I’ve made Matcha Tiramisu twice and I love it because it’s so simple because it’s a no-bake dessert, and it tastes so good as well.

This is based on a regular Tiramisu recipe from a cookbook by Chef Tsutomu Ochiai, who is one of the pioneers of Italian restaurants in Japan. His recipe calls for sponge cake but I’ve substituted it with ladyfinger biscuits (or sponge fingers as they seem to call it in Australia).

Ingredients (12+ portions):

Egg yolks (medium), 5 each
Sugar (the recipe calls for granulated sugar but I used panela), 90g
Mascarpone cheese, 250g
Heavy cream, 750ml
Matcha powder, as needed

For the Matcha Syrup:
Matcha powder whisked into hot water, 300ml (it’s up to you how strong you want to make it)
Sugar (again, I used panela, but you can choose your sweetener of choice), 50-80g
Brandy (or bourbon or rum), 30ml

Ladyfingers/Sponge fingers, as needed

Matcha powder (for dusting the Tiramisu before serving)

*Note that culinary grade Matcha is sufficient for this recipe but if you want to splurge and use drinking grade Matcha, that’s fine as well!

1. Make the Matcha syrup by combining all the ingredients and making sure that all the sugar dissolves. Add the spirit of choice once the mixture has cooled down.
2. Line the bottom of a pan/container with the ladyfingers and brush a generous amount of the Matcha syrup to soak them. You can also dip each biscuit in the mixture to make sure that they soak up enough of it. I’ve made this Tiramisu twice and for some reason I always fail to have them soak enough!
3. Be sure to use very fresh egg yolks (opt to buy them at a market rather than a supermarket). Combine the yolks with the Mascarpone cheese and whisk well until you no longer see clumps of the cheese.
4. Whisk together the sugar and heavy cream. But before you do, set aside a bit of the cream. Whisk some Matcha powder with a tiny bit of water and add the cream you set aside. This can be added to the whipped cream after you get close to the consistency you want. I haven’t written a measurement for the Matcha because the amount you need to add will probably depend on the quality of the Matcha you use. The color of the cream should look nice. If you feel like it needs more green, just keep adding a mixture of Matcha powder and water until it looks nice. Just make sure you don’t whisk the cream too much or else you will end up with over-whipped cream. If that happens, just add a bit of heavy cream to fix it. The consistency should be similar to the yolk and Mascarpone mixture.
5. Add the yolk and Mascarpone mixture to the Matcha cream mixture (if you over whip this, it will be difficult to combine these two). Slowly mix the two with a whisk or spatula until well combined. If you are going to eat the Tiramisu on the same day, it’s better to whisk it until it’s fairly firm. If you want to keep it in the fridge overnight, it’s ok for it to be less firm.
6. Spread a generous amount of this cream over the ladyfingers soaked in Matcha syrup.
7. Add another layer of Matcha syrup soaked biscuits (you can dip them or use a pastry brush). Top off with the rest of the cream and refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours.
8. Scoop onto a plate and dust some Matcha powder (with a sieve or tea strainer) over it before serving.