matcha ice cream
Matcha jelly
Shiratama dumplings
To assemble
Method
Whisk 2 tbsp of the matcha with 1/4 cup (60 ml) of the milk in a small bowl until completely smooth, mashing out every lump with the back of the spoon.
Whisk the egg yolks with 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar in a bowl until pale and thickened. Heat the remaining milk and the cream in a saucepan over medium heat until steaming but not boiling, whisk in the matcha paste, then pour the hot mixture slowly into the yolks in a thin stream, whisking constantly.
Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until it reaches 170°F (77°C) and thickly coats the back of a spoon, 5–8 minutes; do not let it boil. Strain through a fine sieve, cool, then chill for at least 4 hours.
Churn the chilled base in an ice cream maker until thick and softly frozen, then freeze in a container for 2 hours until firm. Without a machine, freeze it in a shallow tray and whisk every 30 minutes for 3 hours.
For the jelly, stir the agar and 2 tbsp sugar into the water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring, then boil for 2 minutes until the agar is fully dissolved. Whisk 1 tbsp matcha with a spoonful of the hot liquid to a paste, whisk it back into the pan, pour into a small flat container and cool, then chill for 1 hour until set. Cut into 1/2-inch (1 cm) cubes.
For the shiratama, mix the shiratamako with 4 tbsp water into a soft, smooth dough the texture of an earlobe, adding a few drops more water if it crumbles. Roll into 12 small balls, drop into boiling water and cook until they float, then for 2 minutes more; transfer to ice water, drain and dust with cornstarch.
Whip the 1 cup cream with 1 tbsp sugar to soft, droopy peaks that just hold their shape.
Assemble in four tall glasses. crushed cornflakes at the bottom, then matcha jelly, matcha ice cream, a spoonful of anko and the shiratama, finishing with a generous swirl of whipped cream. Top with strawberries, drizzle with kuromitsu and dust with matcha just before serving.
Regional variants
In Kyoto and Uji tea shops the parfait is often made with a stronger, higher-grade matcha and may include matcha warabi mochi, a cube of matcha castella or a spoon of azuki simmered in syrup. Hojicha or black sesame versions swap the matcha for roasted tea or sesame paste.
Cook's notes
- Matcha turns harsh and bitter if it is boiled hard, so whisk it into a paste first and keep the custard below a simmer.
- Use culinary-grade matcha for the ice cream and jelly, and keep a pinch of ceremonial grade for the final dusting.
- Assemble the parfaits at the last moment so the cornflakes stay crisp and the whipped cream keeps its shape.
Serve with
Serve as a dessert with hot sencha or hojicha tea, or a small cup of unsweetened matcha.
Make ahead and storage
The ice cream keeps up to 2 weeks frozen; the jelly and shiratama can be made 1 day ahead and refrigerated, the dumplings kept in cold water. Assemble just before serving.
