Matcha gelato with sesame biscuits

You know it’s been a hard week when you’ve felt compelled to make two batches of ice cream. This was definitely a two-batch week. The first was strawberry ice cream for the children, which I have secret plans for this weekend. The second is definitely for the grown-ups, because after a week of home-schooling, I need a treat even more than them!

We’ve been hooked on matcha ice cream since the early days of visiting Kyoto Kitchen. For some reason, it’s taken me all this time to get round to making my own at home, but it was well worth the wait! Ever since making my first batch of no-churn chocolate ice cream, I’ve been wondering if I could simply replace the cocoa with matcha green tea powder. It has the same texture as cocoa, and a similar rich bitterness after all. Well, it turns out the answer is an emphatic yes! I’ve used slightly less matcha than I would cocoa, as it’s seriously assertive stuff, but the flavour and texture of the finished gelato are spot on.

To take our late-night ice cream eating to the next level, I’ve paired the gelato with homemade sesame thins. These crisp, sweet and salty biscuits are made with tahini paste for a rich sesame flavour, which pairs really well with the matcha. The dough is quick and easy to make, but the best part about it is that you can store the dough in the freezer. When you need a treat, cut a few slices off the log, bake them in the oven while the ice cream thaws a little, and in around 15 minutes you have freshly baked cookies and perfectly smooth, creamy gelato, ready to devour in front of your preferred box set!

Matcha gelato

Makes 1 litre, plus an extra 150 ml bonus pot

• 500 ml double cream
• 1 x 397 g tin condensed milk
• 40 g matcha

1. Whip the double cream until thick and aerated, but not quite holding its shape. It should be slowly pourable.
2. In a separate bowl, stir the condensed milk and matcha together until smooth.
3. Beat in about a third of the whipped cream to loosen the mixture, then fold in the rest until no longer streaky.
4. Fill a 1 litre plastic tub (I use an old Carte d’Or container), plus your 150 ml overflow container, then put on the lids and pop them in the freezer. If you do it in the morning, it should be ready by dinner time.
5. If you make it more than 24 hours in advance, it’s best to take the tub out of the freezer 5 minutes before serving to get the perfect texture.

For step by step images (not that you need them really!), take a look at my no-churn chocolate gelato post.

Sweet and salty sesame biscuits

Makes approx. 25

• 175 g salted butter
• 125 g caster sugar
• 3 tbsp tahini paste (Belazu is brilliant)  
• 2 tbsp date molasses (again, Belazu are your people, or use honey)
• 1/4 tsp sea salt flakes, scrunched until fine
• 225 g self-raising flour
• 30 g sesame seeds (a mixture of white and black looks good)

1. Cream together the butter, sugar, tahini paste, date molasses and salt until smooth and well whipped.
2. Beat in the flour, then scrape the mixture into the centre of a sheet of greaseproof paper and shape into a cylinder. Twist the ends, then transfer to the fridge to firm up for 1 hour.
3. Spread out the sesame seeds on a plate, then unwrap the biscuit dough and roll it in the seeds to coat. You can wrap it back up and freeze the roll in a freezer bag at this point, or cut a few slices to cook straight away.
4. Preheat the oven to 190°C (170 fan) | 375°F | gas 5 and line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper.
5. Cut as many 5 mm slices as you want to eat that day and spread them out on the baking tray (keep the rest of the roll in the freezer for another time).
6. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown, then leave to cool for at least 5 minutes on the baking tray before eating.