I tasted matcha green tea the first time in a chilled matcha latte, and fell in love right away with its flavor. Now I like almost everything with matcha, whether tea, dessert or cake. I personally find that smooth milky textures highlight best the green tea flavor, so I figured out it would work beautifully in a matcha pudding dessert. Today’s recipe is Japanese and a vegan take on traditional pudding, which in France comes usually with chocolate, vanilla or caramel flavor and is prepared with milk and cream. {Recette en francais à la fin de l’article}
I love to try new ingredients. Matcha is a green tea powder from Japan, loaded with all sorts of antioxydants. ‘Matcha’ actually literally means ‘powdered tea’, and has the same health benefits as green tea – or even more, as you consume in fact the whole leaf, not just brew it.
An other star of this healthy pudding is tapioca pearls. Tapioca is a type of gluten-free starch that is extracted from the cassava root, a plant similar to potato. I am familiar with tapioca flour, as I use it regularly in my gluten free baking. Also my mother uses tapioca tiny pearls in her chicken soup (although in France, tapioca ‘pearls’ from regular grocery shops are not as beautifully round as the ones in this recipe, that originate from Thailand). In my matcha pudding, tapioca pearls give nicely a bit of chew, and somewhat remind me… of caviar (don’t run away, tapioca pearls are totally tasteless!).
I prepared this pudding couple of times before finding the right texture. Nowadays I prefer agar agar to thicken my preparations rather than gelatin which is made of animal collagen. Agar agar is three times more powerful than gelatin, so 2 g of agar agar replaces 6 g of gelatin. I admit it is rather difficult to weight such a small amount, so to give you an idea, 2 g corresponds to a scant teaspoon or ‘flat’ teaspoon as we say in French.
In my recipe I use barely 1/2 flat teaspoon. As agar agar sets more firmly than gelatin, it is better to add slightly less powder than more, otherwise your pudding will be too jelly-like.
If you like Matcha tea, you will surely enjoy this healthy and beautiful looking pudding. In place of the coconut whipped cream, you can also use fresh fruits, like mango or peach, or a fruit coulis.
- 40 g small tapioca pearls
- 400 ml water + 50 ml
- 400 ml full fat coconut milk
- 50 g xylitol sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp matcha tea powder
- ½ flat tsp agar agar powder (1 g)
- 1 can of full fat coconut milk (for whipped cream), chilled overnight in refrigerator
- 1 tbsp unrefined powdered sugar (see how to make your own)
- Aloe vera cubes (optional)
- Prepare the tapioca pearls: Bring the 400 ml water to boil and add the tapioca pearls. Keep boiling for about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring constantly so the tapioca pearls don't attach to the bottom. Cook until the pearls turn translucents. Drain if needed.
- Dissolve the agar agar powder in 50 ml of water.
- Prepare the matcha pudding: In a saucepan, mix coconut milk with xylitol sugar, vanilla extract and matcha powder. Heat at medium heat whisking until well combined. Stir in the cooked tapioca pearls.
- Add the agar agar mixture and bring to boil over medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Pour the pudding in 4 cups and chill several hours.
- Prepare the whipped coconut cream: without shaking the can, open it and scoop out the thickened cream, leaving the liquid behind.
- Place the cream in a mixing bowl and beat until creamy. Add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. (adjust sweetness if needed, you can also add ½ tsp vanilla extract). Refrigerate immediately until use.
- Before serving your matcha pudding, top it with whipped coconut cream and decorate with aloe vera cubes and matcha powder.
If you didn't refrigerate the coconut milk can overnight, place it for about an hour in your freezer.
- 40 g perles du Japon (tapioca)
- 400 ml eau + 50 ml
- 400 ml lait de coco
- 50 g sucre xylitol
- ½ cc extrait de vanille
- 1 cc rase de thé matcha
- ½ cc rase d'agar agar (1 g)
- 1 boîte de lait de coco, laissée au frigo toute une nuit
- 1 cc de sucre glace
- Cubes d'aloé vera (optionnel)
- Préparer les perles de tapioca: faire bouillir les 400 ml d'eau et ajouter les perles. Laisser cuire à petits bouillons pendant 15 à 20 minutes, en remuant pour éviter que les perles n'attachent au fond de la casserole. Cuire jusqu'à ce que les perles deviennent translucides. Egoutter si besoin.
- Dissoudre l'agar agar dans 50 ml d'eau froide.
- Préparer le pudding: dans une casserole mélanger le lait de coco avec le sucre xylitol, l'extrait de vanille et le thé matcha. Chauffer à feu moyen et mélanger au fouet pour bien combiner le tout. Ajouter les perles de tapioca en continuant de mélanger.
- Ajouter l'agar agar et faire bouillir doucement pendant 5 minutes.
- Verser le pudding dans des récipients et réserver au frais pendant plusieurs heures.
- Préparer la crème chantilly de coco: sans secouer la boite de lait de coco, l'ouvrir et sortir la crème de coco, mettant de côté la partie liquide.
- Fouetter la crème jusqu'à ce qu'elle prenne une consistence de chantilly. Ajouter le sucre glace et continuer de fouetter pour bien mélanger. (ajustez la quantité de sucre au besoin, ou ajoutez ½ cc d'extrait de vanille si vous le souhaitez)
- Mettre au frais jusqu'au moment de l'utiliser.
- Décorer les puddings de crème de coco en vous servant d'une douille ou simplement d'une cuillère.
- Ajouter de dés d'aloé vera et une pincée de thé matcha et servir immédiatement.
Si vous n'avez pas le temps de mettre la boîte de lait de coco une nuit au frigo, placez la au congélateur environ une heure.
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