Where Flavours and Nutrition collide..Mini Matcha Dorayaki Pancakes with Mochi~!

It is Tea Time~!

With the recent influence from my part-time research on the nutrition aspects of green tea, it made perfect sense to incorporate this luscious yet nutritious flavour into an everyday treat..

Tea is the most consumed beverage in the world, after water, and originated in China as far back as 2737 B.C.. Within the numerous varieties available in the market, green tea has been priced for its relatively high content of polyphenolics, some of which carry strong antioxidant capacities that may be protective of our cells from becoming damaged.

Despite the nutritionist in me, I am most fascinated by the unique flavour that matcha (powder green tea from Japan) has to offer. From its subtle aroma, to its well balanced bittersweet undertone, it is the perfect ingredient that would bring any sweet treat with an element of surprise.

Just to balance out my health-conscious sense, I have made these dorayaki into bite size treats!

~ Mini Matcha Dorayaki Pancakes with Mochi ~

Makes 24 mini dorayaki

Ingredients

4 Eggs
200g Granulated Sugar
3 tbs Honey
2 tbs Vegetable oil
2 tbs Mirin
1 tsp baking soda
300g cake flour
1 tbs Matcha powder
100mL Water
1 can (300g) Adzuki bean paste with sweet chestnut
Pre-made mochi


Directions


1.     Whisk eggs and sugar till glossy
2.     Sift the flour and matcha powder three times
3.     Combine the water, mirin, baking soda and honey
4.     Slowly add the sifted flour into the egg mix while whisking, followed by the liquids

5.     Mix well and set aside for approx 20 mins, after 20 mins the consistency may need adjusting with a little water
6.     Cook Dorayaki in a pan (very lightly oiled and wipe with paper towel) over medium heat till bubbles appear before flipping (the underside should be nicely browned all over


7.     Served sandwiched together with prepared red bean and mochi pieces

Bon Appetit~!

Celebrating Japanese New Year....le Macaron de Shōgatsu!

This article is part of "The Macaron Series"
http://lafleuraucacao.blogspot.com/2009/10/in-mood-for-loveand-macaronthe-macaron.html

As we count down along with the crystal ball in NYC, January 1st is also considered by most Japanese to be one of the most important annual festivals and has been celebrated for centuries with its own unique customs. After an evening a festivities, toasts with Champagne, and feeling at ease on my day off, I decided to create macaron that celebrate Japanese New Year (正月) or Shōgatsu.


Japanese people eat a special selection of dishes during the New Year celebration called osechi-ryōri (御節料理). This consists of boiled seaweed (昆布), fish cakes (蒲鉾), mashed sweet potato with chestnut (栗きんとん), simmered burdock root (金平牛蒡), and sweetened black soybeans (黒豆). Many of these dishes are sweet, sour, or dried, so they can keep without refrigeration—the culinary traditions date to a time before households had refrigerators, when most stores closed for the holidays.

This special macaron incorporates one of the ingredients from osechi-ryōri, sweet chestnut, with 2 other signature flavours of Japan, Red Bean (赤豆) and Matcha Green Tea (抹茶).


~ le Macaron de Shōgatsu ~

Makes 20 Macarons

6 Sweet Roasted Chestnuts - cut into 1/4" cubes

1 batch of red bean flavoured macaron shells
for the Macaron Recipe, please click on this link below for the recipe for the Earl Grey Macaron:
http://lafleuraucacao.blogspot.com/2009/10/earl-grey-macaronnew-creation-for.html

* Replace the 8g of Earl Grey tea powder with 8g of Red Bean (Kochi An) powder

1 batch of Matcha Ganache
for the Matcha Ganache Recipe, please click on this link below for the recipe for the le Macaron de l'amour:
http://lafleuraucacao.blogspot.com/2009/11/macarons-that-shimmered-for-union-of.html


Assemble the le Macaron de Shōgatsu:
1. Place the ganache into a piping bag and pipe mixture onto one macaron shell.
2. Place 3-4 pieces of sweet roasted chestnut cubes into the ganache.
3. Gently press an un-piped shell onto the ganache until the ganache just reaches the rim of the macaron.
4. Dust very lightly with Matcha powder if desired.

Bon Appetit!