Matcha chocolate, or what we call Matcha Nama Chocolate (抹茶生チョコレート) in Japan, is a special treat that practically melts in your mouth. As I was testing my Matcha Chocolate recipe, I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop eating them, so Mr. JOC took them to work. He told me later, “The green tea chocolate disappeared in seconds.” I promise you, it’s really good!
Read on as I share with you my recipe, tips, and techniques for making these irresistible white chocolate and matcha squares. They may become your new favorite sweet treat!
What is Matcha?
Matcha (抹茶), is green tea powder made of top-quality tea leaves of Camellia sinensis. The young leaves are shade-grown, then stone-ground into a delicate fine powder. It has a slightly bitter taste to it.
Matcha is typically used for making tea at the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. This tea tends to be thick and have a bitter flavor, but it goes quite well with wagashi (和菓子), traditional Japanese confectioneries that are very sweet by itself. This beverage is quite different from hot tea served at Japanese restaurants made from steeping green tea leaves.
The color of matcha is a bright, vibrant green color. If your matcha powder doesn’t have that nice vivid hue to it, your matcha is well past its prime. Green tea powder is also quite pricey, especially if it is ceremonial grade, but culinary grade matcha is good enough for baking and making these chocolates.
As you may already know, green tea delivers a healthy dose of antioxidants and cancer-fighting power. Catechins in green tea are also known to have many beneficial health properties and matcha has greater potential health benefits than other green tea.
What is Matcha Chocolate?
Rich, yet not so sweet, decadent truffle-like matcha green tea chocolate, matcha chocolate is simply irresistible. If you love green tea sweets and desserts, this will be the ultimate treat for you.
In Japan, there are many varieties of green tea chocolate in stores, and they make a lovely gift for matcha fans. These include green tea Pocky’s, Melty Kiss, Kit Kat, and the popular ROYCE’ Chocolate.
When I shared my copycat recipe of ROYCE’ Nama Chocolate two years ago made with dark chocolate, I received many requests for the green tea version. I love anything with green tea, so I’m really happy to finally share this matcha-lovers treat with you. Cheers!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- white chocolate – I use Lindt White Chocolate Swiss Classic Bars
- heavy (whipping) cream – 38% fat content
- unsalted butter
- matcha (green tea powder) – for the chocolate mixture and for dusting on top; it’s fine to use culinary grade matcha here
How To Make Matcha Chocolate
The cooking process for this recipe is very similar to the regular Nama Chocolate recipe, but it uses white chocolate instead of regular chocolate.
- Line a square baking dish with parchment paper.
- Chop the white chocolate bar and butter into small pieces with a knife.
- Add the heavy cream into a small saucepan and heat it over medium heat on the stove. Remove from the heat when bubbles form around the edge of the pan. Do not boil.
- Mix the white chocolate and butter into the warm cream with a rubber spatula until smooth. Work fast to melt the chocolate while the cream is warm.
- Sift and add the matcha into the smooth white chocolate mixture. Mix until homogeneous in color.
- Pour into the baking dish. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
- Slice into squares, dust with green tea powder, and serve chilled.
It’s best to consume these chocolate squares right away, but you can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2–3 days.
Tips for Making Matcha Chocolate
- Use perfectly dry bowls and utensils. Even a small amount of water or steam can cause the chocolate to seize during the melting process.
- Select white chocolate that contains cocoa butter. High-quality white chocolate will be ivory in color. Some inferior brands contain vegetable fat that make the chocolate white-colored and should be avoid.
- Use heavy cream with 38% fat. Cream has differing fat content. The type with 38% fat is known as heavy (whipping) cream and it’s used to make whipped cream.
- Work fast to melt the chocolate while the cream is warm and before the mixture solidifies as it cools.
FAQs
Why did my chocolate release oil?
This is called separation, and it happens when you get the chocolate too hot. When chocolate gets too hot, the cocoa butter separates from the solids, and there is no way to salvage it (although you can bake with it and it tastes fine).
The best way to prevent separation is to use gentle heat (simmer on lowest heat) and stir frequently. Since we’re not using a double boiler in this recipe, make sure you do not bring the heavy whipping cream to a full boil. Remove from heat as soon as you see bubbles around the edges of the saucepan.
Why did my chocolate seize?
Seizing happens when moisture is introduced to melted chocolate. This can be even a tiny amount of liquid or steam. It happens all of a sudden from a smooth bowl of liquid chocolate to a lumpy, grainy mass of chocolate.
To fix seized chocolate, stir in vegetable shortening, 1 tablespoon per 6 ounces of chocolate, until fully incorporated and the chocolate loosens. You could also whisk in 1 teaspoon of boiling water and at a time until the chocolate becomes smooth, but the chocolate will become diluted.
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Matcha Chocolate
Ingredients
- 14 oz white chocolate (you‘ll need 4 Lindt White Chocolate Swiss Classic Bars and measure the weight to get 400 g; see Notes)
- ½ cup heavy (whipping) cream (see Notes)
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 Tbsp matcha (green tea powder)
- 2 tsp matcha (green tea powder) (for sprinkling)
Instructions
- Before You Start…Please note that this recipe requires 4–5 hours or overnight of chilling time. Gather all the ingredients. You will also need 1 8- x 8-inch (20 x 20 cm) baking dish and line it with parchment paper.
- Chop 14 oz white chocolate into small pieces so it will melt quickly.
- Cut 2 Tbsp unsalted butter into small pieces.
- Add ½ cup heavy (whipping) cream into a small saucepan and bring it ALMOST to a boil over medium heat. Keep an eye on the cream; when you see bubbles around the saucepan, remove from the heat.
- Immediately add the white chocolate and butter. With a rubber spatula, mix all together.
- The mixture will start to solidify, so melt the chocolate and butter while the cream is still warm.
- Once the mixture is smooth, sift and add 2 Tbsp matcha (green tea powder) into the mixture.
- Mix and combine together until the color is homogeneous.
- Into a prepared the baking dish lined with parchment paper, pour the green tea chocolate mixture.
- Tap the baking dish a few times on the kitchen countertop to remove any air bubbles. Flatten the surface with the rubber spatula if necessary. Refrigerate for 4–5 hours or overnight.
- Lift the parchment paper to remove the green tea chocolate from the baking dish. Run the sharp knife under hot water to warm up the knife and wipe it dry completely.
- Slice the 8- x 8-inch (20 x 20 cm) chocolate block into 4 smaller squares, then cut each square into 9 small pieces.
- Dust 2 tsp matcha (green tea powder) on top of the chocolate. Store the chocolate in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Serve chilled.
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in the refrigerator for 2–3 days, but it‘s best to enjoy it sooner.
Notes
- Make sure the bowls and utensils you are using are perfectly dry. Even a small amount of water/steam can “seize” the chocolate melting process.
- When buying white chocolate, make sure that it contains cocoa butter because some inferior brands contain vegetable fat. White chocolate should be ivory-colored (white chocolate made with vegetable fat is white-colored).
- The fat content for heavy (whipping) cream is 38%, which is used to whip cream.
- Separation (oil came out of the chocolate) happens when you get the chocolate too hot. When chocolate gets too hot, the cocoa butter separates from the solids, and there is no way to salvage it (although you can bake with it and it tastes fine). The best way to prevent separation is to use gentle heat (simmer on lowest heat) and stir frequently. Since we’re not using a double boiler in this recipe, make sure you do not bring the heavy whipping cream to a full boil. Remove from heat as soon as you saw bubbles around the edges of the saucepan.
- Seizing happens when moisture is introduced to melted chocolate (even a tiny amount of liquid or steam). It happens all of a sudden from a smooth bowl of liquid chocolate to a lumpy, grainy mass of chocolate.
Nutrition
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