Matcha Red Bean Ice Cream Hazelnut Tart

The kind of green tea ice cream that I enjoy is the one served in Japanese restaurants. If there is an authentic green tea ice cream, I think that’s the one. There are a lot of green tea ice cream brands that you can choose from stores. But I found it too milky from the few brands that I’ve tasted. And I like my green tea ice cream with that real matcha flavour, almost bitter and earthy but still sweet and aromatic.

The thing is you don’t go to a Japanese restaurant to just have green tea ice cream. It’s criminal! So the most practical solution is to mix up your own batch of ice cream. Doesn’t sound too practical for most of the people? Well…

What about you make the ice cream, save some in the fridge, and use the rest for this delicious and decadent ice cream tart. One stone two birds!

Last time I made a green tea and black sesame cheesecake with hazelnut shortbread crust, and now I am hooked with the combination of hazelnuts and green tea. It sounds pure and healthy, and it tastes really delicious! A dessert combination that makes you feel good about it.

This is a relatively small tart. Feel free to double up the crust recipe portion to make a bigger crust to hold more ice cream. The red bean paste is entirely optional.

Ingredients (9″ x 3″ tart):
Hazelnut Shortbread Crust
1/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Matcha Red Bean Ice Cream
1 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons matcha powder
4 large egg yolks
1/3 cup red bean paste

Directions:
Preheat oven at 350F. Grease a tart pan with a removable bottom.
Make the crust by mixing all the crust ingredients in a food processor, until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Press the mixture onto the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake crust for 15 to 18 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.
To prepare the ice cream, combine milk, heavy cream and 1/4 cup sugar, salt and 2 tablespoons matcha powder in a medium saucepan. Bring mixture to simmer, until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside.
Whisk egg yolks and remaining sugar in a medium bowl until pale, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in half of the warm cream mixture, mix until blended. Stir yolk mixture into the remaining cream mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat a wooden spoon, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Strain custard into another medium bowl, let cool over a bowl of ice water, or chill in the refrigerator, stirring occasionally, until it becomes cool.
Process custard in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Few minutes before it’s done processing, add red bean paste while the machine is running.
Transfer ice cream on top of the tart crust. Keep the remaining ice cream in an airtight container, cover and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.
Before serving, sprinkle matcha powder on top of the tart.

4 comments

  1. So pretty! I love green tea ice cream. And I agree with you that the Japanese is the most authentic one!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *