Matcha Cream Puffs

Melt the butter and water in a pan over medium heat.

Add the salt and sugar, and bring to a boil.

Remove from the heat and stir in the sifted flour, then return the pan to the heat and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the mixture starts to come away from the sides of the pan cleanly.

Transfer the dough-like mixture into a large mixing bowl and let it cool for 5 minutes.

Once cooled, incorporate the eggs one at a time, slowly stirring and making sure each addition is fully combined to form a smooth paste that can be piped.

Cream the softened butter and sugar together in a bowl until smooth.

Add the sifted flour and Matcha powder, and mix until a dough starts to form.

Roll out the dough with a rolling pin between two sheets of baking paper or cling film (to prevent sticking) to a thickness of about 3-5 mm.

Place the rolled out sheet in the freezer to chill until firm.

Heat the milk and vanilla extract in a pan over medium heat until just boiling.

Meanwhile, cream the egg yolks and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until pale yellow and thick. Then, whisk in the sifted flour, sifted corn starch, and sifted Matcha powder.

Once the milk is boiling, remove from the heat and gradually add it to the egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling.

Pour the entire mixture back into the pan and cook gently over medium heat, stirring continuously with a whisk.

Continue stirring until the mixture thickens, then allow it to boil for 1 minute while still whisking.

Pour the pastry cream into a bowl and cover the surface with cling film. Set aside to cool, then refrigerate until ready to use.

Optional: Depending on your preferred texture, you can fold some softly whipped cream into the pastry cream to make it lighter.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (170°C fan).

Using a piping bag, pipe the choux pastry onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, each about 3 cm in diameter.

Remove the craquelin from the freezer and, using a round cookie cutter (or anything with a diameter of less than 3 cm, such as a shot glass), cut out circles and place them on top of the piped choux pastry.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Once baked, leave the cream puff shells to cool completely.

Make a small hole in the centre of each shell and pipe the pastry cream into the shell.

Dust with icing sugar to finish.