Green Nama Chocolates Matcha Flavour

To my taste, Matcha green tea is highly addictive.... Try it once and you will never forget the taste even if the first experience leaves you doubtful whether you like it or not.... This is what happened to me: it was in Japan that I first tried Matcha flavour ice-cream. It was bitter and I expected the ice-cream to be sweet but there was something in the taste that left my senses awaken. 
Then I started noticing: Matcha biscuits... Matcha chocolates... Matcha candies... even Matcha KitKat ! It looked like Japanese were obsessed with the taste, so I studied the matter in deep and tasted more...  

I even researched a bit and discovered that Matcha boosts your metabolism, reduces the cholesterol level, contains loads of antioxidants and produces the same effect coffee does but that lasts longer.... 
So this aromatic green powder is even good for health!! WOW!!! And finally, after some browsing through the ethnic grocery shops, I found my first Matcha green tea powder.  
Matcha has wonderfully bright green colour and very particular flavour. This very tea powder is generally used for the famous tea ceremony....
    
 
INGREDIENTS:
Servings: 24 chocolates

300g white chocolate
100ml thick cream
35g butter
2tbs Matcha powder +1tbs for sifting over




1. Prepare a pan for double boiling, but pour just a bit of water as you won't use it for long.

2. Chop the chocolate into small pieces and put it in a heat-resistant bowl or a small saucepan.

3. Heat the cream till it's almost boiling in the microwave or anyhow, be careful it doesn't boil. 
4. Add the hot cream and butter to the chopped chocolate, stir well with a silicon / plastic spatula till the chocolate melts completely.

5. Put the bowl with the chocolate over the double boiler and stir constantly. 
Note: If the chocolate starts splitting take it off the heat and put on a cool surface. Stir constantly...   

6. When the chocolate is completely melted, sift 2 tbs of Matcha powder in the chocolate mix. Stir well ...

This is how the Matcha tea powder will colour the white chocolate.

7. Dress the inner side of a 10x18 cm container with the plastic film.
8. Pour the chocolate mix in the container and level it well.
9. Refrigerate the chocolate for a couple of hours.

10. Using a warm knife make neat cuts in order to have 24 square chocolates.
Note: You may leave the hot tap water running and after each and every cut warm the knife and don't forget to dry it with a paper towel (or any towel).  

11. Sift 1 tbs of Matcha powder over the chocolates, turn them upside down with a use of a wide knife and sift Matcha again.
12. As all Royce' Nama chocolates are presented in a paper box, I also packed mine in a nice paper box. 

ITADAKIMASU !!!      

Nama "Royce" Chocolate Truffles

If you tried Royce' Nama Chocolate at least once, you will never forget it, even if you are not a chocolate eater like me...
It has such a smooth and creamy taste and it litterally melts in your mouth in a second, leaving you in a perfect bliss....
Nama means "fresh" or "raw" in Japanese, so this chocolate is kept in the fridge.
If in your country Royce' chocolate is not easy to find as here in Italy, forget of running around the city: you may prepare Nama chocolate at home!!!
  

INGREDIENTS:
Servings: 18-24 chocolates

 
300g dark bitter chocolate 50% cocoa min.
150ml whipping cream 35% fat min.
25g butter
2-3tbs liqueur 

 1. Cut the chocolate bar into small pieces with the use of a sharp knife (better a wide one).
 





2. Prepare a pot for double boiling, you may need it just for a couple of minutes, so don't boil a lot of water.
3. Heat the cream in the microwave or anyhow: it should be very hot but shouldn't boil. 

4. Pour the cream to the bowl with the chocolate bits and stir carefully with a silicon or plastic scoop.

5. Add butter and continue stirring.
6. At this point you may need to use the double boiling for a couple of minutes to finish the chocolate melting.
Note: Stir constantly!!! 
Note: Don't overheat the chocolate ganache as it may split.... Remove the bowl from double boiling if you see that the mix is getting too hot or starts splitting.

7. Stir your favourite liqueur in the chocolate ganache. 

8. Prepare a small tray or even a plastic container, which inner side you will carefully dress with the plasic film. I used 10x18cm plastic container for the amount of the chocolate ganache I prepared.
Note: The size of the tray will result in the thickness of the chocolates. With the tray size I used the chocolates resulted in being 2cm thick - perfect! 

7. Pour chocolate ganache into the lined tray and level it well.


8. Refrigerate the chocolate for 1.5 hour.
9. Remove the tray from the fridge and pooling the sides of the plastic film outside, remove the chocolate out of the tray. 
 
10. Place the chocolate bar on a sheet of oven paper to avoid sticking it to the cutting board.
11. Use a warm and dry knife to cut the perfect size chocolates.
Note: You may keep the tap hot water running and heat your knife each time you cut the chocolate, you also need to dry the knife carefully every time you heat it under the hot water. 
Note: I cut the chocolate bar into 18 chocolates but it's also enough to cut into 24 pieces. 

12. Sift the chocolate with the cocoa powder over, turn them with the use of a wide knife and sift the cocoa powder over again.



13. If you want to coat some chocolates with the crushed nuts (almonds, walnuts,...), separate the chocolates with a paper sheet before sifting cocoa powder over.

Note: As the original Royce' Nama chocolates are sold in boxes I also used a nice box for presentation. This way the chocolates become a precious gift to your beloved or your friends.... 

15. Refrigerate your chocolate to store them if after the tea time you have any left.... 

 

       Itadakimasu!!!

Spicy Cake with Chocolate Icing and Orange Marmalade

One thousand and one nights tales - have you ever heard about Aladdin or Ali Baba?.. Spicy and fluffy, this cake will become a perfect treat for those who have ever visited a market of spices ... You will be very surprised to find mayonnaise as one of the ingredients but the taste will reassure you... And what to say about the home-made Orange marmalade? 
This cake is not simple to prepare as we need two different fillings and an icing.
  
INGREDIENTS:
Servings: 8

Cake: 
2 eggs
1 glass sugar
0.5 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
200g mayonnaise
1 teaspoon baking soda
1.5 glass flour

Icing:

100g chocolate
100ml cream

Orange Marmalade:
4 oranges (about 900g)
1.5 glass of sugar
25ml rum 


Custard:
3 egg yolks
100g sugar (5 tbs)
30g flour (3tbs)
300ml milk (1.5glass)
orange zest
 

First we prepare Orange Marmalade:
1.Wash the oranges with some soda as we need to use the zest as well.

2. Peel the orange skin of 1.5 oranges, just the part of orange colour. You may do that with the vegetable peeler that takes away just the upper layer of the peel.
3. Slice the peel into really thin stripes.

4. Peel the oranges with the knife to get rid of the outer membrane. 
5. Cut the orange segments out of the membranes, it's quite a toilsome task but think of the result and you'll be fine!!!

6. Keep the membranes aside and squeeze them through a sifter.
7. Add 1 glass of sugar to the juice that you squeezed and melt it over medium heat.

8. Add the orange peel stripes and cook them for 5 minutes. Switch off the heat and put the pan aside for 10 more minutes.

9. Add orange segments and 0.5 glass of sugar to the syrup and cook it for 40 minutes at a medium heat.
10. From time to time take away the foam that will appear and stir the marmalade.
11. At the very end add 2 tablespoons of rum and switch off the heat.
12. As you haven't prepared a big quantity of the marmalade so you may refrigerate it for some days, don't worry it won't last long.... It is absolutely perfect for breakfast! 

Orange Marmalade is a fragrant filling for various cakes and transform even a plane one into a fine pastry masterpiece....
But for those lazy-ones: you may always buy a jar of orange marmalade in the supermarket....

Custard: This recipe is just for this cake. Usually they use a vanilla bean and lemon peel instead of orange peel.

1. We have already prepared the orange peel but for those who use the ready marmalade, peel just the orange part of the orange skin with the use of a vegetable peeler.
2. Heat the milk with the orange peel, but don't bring it to boiling. Use a thick bottom sauce pan for that. Keep the milk with the peel for 10 minutes to flavour it.

3. Whisk egg yolks with the sugar to a white foam with an electric mixer. You may do that with a hand whisk but then you need too much time and muscle work...
 

4. Sift the flour and mix it in with a hand whisk.
5. Add half a glass of milk and mix well.
6. Take the orange peel out of milk.
7. In the same sauce pan with the milk, whisk in the egg mix.

8. Over a medium heat, whisking vigorously, bring the milk and egg mix to boiling. It will thicken. Here we go: our custard is ready.

9. Transfer the custard to a bowl and cover it with plastic film making sure you stick the film to the custard surface. It will prevent it from the forming of the lumps ... Wait till the custard is cold to use it.            
 

Now it's turn to prepare the cake layers
 
1. Whisk eggs with sugar just for a couple of minutes. You don't need to use a mixer for.
2. Mix mayonnaise into the eggs.

3. Sift flour together with the baking soda and all the spices.
 
5. Whisk in flour little by little to the mix of eggs and mayo. The batter should be medium thick.

6. Prepare the cake pan: spread half a teaspoon of refined oil over the pan's bottom and sides.

7. Divide the batter into three parts and cook each layer of the cake in preheated oven at 250C for 7-8 minutes.
 

8. Make sure you clean the pan after each layer.
9. Cool the layers over the cake rack.



Let's melt the chocolate:

1. Break chocolate into piece, put it into a sauce pan together with the cream.





2. Melt it over a low heat stirring constantly.






Let's arrange our cake finally.

1. Spread orange marmalade over the first layer.

2. Spread some custard over the marmalade and cover with the second layer. You may also spread the custard over the second layer, then turn it over and put custard on top the marmalade.

3. Repeat for the second layer, same: marmalade and custard.
4. You will  still have some custard left, but you will need it later.

5. Spread the melted chocolate icing over the third layer, keeping couple of tablespoons of the icing.

6. Mix custard with the chocolate.
7. With a use of a table knife (the one that doesn't cut) cover the borders of the cake with the chocolate custard.
I used a fancy cake form, so this stage was really laborious... But if you've used a plane round cake pan it will be like a piece of cake.... nice pun, huh? :-)

8. Decorate the cake with some orange peel and keep it in fridge. 
             
   

     

I don't have anything to add... Enjoy!!!!