Matcha Cream Puffs - In this post, we will make a homemade green tea pastry cream. This light and creamy filling for choux pastries lends a unique Japanese flavor and fantastic pale green color to the finished cream puffs, sure to please and impress your guests and loved ones.
In order to make these matcha cream puffs, you will need to follow our choux pastry recipe post first. Just cut the finished shells in half and fill them using a pastry bag or spoon.
After making this matcha cream filling recipe, we found out that these already have bit of a cult following due to a Japanese cream puff franchise called Beard Papa's. We haven't had the cream puffs from there yet, but there is a location in Denver, and we can't wait to give them a try when we get out there again soon!
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What is Matcha?
Matcha is a Japanese green tea powder. It has been an integral part of the traditional tea service in Japan for centuries, but has only recently become popular in the west. It has a very mild vegetal flavor, with a slight bitterness as well as sweetness. The striking bright green color of matcha powder sets it apart from other varieties of green tea, as well as it's hazy appearance. It is a powder that is mixed directly into hot water, as opposed to strained out, the whole leaf is consumed, giving the tea more antioxident properites than any other type. It has been linked to lowered blood pressure, may decrease your risk of heart disease, and even boost metabolism!
Newest Recipe!
Cherry Mascarpone Cheese Crostata Tart Recipe
The next time that you're looking for an easy to bake dessert that's sure to impress, try this cherry mascarpone crostata. With minimal prep time, you can create this rustic masterpiece, with a golden-brown pie crust, rich mascarpone filling, and sweet cherries.
Ingredients
- Butter - unsalted butter.
- Corn starch - this will assist in the thickening and binding of the cream filling.
- Milk - whole milk works best in custard recipes.
- Vanilla extract - look for the word "bourbon", indicating the best and most pure processing of vanilla.
- Powdered sugar - for sweetening the whipped cream used for lightening the filling.
- Eggs - this cream starts as a custard, so we will temper the eggs to make a thick and smooth texture.
- Matcha Powder - Japanese green tea powder
- Salt - We use kosher salt, all recipes including sweet ones benefit from seasoning with salt.
- Heavy Cream - for whipping with powdered sugar and folding into the finished custard.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Step One - Combining Ingredients
In a stainless-steel mixing bowl, whip together the eggs with the dry ingredients, minus the matcha powder, until pale yellow and thick.
Put the milk, vanilla extract, and green tea powder together into a saucepan to heat.
Step Two - Heating the Milk Mixture, adding to the Egg Mixture.
Stir with a rubber spatula gently, over medium heat until it comes to a low simmer.
Add the warmed milk into the egg mixture in the mixing bowl, whipping to combine.
Step Three - Tempering the Custard
Add everything back to the saucepan .
Heat gently again, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula to allow the eggs to cook and thicken the custard. You can see that it will begin to foam, and the thickening will be visible underneath.
Step Four - Strain and Chill the Custard
Strain the thickened custard through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl nested in ice for chilling. Add the butter stirring to combine, giving the finished cream a smooth and glossy appearance.
Continue to stir the custard as it cools in order to facilitate it chilling very rapidly to room temperature.
Step Five - Make Whipped Cream
Combine heavy cream with powdered sugar in a bowl using a whisk.
Whisk rapidly until soft peaks are formed as shown.
Step six - Folding in the Cream, Lightening the Filling
Place the cooled pastry cream into a bowl and add the whipped cream by gently folding it in. (pulling from the bottom and folding over the top)
Continue folding in the cream, being careful not to over mix and lose the airy texture.
Step Seven - Finish the Cream, Fill the Puffs
Finish combining all of the whipped cream with the Matcha pastry cream and fill the pate choux shells using a piping bag or spoon.
Dust with more powdered sugar if desired.
Helpful Hint
The custard section of this recipe is quite time sensitive. Make sure that you have all of your ingredients ready, and equipment staged conveniently. It will come together rather quickly, and pausing to get set up can cause things to heat up too much, and the custard could break and curdle.
Storage
The filling will keep in the refrigerator, tightly sealed with plastic wrap, for 3 days.
For storage instructions concerning the matcha cream puffs themselves, refer to the pate choux post.
This filling will not freeze well.
Chef tip
We chose to break up the recipes for this filling and the cream puff dough into two posts for a couple of reasons. One, because the pate choux dough is very versatile and can be used for many more things than just cream puffs. Secondly, because making the dough and the filling all in one day can be time consuming and a little daunting. Make the pate choux a day or two in advance, and then you can make the cream and fill them.
Yes, you can use the same recipe and eliminate the Matcha, add a little bit more vanilla. Then you will have a simple vanilla pastry cream.
More Inspiration
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Recipe
Matcha Cream Puffs
Equipment
- 4 Mixing Bowls one for an ice bath large enough to fit the bowl with the finished cream.
- 1 liquid measuring cup
- 1 Measuring Spoon Set
- 1 Measuring cup set
- 1 Rubber Spatula
- 1 Kitchen Scale
- 1 Large saucepan
- 1 Large mesh strainer
- 1 small paring knife
- 1 whisk
Ingredients
Matcha Custard
- 2 cups Whole milk
- 4 whole Large eggs
- 8 oz Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 3 oz Butter unsalted, cut into cubes
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2½ oz Corn starch
- 1 tablespoon Macha powder
Whipped Cream
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 2 tbsps. Powdered sugar
Instructions
Making the Custard
- In a large mixing bowl place, the eggs, cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Whisk together to combine, until the mixture becomes pale yellow and smooth.
- In a large sauce pot, combine the whole milk, vanilla extract. and Matcha powder. Heat to a low simmer over medium heat stirring with a rubber spatula to prevent scorching.
- In a large mixing bowl place ice and water creating an ice bath. Fit a clean mixing bowl over the ice bath, with a mesh strainer close at hand for straining the final custard.
- Pour the heated milk mixture into the bowl with the egg mixture. Using a whisk or rubber spatula mix to combine the two, moving quickly so you don't scorch the final mixture. Return the combined ingredients to the saucepan over low to medium heat and stir continuously.
- Stir the custard until thickened, a slow thick bubble will break the surface.
- Quickly remove the custard from the heat, and carefully pour it through the mesh strainer into the bowl that is sitting over the ice bath. Because the custard is thick, you will have to push it through the strainer with a rubber spatula, leaving a smooth custard in the bowl below the strainer.
- Add the cubed butter to the finished custard and stir to combine using a whisk or rubber spatula creating a smooth and glossy finished custard. Continue to stir the custard over the ice bath in order to cool it down quickly.
Whipped Cream
- Add the heavy cream and powdered sugar to a clean mixing bowl.
- Using a whisk, whisk the two ingredients until soft peaks form.
Folding the Custard and the Whipped Cream
- Remove the cooled custard from the ice bath and add the whipped cream.
- Using a folding motion, pull the rubber spatula from the bottom of the bowl and fold it over the top.
- Repeat this motion until the two mixtures are fully combined and the cream is light and creamy.
- Use the finished cream to fill cream puffs and enjoy!
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