diy projects

Kuri Matcha Choco Verrines – makes six 8oz glasses

¼ recipe Matcha Génoise, diced
¼ recipe Chocolate Valentino, diced
1 recipe Kuri (chestnut) Chantilly Cream
8 whole chestnuts in syrup (available at Japanese markets)
Some cocoa powder

Matcha Génoise
100g granulated sugar
70g all purpose flour
15g matcha
20g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 large eggs

Prep:
- Sift together flour and matcha, set aside.
- Preheat oven to 360°F/180°C.
- Lightly butter a 12 x 9in/28 x 24cm roll cake pan and line it with parchment paper.

Brings a small pot of water to boil, set aside. Melt the butter in a microwave, set aside to cool.

Using a handheld mixer, beat the eggs together in a heatproof bowl then add sugar and beat until blended. Place the bowl over the pot of boil water and continue to beat over medium speed until it is foamy and warm to the touch. Remove from heat, continue to beat in a circular motion until it doubles in volume and soft peaks form. Gradually add in the sifted matcha flour mix using a rubber spatula and fold gently until incorporated. Add in the melted butter, quickly fold until completely incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spread and smooth out the batter using the spatula. Tap the pan slightly on the counter to release any air bubbles, place into the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Slice it into small cubes.

Kuri (chestnut) Chantilly Cream
200ml heavy cream
3tbsp chestnut cream or crème de marrons
1tbsp caster sugar
¼ vanilla bean, split open and seeds scraped out

Bring 50ml heavy cream, vanilla pod & seeds, and the chestnut cream to just simmer over medium heat; stirring occasionally to prevent from burning. Remove from heat and continue to stir until the two are fully incorporated. Remove vanilla pod and place the saucepan in an ice water bath to cool.

Place the remaining cream, sugar in a bowl and whip until stiff peaks form. Fold in the cooled chestnut cream mixture and mix until fully incorporated. Pour the whipped cream into a piping bag w/o a tip, let chill in refrigerator.

Assemble:
Spoon some Chocolate Valentino cubes into the glasses (I use champagne flutes) to ¼ height of the glasses then spoon in matcha génoise cubes next to 2/4 full. Snip off a little corner of the piping bag, and pipe the cream to ¾ full, place some candied chestnuts on top then pipe more cream until almost to the top. Sprinkle some cocoa powder and top off with a piece of candied chestnut. Voilà!