Green Tea Cheesecake Bites

"Accidental" Green Tea Biscuits

Lots of people know that I LOVE canapes or bite-sized foods. I always seem to find them more delicious because they're much more moreish when food can be eaten whole, one after another, in just one bite. Eating them by hand is a huge plus, too ;p. If it's good, I can keep popping them babies in my mouth like there's no tomorrow. Anyone share the love for canapes?

So when a mate had a potluck for his 21s a coupla months back, I volunteered two canapes for his birthday: 1 sweet and 1 savoury. And phew, was this recipe a load of work or what. It's not that it's complicated, but I had LOTS of screw ups in the kitchen that day. Fortunately, some of them actually worked even better as a result! Let me share what I've had to learn the hard way...

FIRST! Rookie Mistake Number 1: Mistaking the teaspoon measurements for TABLEspoon.(LOOOOOOOL). BUT, this was one mistake that worked well in my favour. Because of that, the green tea flavour was much more stronger and what we enjoyed most about these lovely cheesecake bites. However, I did add too much gelatin but most people didn't mind, because it wasn't that bad anyway.

Lesson: This much green tea is highly recommended

Next, mashing the biscuits into crumbs. First, smashed in ziplock bag with my hand, but found it hard because of the air pocket inside. Then, pressed them in the same bag with a small pot. BAD. The ziplock bag started having holes and crumbs spilled everywhere. Later, I got exasperated and just crushed a few at a time in a metal bowl with a pestle. PERFECT. It was really even and still crumbly, yet not too fine. Next time I did it, I tried a blender but this was an even WORSE idea. Biscuits came turned to fine powder, and we want CRUMBS. Made it totally pasty when mixed with melted butter, no crunchy texture.

Lesson: Crumb with pestle few at a time, or in cheesecloth with rolling pin

Another thing I did wrong was neglect to read the initial recommended size of tray to use. I just grabbed the massive steaming plate I had when in fact it was meant for a tiny brownie tray(smaller than an A4 paper!) which is why my first attempt turned out sooo thin. Still, lots of people enjoyed it so I decided to call them, "Accidental Green Tea BISCUITS" instead hehe.

Lesson: Read the recommended size/portion for any recipe!

Bought a piping kit for the first time for only $2.95 at Coles lol

ANYWAY, lots of errors in the kitchen that day but totally no regrets! I learned from figuring out what was wrong and also from making improvements on them. Hope you guys can learn from my mistakes too.

Was so dissatisfied with my first attempt I immediately made another batch the next day before the party despite the much effort of making another trip to the supermarket, making and cleaning again. Happy to say both seemed warmly received. Then, I made this cake again for my cousin's birthday few months later. You can also leave the whole cheesecake as it is or choose to cut them up to serve.

Whole Green Tea Cheesecake. First time decorating a cake lol hmmm...

Anyway, made lots of adjustments to the recipe and now I can't tell you how extremely happy I am with the taste, texture and quantity of the entire cake now! Also adjusted the quantity to make it more manageable, i.e. using whole packets of ingredients. Isn't it annoying when you're left with like, 2/5 or 3/8 of a packet of ingredient and not sure what to do with them after?

Finally, I've tried my best to lay out the recipe in a way that's much easier to comprehend. Just know that there are 3 main components to this cake: A) cream B) cream cheese C) green tea milk before mixing them all together.

Hope you guys enjoy this recipe! Really recommend this for your next get together/potluck as they really are quite delicious and addictive to eat! Happy cooking!! =)

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Green Tea Cheesecake Bites

(adapted from this recipe by Raspberri Cupcakes)

Ingredients:

250g Arnotts Nice biscuits

150g unsalted butter, melted

300ml pure (whipping) cream

250g cream cheese

1/2 cup caster sugar

150ml milk

3 tbsp matcha (green tea) powder *

3 tsp powdered gelatin

* Found that Yahweh Asian Grocery sells the cheapest Green Tea powder amongst the other Asian Groceries in the CBD =)

Method:

Grease a 20cm square baking pan and line with baking paper, ensuring that two ends of the paper hangs over the edges of the tin. Place biscuits in food processor or mortar and pestle to crush (4 biscuits at a time) until fine crumbs. Stir in melted butter and mix until well combined. Press tightly into thin single layer in prepared pan and chill for at least 30 minutes.

A:

Beat cream in a mixing bowl using balloon whisk on high, and then turn to low as cream thickens until it reaches soft peaks. Set aside.

B:

Place cream cheese in a separate mixing bowl and beat on high until smooth. Add sugar and beat until well combined. Place gelatin in a separate bowl with 4 tbsp water. Set aside.

C:

In a small saucepan, heat milk until it just comes to boil (bubbles form at inside of pot), remove from heat and whisk in green tea and gelatin powder to dissolve (make sure no lumps!).

Add C to B and beat until smooth. Fold mixture into A until even. When no one's looking, scrape some off with your fingers, lick and hear yourself go, "MMMMM...." from the delectable green tea goodness. Finally, pour mixture over crumb layer and spread evenly. Chill for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Remove from fridge and slice into equal sized squares. Top with fresh whipped cream and/or berries and serve chilled. Can be stored for two days in the refrigerator.

PERFECT for all green tea lovers out there =)