Whenever I see the words Les Misérables, I think of the musical and Russell Crowe’s hideous singing in the film of the same name. I came across a recipe for Les Misérables in William & Suzue Curley’s book and I wondered if it had anything to do with the musical. I can tell you, it doesn’t!
The cake is actually a Belgian patisserie which was a dessert for the peasants because it consisted of typically cheap ingredients. This recipe however has been upgraded and contains a matcha biscuit joconde, almond dacquoise and a muscovado caramel butter cream.
I have a love-hate relationship with dacquoise, I love how it tastes, but I hate making it. Every time I make it, I end up with a cake that has cracked and fallen apart and I have to patch it together and hide the layers within the cake. This time I had the same problem, but I now know it’s because I’ve been under cooking it. So, I’m sure there’ll be another dacquoise on here again soon, all in the aid of practice you see!
To make this patisserie I used some wonderful Japanese Ceremonial Grade Matcha that I was supplied with from The Teamakers. It tastes amazing and for my first foray into baking with Matcha, I’ve been very lucky to have such a fantastic tea to work with. I’ve not tried a lot of Matcha, but I’ve seen matcha macarons, lattes, frappes and ice cream and I can understand why. It has a delicious subtle flavour that works really well in baking.
If you want to make this recipe, you can find all of the details in Patisserie by William & Suzue Curley. Which incidentally is a wonderful book and will really help you create some amazing patisserie.
The generous team at The Teamakers have kindly donated a Premium Japanese Matcha Gift Set worth £60 for me to giveaway to my readers. The kit contains the following:
- Japanese Ceremonial Grade Matcha 40g Caddy
- Whisk
- Bamboo Spatula
- Whisk holder
- Matcha bowl
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Powered by Gleam- Giveaway open to UK residents 18+ only.
- One winner will receive a Japanese Ceremonial Grade Matcha Gift Set
- The giveaway ends on the 2nd August 2015 at 11:59:59 PM
- The winner will be selected at random, announced in the Gleam giveaway box and contacted via the email address they provided.
The Teamakers sell a wide range of tea and teaware of an exceptionally high standard, you should take a look at their site next time you’re looking to buy tea or gifts for a tea loving friend, the choice is astounding.
The Teamakers sent me a pack of their ceremonial matcha for free, but all views are my own.
Natalie Crossan
No but i’d love to try
Emma Carvell
I’ve never baked with Matcha, but I love drinking it!
Emma
No. I would like to try it though.
chimocho
I’ve only ever had it in green tea! Never baked with it, so that would be fun to try! – Sammi McSporran
alisa moore
I’ve never baked with matcha but have had it in a latte
Jenny Jones
No i haven’t but would love to try it
♫ Alison M ♪
never baked with it but made a lovely lime sparkling drink with it
Barbara Handley
Matcha is new to me but sounds interesting.
Donna Large
no i havent tried it
Sarah Lee
Not yet but I’d love to try it!
Lucinda Duxbury
no but it looks lovely
Anthea Holloway
No I have never baked with matcha but I would love to try!
janesteels
No, I’ve never baked with matcha , always willing to try.
kim neville
No I have just tried green matcha tea which was nice
MrRichTea
Not as of yet, but I want too
C Kennedy
Not yet but I’d love to try it!
Jennie Jackson Mse
no but i would like to
Katie Skeoch
I’ve only tried the tea, I was an instant convert!
Sophia Miller
I’ve recently bought my first ever Matcha tea (Bloom Matcha tea) It’s amazing!!
kris
no, but i would like to try!
Michelle Banks
i havent yet x
Jess Maryy
Nope, I haven’t cooked anything with Matcha yet but I would really love to!
debbie
i have never cooked or eaten anything made with Matcha but it sounds great x
Arabella Bazley
I’ve never cooked or eaten anything made with Matcha but I would love to try making some sorbet with it.
Helen Cardy
I havent but would definitely like to try
Lucy Parissi
I grew up listening to the Miserables (the original musical recording) so every time I hear the score I am a little girl again. Never heard of this type of dessert but it looks pretty incredible as your bakes tend to do! I have experimented a little with matcha but not as much as I would like!
PatisserieMakesPerfect
I’d never heard of this desert either, until I saw it in a couple of patisserie books. It’s really hard to find any information about it online, as any searches bring up cakes with Les Miserables pictures on them!
Thanks for the comments, I shall be baking more with matcha hopefully, it’s really tasty and I love the green hue it gives everything.
Felicity Smith
not yet but would love to
PatisserieMakesPerfect
you’re too kind Louise
You should’ve seen the abomination I created last night. It was edible, but it wasn’t pretty. It won’t be appearing on the blog. I was a victim of my own impatience!
Good Luck in the comp and continue to avoid Russell’s singing. x
Emily Knight
I’ve never baked with it, but may well have to try now!
Angie McDonald
Not yet but I would love to!
Lynsey Buchanan
No never
Katherine L
i actually haven’t had matcha on that many occasions, but I did once have a fantastic matcha ice cream!
Christine Dodd
I’ve never used it, although I’m seeing a lot more of it about in blogs these days
Hannah Hossack-Lodge
I’ve never tried baking with matcha before, but it seems to be so popular in the blog world that I’d really love to give it a try, and it’s such a lovely colour! Your Les Misérables looks delicious
x
PatisserieMakesPerfect
It’s really great Hannah. The green colour reminded me a bit of seaweed at first, but I got over that. It’s definitely worth experimenting with.
Claire Woods
Never tried it.
Ruth Harwood
Not yet, but I’m looking forward to trying it
Jaye- Cardiff in a Tea Cup
I actually had a baguette (bread was matcha flavour), a matcha brownie, a matcha latte, matcha bubble tea and a matcha doughnut yesterday! That much caffeine is probably why I’m still awake at this time! I also bought some matcha Pocky to eat at a later date and stocked up on matcha from Postcard Teas! I bake/ cook with it a lot and have at least one matcha drink everyday.
PatisserieMakesPerfect
Wow you must have caffeine overload! That all sounds amazing. You are a Matcha Ambassador almost! Oh and definitely avoid Les Mis! x
Pete Cleasby
have never baked with matcha before
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four
What a lovely, lovely les miserables, Angela! Good to know it has nothing to do with Russel Crowe
I have yet to bake with matcha but have seen all the rave about it here in the blogosphere. Your pastry looks perfect, and I totally understand what you mean with dacquoise. Spitting the meringue gives me anxiety. I think another thing that really helps to prevent cracks is using a really long, super sharp serrated knife. When you give the meringue one long cut vs. a tiny bit of the sawing action you get with a shorter knife, you can prevent less cracks or any cracks at all. I like using America’s Test Kitchen’s recipe for a less fussy dacquoise. Beautiful job as usual, Angela!
PatisserieMakesPerfect
You’re so right about the blogging hype Beeta. I think I would’ve been scared to try it had I not seen it in my William Curley book – which is amazing if you’re looking for a patisserie book recommendation!
Thank you so much for the dacquoise tips, I did use a pastry knife that is serrated, so I think that helped.
Thanks for the lovely comments. xx
Iris Waldburger
No I haven’t but would love to try
Kristy Leanne Brown
I haven’t but it sounds fantastic
laura banks
i haven’t but looks interesting
Theresa Parker
I’ve never tried it but after reading your blog I’m feeling adventurous enough to give it a go!
Olivia Kirby
Not yet but happy to try anything!
Andrea Storey
I havent tried it myself but Im feeling inspired to now.
Beverley
I had a matcha smoothie – was awesome!
Fiona
Not yet but think I will
Sarah-Jane Laycock
I actually hadn’t even heard of it prior to reading this post but very curious about the subtle flavour and would love to try it x
maci234
never tried baking with it yet
Rosie Dunningham
I’ve never baked with matcha, but when I was living in Thailand working as a divemaster I would have a matcha green tea latte every single day. They make it with condensed milk, it was the most heavenly drink in the world! Rosie x
PatisserieMakesPerfect
That sounds amazing Rosie! I love condensed milk. Not to mention being a divemaster, you sound like some kind of wonder woman. I’m so jealous! x
Tracy K Nixon
No I haven’t but I am very much looking forward to trying now thanks to your post!