Matcha-Anko Shu Cream (抹茶あんこシュー)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Piping bag with a plain round tip
• •Wooden spoon or stand mixer
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Baking sheet lined with parchment
• •Small knife or skewer

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the custard

   Warm the 250ml milk until small bubbles gather at the edge. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and sifted matcha until smooth and deep green. Pour in the hot milk a little at a time while whisking, then return everything to the pan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the custard thickens and gives a slow, heavy bubble. This brief boil cooks the starch fully, so the custard sets cleanly instead of tasting chalky.

   Sift the matcha before it meets liquid. Lumps of tea do not dissolve politely once the custard thickens.
2. 2

   Chill the cream

   Take the custard off the heat and whisk in the 20g butter and vanilla, if using. Press it through a fine sieve into a shallow dish, then press plastic wrap directly on the surface and chill until cold. The wrap touches the custard so a skin cannot form, and the shallow dish cools it quickly enough to keep the matcha color clean.

3. 3

   Start the dough

   Heat the oven to 200C. Line a baking sheet with parchment. In a saucepan, combine the water, 60ml milk, 70g butter, salt, and 1 teaspoon sugar. Bring it to a full boil, not a shy simmer, so the butter is completely melted before the flour goes in. Add the sifted flour all at once and stir hard with a wooden spoon until no dry flour remains.

4. 4

   Dry the paste

   Keep the pan over medium heat and stir the dough for 2 to 3 minutes, pressing and turning it until it gathers into a smooth ball and a thin film forms on the bottom of the pan. This drying step is the hinge of choux. It drives off extra water and cooks the starch, so the eggs can be absorbed and the shell can rise hollow instead of baking up dense.

5. 5

   Work in eggs

   Move the hot dough to a bowl and stir for a minute to let the fiercest heat pass. Add the beaten eggs in four additions, mixing fully each time. Stop when the dough is glossy and falls from the spoon in a thick V-shaped ribbon. You may not need every drop of egg. The dough should hold its shape when piped, but relax just enough to smooth at the edges.

   Egg is the adjustment, not a fixed command. Flour, weather, and drying time all change how much the dough wants.
6. 6

   Pipe the shells

   Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a 1.2cm plain round tip. Pipe 12 mounds, each about 4cm wide, leaving space between them. Dip a finger in water and flatten any sharp peaks. Peaks burn before the shell is ready, and a smooth top expands more evenly.

7. 7

   Bake until hollow

   Bake at 200C for 15 minutes, then reduce to 180C and bake 18 to 22 minutes more, until the shells are deep golden, light for their size, and firm all over. Do not open the oven early. The first heat sets the outside before the steam escapes, and the later heat dries the inside so the puff does not collapse.

8. 8

   Cool completely

   Pierce the side of each shell with a skewer or the tip of a small knife, then return them to the turned-off oven with the door cracked for 10 minutes. Move them to a rack and cool completely. The small hole lets trapped moisture escape, and the gentle drying keeps the crisp shell from turning leathery.

9. 9

   Fill with anko

   Stir the tsubu-an to loosen it. Cut each cooled shell halfway open like a small clamshell, or make a larger piping hole underneath if you prefer a closed puff. Spoon or pipe a modest line of tsubu-an into each shell. Keep it restrained. The bean paste should speak beside the matcha, not bury it.

10. 10

    Pipe the cream

    Whisk the chilled matcha custard until smooth, then transfer it to a piping bag. Pipe it over the anko and close the shells gently. Finish with a light dusting of powdered sugar if you like. Serve soon, while the shell still has its crisp bite and the cream is cold.

Chef Tips

• •Use matcha meant for drinking or good confectionery work, bright green and fragrant when you open it. If it smells flat or dusty, the custard will taste flat too. Tea has shun in its own way, and freshness matters.
• •Tsubu-an, the coarse red bean paste, gives little grains of bean against the smooth cream. Koshian, the smooth paste, will work, but the texture changes the bite. Say that plainly and choose with intention.
• •If the shells soften after filling, you did nothing shameful. Choux and custard are old enemies pretending to be friends. Fill them close to serving, and they behave.
• •A wooden spoon is enough for the dough, but a stand mixer on low speed makes the egg stage easier. Add the egg slowly either way. The ribbon tells you when to stop.

Advance Preparation

• •The matcha custard can be made 1 day ahead and kept refrigerated with wrap pressed directly on the surface.
• •The shells can be baked earlier in the day. If they soften, refresh them in a 160C oven for 5 to 8 minutes, then cool completely before filling.
• •Fill the shu creams within 1 hour of serving for the best contrast between crisp shell and cold cream.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 75g)