Asakusa is one of Japan’s best sightseeing destinations, with countless shops and restaurants offering unique products and local specialties. Among them, Chacha Kobo Futatsume is best known for its striking Matcha Mont Blanc, a one-handed dessert that has become highly popular on social media.
One of the biggest attractions since the shop first opened is watching the rich matcha cream being freshly squeezed right in front of you. Served in either a crispy waffle cone or a plastic cup, it almost looks like a parfait, making it the perfect treat to enjoy while strolling through the streets in Asakusa.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
One reason you’ll love this recipe is the addition of matcha ice cream. While the original doesn’t contain ice cream, the matcha ice cream adds a refreshing element that harmonizes well with the other ingredients. This makes it a refreshing, summer-inspired dessert that can be enjoyed year-round.
Another highlight is the vibrant green Mont Blanc cream, made with Japanese sweet potato instead of chestnut paste. Unlike chestnuts, which are mainly available in autumn, Japanese sweet potatoes are available year-round and can easily be made into a silky, smooth paste.
Key Ingredients
The original Matcha Mont Blan contains 8 ingredients: matcha Mont Blanc cream, mascarpone cheese cream, Kohakuto candy, matcha sauce, sponge cake, lemon jam, azuki bean paste and gold leaf. While inspired by the original, my recipe uses eight ingredients with a few substitutions to make it easier to recreate at home:
- Sweet potato - Japanese sweet potato has natural sweetness, so adjust the sweetness to your preference.
- Warabi mochi - Warabi mochi has a jelly-like visual and light and melting mochi-like texture. We have Homemade Warabi Mochi Kit on our website as well.
- Kuromitsu - Kuromitsu gives this recipe a rich, deep sweetness. It pairs beautifully with matcha flavor.
- Matcha castella - Castella is sweeter and richer than sponge cake, but I think it complements the bitterness from matcha.
- Apple jam - I recommend using fresh apple jam with pulp if you can prepare one. It can refresh the palate between bites.
- Smooth Azuki bean paste - There are 2 types of Azuki bean paste: chunky and smooth. I chose smooth Azuki bean paste in my recipe as I like it better.
- Matcha ice cream - This is the key ingredient for this recipe.
- Gold leaf - It’s purely decorative but gives an elegant finishing touch.
Tips to Know Before You Start
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When you pipe the Mont Blan cream or sweet potato cream, the texture should be just right: not too soft or not too firm.
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If the texture is too soft, it won’t hold its shape, on the other hand, if it’s too firm, it’s hard to pipe smoothly. If you’re not sure the right texture, test a small amount.
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Add heavy cream little by little until it’s easy to pipe. So, even though the recipe lists 100ml of heavy cream, treat that as a guideline rather than a fixed amount.
Variations & Serving Ideas
As in my recipe, you can swap the cream filling with others like cheese cream or pumpkin cream.
For serving ideas, since matcha Mont Blanc String Ice Cream is quite sweet, I recommend pairing it with Japanese teas like green tea, hojicha or genmaicha to balance the sweetness.
If you like this recipe, you might also like these recipes:
Japanese-style Mont Blanc - One of the most popular cakes in Japan. This Japanese-style Mont Blanc is made with chestnuts.
Azuki Ice Cream - I used matcha ice cream for this recipe, but you can also substitute it with this delicious Azuki Ice Cream!
Sesame Ice Cream - Another delicious ice cream option! The nutty flavor of sesame adds a nice accent to this Mont Blanc.
Instructions
1) Gather the Ingredients
2) Prepare the Sweet Potato
Expert's Tip
3) Simmer the Sweet Potatoes
4) Combine the Ingredients of Matcha Mont Blanc Cream
5) Prepare the Matcha Cream in a Pastry Bag
6) Prepare All the Ingredients Needed for Matcha Mont Blanc Ice Cream
7) Pile the Ingredients One by One
8) Finish with Gold Leaf
