Matcha Green Tea Panna Cotta – a beautiful Japanese twist on the classic fantastic Italian dessert made vegetarian plus gelatin and egg free with the use of Agar Agar. Panna Cotta meaning cooked cream is an alluring Italian dessert so easy to fall in love with and one that nobody will ever refuse to eat.
If Matcha Green Tea Latte is the only way you have been consuming Matcha so far, this will be a fantastic change to indulgence in. Even those who are averse to the taste of Matcha will find this Matcha Green Tea Panna Cotta cozy and will want to dig right in.
I’d been intrigued about Matcha green tea for a long time. When I finally got to taste it, I was mesmerized by its beautiful light lush green color. I’ve never been a coffee person and since I quit drinking tea couple of years back, there was a void in that tea time space. Matcha has been a welcome change. Apart from its use as a beverage, to say that Matcha Green Tea goes very well in creamy desserts would be an understatement. This is by far one of the better desserts I can boast of making yet. After my maiden attempt at making Panna Cotta turned out successfully, I wonder why it took me so long to try. This dessert will surely be repeated many times over in our home.
Whenever I make something new, I am quite excited for my mom to have a taste of it (other than Mr.K, of course!). Having tried real hard to not eat all of it myself, I saved some for her and offered it in a beautiful glass jar decorated with thinly sliced strawberries. She’s not fond of strawberries and this dessert was new to her too. At the first look, she asked me for just a spoon to taste. Then, surprised me by licking the entire jar clean in no time! She declared it the finest thing I’ve made in a long time. It is that good you guys!
Why should you make this?
- It is so so lip smacking good!
- Without visiting either Italy or Japan, you can enjoy this amazing fusion dessert right from the comfort of your home
- Make it for your friends and family and you’ll become known as that gourmet chef or the domestic goddess in your circle.
- Because, it is a crowd pleaser, super easy to make, yet has that sophisticated wow factor with little effort.
- It can be made ahead of time and stores well in the refrigerator
- Your dessert for that potluck or get together is sorted with this Matcha Panna Cotta
- Most people who do not like green tea on its own will certainly approve of this form of it. Its got a unique flavor to it. It is as good as any traditional Panna Cotta with the added bonus delicate flavor of Matcha Green Tea; Subtly rich and non-overwhelming.
What is Matcha?
Matcha (pronounced MA-cha) is finely ground powder of specially shade grown green tea leaves grown in the mountains of Japan. It is part of the traditional Japanese tea ceremonies. It is consumed differently from tea leaves or bags by typically dissolving in warm water or milk. A little goes a long way.
How does Matcha taste?
If you’ve consumed wheat grass juice or powder, Matcha gives a somewhat similar earthy, grassy, chlorophyll rich experience with a different flavor and a slight bitter after taste which I have no qualms about.
Why use Matcha?
Because it us rich in chlorophyll and a powerhouse of antioxidants. Google says as much as 137 times as the regularly brewed green tea, much more than spinach, broccoli, Acai berries, Blueberries, Dark Chocolate, Pomegranates or even Goji berries in the ascending order. Hence has huge anti-ageing benefits and prevents chronic diseases.
When you drink Matcha, you receive 100% nutrients of the leaf
Simply put, it is a great energy recharger, detoxifier and metabolism booster
Thing to remember
Do not use hot water to blend in the green tea. Hot water makes it bitter. Use only warm water to dissolve Matcha. Cold water makes it harder to keep it lump free.
Read Recipe notes to know about which Matcha I have used.
For serving I have used 250 ml ball preserving jars and it made 3 of those.
But you can always portion it out in mini jars or small shot glasses or mini glasses or any beautiful glass stemware will be work great and make more that way. Or even pour them into ramekins or interesting shaped bowls of your choice. Place the ramekins or bowls in hot water, loosen the sides gently with a knife and invert quickly onto a dessert plate to serve.
Why use Agar Agar?
Panna Cotta traditionally uses gelatin as a thickening agent. Since I am making a vegetarian version and gelatin is animal based, I am using Agar Agar, a sea weed which gives the same gelling result. Agar Agar aka China Grass is sold either as flakes or in powder form, either of which are good to use in this recipe.
This version of Panna cotta will blow your mind off with its thick seductive lusciousness. Smooth & creamy, mildly sweet and a novel flavor, a perfect mix of everything that is needed in a gourmet dessert. Because, we are using condensed milk which is already sweetened, there’s no need for sweeteners.
I have garnished with matcha white chocolate mint leaves, which are great as another added later of matcha. You can also pair it with thinly sliced fresh strawberries or cubed ripe mangoes like Alphonso when in season and it takes you to heaven in a spoonful.
Hope you get to make this gorgeous dessert soon!
- 200 g condensed milk can
- 250 ml heavy cream
- 1 inch square of good quality baking milk chocolate
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 tbsp Matcha Green Tea powder plus more for sprinkling (Ceremonial grade)
- 2 tbsp Agar Agar china grass flakes
- 1/4 cup warm water not hot to dissolve the Matcha
- 1/4 cup water to dissolve agar flakes
- 10 mint leaves with the stem intact
- 1 square baking white chocolate
- 1/8 tsp big pinch of matcha
- few drops of milk
- glass jars or cups for serving
-
melt white chocolate on a double boiler. Add a few drops of milk and thin it down.
-
stir in the matcha powder and mix well.
-
Keep the mint leaves ready. Spoon some matcha chocolate with a flat spoon and paint the back of the leaf with the chocolate. Repeat with all of them. Place on a steel plate far from one another and freeze immediately for 30 mins.
-
When frozen, take it out and gently peel away the leaf holding the stalk. Do this quickly, else the chocolate will melt from the heat of your hand.
Place them back in the freezer until used.
-
Keep the jars/ cups/ glasses cleaned, wiped dry and ready.
-
Measure and scoop out matcha into a small bowl. Pour in the 1/4 cup warm water and whisk well to mix in without any lumps. Keep aside.
-
In a mixing bowl, pour in the heavy cream. Add 1/4 cup milk to the heavy cream can and swish it to get everything out and then pour out condensed milk and whisk to blend well. Keep aside.
-
In a saucepan, pour the remaining 1/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup water, scoop out the agar agar flakes and heat on low- medium flame. Keep stirring to dissolve. This might take 5-7 mins.
-
When the flakes have dissolved completely, add the cream-condensed milk mixture, while simultaneously stirring else it will quickly thicken.
-
When it becomes custard like (takes a few minutes), add the matcha mixture and stir to mix well.
-
Silicone spatula comes in handy to get every single bit out.
-
Pour the Panna Cotta into the jars and distribute equally when it is still jiggly and in pouring consistency.
-
Let the jars cool completely. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. Always serve chilled.
-
Before serving, sift a smidge of matcha into each cup as a top layer for visual & flavor boost and optionally garnish with one or two frozen matcha chocolate leaves that were made earlier.
-
You can also garnish with some sliced strawberries topped with some berry coulis or layer the matcha with strawberry slices.
-
During the mango season, garnish with cubed alphonso mango
I have used Ceremonial grade AAA Organic Matcha Green tea which is full bodied with a floral overlay.
I used Eden brand Agar Agar flakes.
Flakes take longer to dissolve than the powder.
If using Agar agar powder, 2 teaspoons should suffice.
Do remember that you cannot reheat to dissolve once the agar agar thickens. Always buy good quality Matcha
Do not use hot water to dissolve Matcha as it will turn bitter.
I have used Ghirardeli baking white chocolate that I had brought from the US
You can many of the ingredients at Godrej nature’s basket or Big basket or in Amazon
Stores well easily for a week in the refrigerator.
Such lovely images!
Thank you Anj! Glad you liked them 🙂
These food pictures are so good