Matcha Nama Chocolate (Green Tea Chocolate)

Smooth and silky matcha chocolate truffles, with a slightly fudgy texture and incredible mouthfeel, these are a rendition of Japan’s famous matcha nama chocolate

What is nama chocolate?

If you’ve ever been to Japan you’ll have heard of nama chocolate, aka 生チョコレート. The word ‘nama’ in Japanese means raw, and in this context, it translates to pure and fresh. Rather than a solid kind of chocolate, nama chocolate is creamy with an incredibly smooth mouthfeel.

While it is unclear where the chocolate originated from, the most popular renditions of this treat are by Meji in the form of “Melty Kiss” and Royce. Now when you go to Japanese airports or gift shops there are so many different brands, flavours, and options to choose from.

Nama chocolate is only made from a couple of simple ingredients, with the two main ingredients being chocolate and fresh cream. From there different flavors are created by adding ingredients such as rum, champagne, matcha, and more.

Unlike most chocolates these are always stored in the fridge and enjoyed chilled, this gives them their characteristic fudgy, slightly chewy texture that melts in your mouth for the perfect texture.

This version uses smooth white chocolate and Japanese matcha powder, to create this delicious treat that is so good, and heaven for all matcha fans.

How to create a silky smooth texture

While these chocolates are fairly simple to make, there are a couple of tips that you should keep in mind for the perfect texture.

Don’t overheat

Overheating chocolate, or cream, is the recipe for a lumpy, curdled ganache. When heating the cream make sure it doesn’t boil and only comes to steaming. If your cream comes up to boiling it has a higher chance of curdling.

Finely chop the chocolate

When prepping for this recipe make sure you cut the chocolate finely. This makes it easier to melt when mixed with the warm cream for a silky smooth ganache.

Sift the matcha

Matcha has a tendency to clump up when stored, and if not sifted will form clumps of dark green throughout the batter. This not only affects the texture and appearance of the chocolate, but it will also affect the flavour, as parts of the chocolate will be more bitter than others.

Mix the melted white chocolate and matcha until smooth

Sifting matcha helps get rid of the clumps, however, if not mixed properly clumps can still appear throughout the ganache. As melted white chocolate has a thicker consistency it is the perfect medium to stir the matcha powder into. The thicker consistency makes it easier to mix out any remaining clumps of matcha powder for a clump-free mixture.

How to cut the perfect slices

Once you’ve made your chocolate I’m sure you want to present them with super clean and straight edges for picture-perfect presentation. Here are a couple of tips that will help you achieve that look!

Freeze the chocolate for an hour

While the chocolate will be firm after chilling in the fridge, it will begin to thaw pretty quickly. Freezing the chocolate optimises the amount of time you have cutting the chocolate so you can get those clean slices.

Heat your knife

The most important tip when cutting the chocolate slab is to warm up your knife. A warm knife will melt the chocolate slightly as you cut for a clean slice. I like to heat my knife up in hot water, before wiping it dry. You can also heat your knife up over a stovetop.

Wipe your knife between slices

As you slice the slab, chocolate will begin to build up on your knife. Wiping your knife between slices will keep the slices looking clean.

Ingredients

There isn’t a lot of ingredients involved in this recipe, but that just means that each and every one plays an important role!

• White chocolate: Make sure you use high-quality chocolate as this will be the predominant flavour. Couverture chocolate is the best option, but chocolate brands like Lindt are perfect too!
• Thickened or heavy cream: Cream gives these chocolates their soft and silky texture. Adding too much cream will make these difficult to handle, so make sure you stick to the measurements

• Unsalted butter: Butter plays a similar role to cream, while also helping the chocolate set.
• Matcha powder: As this is also a predominant flavour in the chocolate make sure you use a high-quality culinary grade or ceremonial grade matcha for the best flavour.

Matcha Nama Chocolate (Green Tea Chocolate)

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Smooth and silky matcha flavoured chocolate truffles, with a slightly fudgy texture and incredible mouthfeel these are a rendition of Japan’s famous matcha nama chocolate

• Author: Catherine Zhang
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 5 minutes
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 12 squares 1x
• Category: Chocolate
• Method: Easy
• Cuisine: Japanese

Ingredients

Units MUS Scale 1x2x3x

• 400g White chocolate, high quality, finely chopped
• 115g Thickened/heavy cream, (1/2 cup)
• 30g Unsalted butter (2 tbsp)
• 12g Matcha powder (2 tbsp)
• Matcha powder, for dusting

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Instructions

1. Line a 6 x 6 inch (15 x 15 cm) square tin or 9 x 5 inch (22 x 13cm) loaf tin with baking paper
2. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave at 30-second intervals, or over a hot water bath until just melted
3. Sift in the matcha powder and mix until smooth
4. Add the butter and mix until smooth
5. Heat the cream in a small saucepan or microwave until steaming
6. Add the warm cream to the chocolate and stir until smooth
7. Pour the mixture into the lined tin and cover with cling wrap
8. Place in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours, or overnight
9. Uncover, remove from the tin, and slice into approx 1 inch (3 cm) squares with a hot sharp knife
10. Dust in matcha powder and enjoy!

Catherine Zhang

My name is Catherine, a food blogger and dessert lover. If I look familiar you may have seen me on NETFLIX's Zumbo’s Just Desserts S2! As an Australian-Chinese pastry chef and recipe developer I share recipes and tips on desserts inspired by amazing flavours, fresh produce and of course my Asian background.

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