Green Tea Galore

My can of green tea has been sitting comfortably in my pantry for far too long, so much so that it has been calling out to me softly everytime I open the pantry.  At the rate that it is going, it will want to strike a conversation pretty soon.  Must do something.  Quick.

While browsing through Okashi: Sweet Treats Made With Love by Keiko Ishida last week, the green tea ice cream caught my eye.  Since we like cold treats plus the weather has been so humid and hot plus I needed some egg whites for my next macaron attempt, I got cranking straight away.  Three birds with one  green tea stone, hooray !

While I was at it, I thought I might as well undertake a double green tea affair before I chuck the tea in the freezer.  I looked through my bake list and this Japanese Kasutera cake fitted right in.

While the green tea ice cream passed my taste test with flying colours, I wasn't convinced about the Kasutera cake.  It tasted too honey-ish and I couldn't taste the green tea.  The cake was soft and spongy though.  As such, I am going to KIV the Kasutera cake recipe for now, until I find a more palatable recipe.

For the green tea ice cream, you will need:
200 g fresh whole milk
3 egg yolks
80 g castor sugar
10 g green tea powder
100 g whipping cream (35% fat)

Preparation:
Heat milk in a saucepan almost to the boiling point, then remove from heat and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat yolks and sugar until pale yellow in colour.  Add green tea powder and mix well.

Add warm milk and mix well.  Return mixture to the same saucepan and heat very gently, stirring constantly, until it thickens to form a custard.

Transfer custard into a mixing bowl.  Place bowl in a larger bowl half-filled with iced water to cool.

In a chilled bowl, whip whipping cream until stiff peaks form.  Add whipped cream to custard and fold through.  Transfer mixture to an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Store in freezer or serve immediately.