Green Tea Cheesecake

We drink green tea all the time, at home or in restaurants, and it is an essential part of the Japanese culture. Matcha is a type of green tea often used in the formal tea ceremony, but it is also used in a number of Japanese desserts. It doesn't give a strong tea flavour but creates a nice colour and slight dry tartness at the end of the palate. This cake is very light and refreshing compared to many New York- style cheesecakes.

biscuits (I used malt biscuits), crushed (150 g)
butter, melted (35 g)
sesame seeds
cream cheese (250 g)
sugar (60 g)
2 Tbsp. lemon juice, freshly squeezed
plain yoghurt (100 g)
1 cup cream, whipped
3 Tbsp. gelatine powder, dissolved in warm water (50 mL)
1 tsp. matcha powder, + ¼ tsp. extra

Mix biscuits and butter and press into base of a 24 cm round cake tin. Spread evenly and press with the palm of your hand. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and refrigerate to firm up.

Mix together cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and yoghurt until smooth. Mix in whipped cream. Add dissolved gelatine and mix very gently.

Pour half mixture into cake tin over biscuit base. Spread with a rubber spatula and return to fridge.

Mix matcha powder with 1 Tbsp. water until smooth. Pour into remaining half of cheesecake filling and mix well. Pour gently into the tin, keeping 1 Tbsp. of filling mixture to use for decoration. Use rubber spatula to spread and make a flat surface.

Add ¼ tsp. extra matcha powder to the 1 Tbsp. filling to darken it for decoration.

Use a tsp. to draw lines on the cheesecake with the darker matcha mix. Use chopsticks to drag horizontal lines and make patterns, as shown in the picture. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

Makes 8 servings.