matcha & black sesame shortbreads

matcha & vanilla swirled shortbreads pressed with black sesame seeds

inspired by a matcha babka in kyoto

just back from ten amazing days in japan! we spent them between tokyo and kyoto, absorbing all the incredible baking and patisserie inspiration

the french influence on pastry is so clear there, with madeleines, financiers, and croissants everywhere, and available in any flavour you can dream of, with special emphasis on the seasonal flavours (in this case, chestnuts and persimmons for winter). my personal highlights were chestnut madeleines (which I will be duplicating as soon as I get my hands on chestnut paste), an amazing matcha babka, and the black sesame daifuku

I could not have been more excited to come back and play around in my kitchen again and draw on all the ideas floating around in my head!

ingredients

60g butter, softened

50g caster sugar

0.5 tsp vanilla paste

80g plain flour

2 tsp matcha powder

black sesame seeds, for coating the edges

method

cream together the butter (60g), caster sugar (50g), and vanilla (0.5 tsp)

add the flour (80g) and fold until just combined

divide the dough in half, and add the matcha powder (2 tsp) to one half and mix until combined

roll out the matcha dough to a rough rectangle 3mm thick and about 15cm wide and 20cm high

roll out the plain dough to the same dimensions and lay gently on top of the matcha dough, pressing so they stick together

with the short edge of the rectangle towards you, fold the dough in thirds like a letter and pat down to stick the folds together

cut the dough down the long axis and lay the two strips on top of each other, with cut edges facing away to create the dough squiggles

wrap in baking paper and pat into a rough rectangular prism shape

roll the edges in black sesame seeds

re-wrap in baking paper and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

preheat the oven to 170°C

cut the dough log into 3mm thick slices (or thicker if you prefer) and lay out on a baking tray

bake for 10 minutes or until the shortbread is golden brown at the edges

let cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely