Saturday 18 August 2012

Green Tea & Vanilla Financiers


This recipe is almost too good to share...but seeing as it's you, I'll spill! ;D

A Financier (pronounced fee-nahng-syher) is a small french tea cake. Rumour has it that the cake got its name because it was traditionally baked in a rectangular mold, which resembled gold bullion bars. Another popular belief was bankers in the 19th century would queue for these cakes made by a pattisier at a bakery near the financial district of Paris.

To my Aussie readers, you may be more familiar with Friands which has been based on the Financier recipe. So Financier are from France and Friands are from Oz! :)

I've decided to put my own twist on the Financier. I've infused these little cakes with green tea. I call these "Epic Green Tea Financiers" because when the boys tried em, they looked at me and groaned "That was soooo good!!! Need I say more? ;)


Makes
6 large / 24 mini
 
Ingredients
50g Flour
5g Corn Flour
3 Egg Whites
130g Castor Sugar
50g Almond Meal
1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence
A pinch of Salt
130g Unsalted Butter

Variation
10g Green Tea Powder
Raspberries

Instructions 
1.Preheat oven to 220°C
2.Brown butter "beurre noisette" in a small saucepan over low heat until fragrant and golden brown in colour.
3.Place egg whites in a bowl and beat lightly. Add sugar, almond meal, vanilla essence, flour, salt, green tea powder (optional) mixing well after each addition.
4.Pour browned butter to egg mixture and mix well.
5.Pour batter into lightly greased moulds.
6.Bake em for 10-15 mins until they are light golden in colour.
7.Remove cakes from moulds and cool on a wire rack before serving.


PS: Ready to fill your house with the smell of freshly baked goodness on a beautiful Sunday morning? When you slip yours out of the oven, make sure you send me a pic via my Twitter page.

xx

Saturday 11 August 2012

Matcha Fro-yo


Allow me to introduce you Matcha Fro-yo or Green Tea Frozen Yogurt to you & me. Fro-yo, the "it" food craze among....everyone? (well, at least for the moment I am!). 

Ice-cream's less evil/fat twin, Fro-yo is less sugary than ice-cream, they are creamy, gooey, wonderfully tangy...and if you're a weight-watcher, froyos contain live active cultures (lactobacillus and all that good stuff) which improves digestion!
Win win.

Lately, frenchie and I have been obsessed with Azuma's Green tea fro-yo. If you're in the city, pop by Azuma on George St. I promise you'll be welcomed with a delicious and enticing smell of chiffon cakes and other desserts (black sesame chiffon and green tea tart are our personal favourites).

I've tried froyos from Cacao, Sour Sally, Yogurberry, Pink Guava...they're all pretty good too! What are you favourites? Suggestions are greatly appreciated! :)

Of course, if you have follow me on my previous posts, you'll already know that I like to try re-make something I like. Anywhoo, here's my take on my Azuma inspired green tea fro-yo.

PS: And if you're on the hunt for something sweet and naughty, try my Oreo Cookies Ice-Cream
It's a game changer!

This is exactly what you'll need, no brainer! L-R: 1/2 cup Sugar, 1.5 tbsp Green tea powder and 2 cups Greek style yogurt / normal yogurt is fine too



Add chopped strawberries, or whatever tickles your fancy!

PPS: Check out my dear sister's blog - Giggling tea is a new blog by my frenchie's lil sis (if you're a tea lover, she's gonna surprise you with some creative tea recipes!). 

I'll be posting some Japanese French fusion inspired desserts very soon, watch this space! xoxo