"Cocoa dusted almonds" and "Chocolate covered almonds"... many people love these snacks.

Let's make delicious almonds with a Japanese twist using Hojicha powder!

  

Hojicha powder

 

Hojicha is roasted green tea, and Hojicha powder is the ground leaves, that are superfine and smooth. 

It looks like cocoa powder, and tastes quite similar in a way as it is also quite bitter. Hojicha is a good paring with chocolate and almond.  Bitterness and the roasted aroma in Hojicha bring out the flavor of chocolate and almonds.

It is a perfect gift. Give your family or friends a surprise with the new flavor! 

 

Hojicha & Chocolate Coated Almonds Recipe       

  

 

INGREDIENTS       

150g / 5oz of almonds (unsalted)

4tbs of sugar              

3tbs of water              

150g / 5oz of chocolate (milk chocolate)

2tbs of butter              

4tsp of Hojicha powder (1tbs for the chocolate sauce , 3tbs for sprinkling)

pinch of salt               

 

INSTRUCTIONS

1 Place sugar and water in a pan over low-medium heat and bring it to a simmer stirring often.

2 Add almonds stirring continuously with a spatula until almonds are caramelized.

3 Remove from the heat, and stir in the butter and salt. Allow to cool completely on a parchment paper. 

 

 

4 Melt the chocolate using double boiler, stirring until no lumps remain. Add 1 tsp of Hojicha powder and stir.

 

 

4 Place the almonds in a bowl, and pour the melted chocolate little by little over them and stir with a spatula until each almond is coated in chocolate.   

Better to work putting the bowl of almonds into a bowl of cold water with ice cubes.

5 Add Hojicha powder to the bowl, and stir with a spatula until the almonds are dusted.

 

Done! 

 

Nice to have them with pink peppercorns! The spicy flavor goes well with the almonds. Beautiful and delicious dessert for the adults.

 

 

 Enjoying with a glass of whisky or wine will be good, too.

 

  

Enjoy your time!!

 

 

Today's recommendations

 

Hojicha Powder 

・ Zenkouen Tea Garden: #12 Marugoto Series - Hojicha Powder (50g)

・Tarui Tea Farm: Organic Hojicha Powder 粉末ほうじ茶

 

Oolong tea 

The almonds and oolong tea are a good match.  

・Miyazaki Sabou MY14: Oolong Tea - Minami Sayaka Single Cultivar