Matcha roll cake from Sadaharu Aoki
My older brother moved to Paris over a year ago (for work). We get along really well, & when he comes to London to visit us, he sure knows what to get for me.
= He buys two (or sometimes three) big cake boxes filled with pastries from Sadaharu Aoki, the famous Japanese Patissier basing himself in “the cake kingdom” Paris. His cakes are delectable, & oh! I soo love that he’s a Japanese creating French pastry in France endearing Le Tout Paris! ;-) He’s up there on ‘My Pastry God Pedestal’ along with Pierre Herme, Christine Ferber, Jean-Paul Hevin…
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I’m quite proud to say, I have now conquered ALL of Aoki’s pastries, despite living in a different country, thanks to my brother & eurostar.
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So what is my favourite out of all of his fantabulous creations? Well mine has to be the Matcha (green tea) Roll Cake with Sweet Azuki Beans. Aoki’s has very subtly sweet whipped double cream, accented by a dose of sweet stewed azuki beans. Hmm… I can eat three of those atleast…
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Let me explain my choice. Yes, it’s what the British would call Swiss roll or a Roulade, & the Americans would call Jelly roll. But the Japanese call it ‘Roll Cake’ & I think it’s not just the name that’s different, in my opinion, the taste, the shape, it’s presentation is definately dissimilar too. And, again, in my opinion, the Japanese ones are ALWAYS THE BEST. It is perfectly circular, & s.o.f.t. like heaven. The mere mention of ‘roll cake’ takes me back to my childhood days in Japan when roll cake was always my fave cake of choice. It was the time when I loved everything soft, the time when I used to get told off for tearing out ‘just’ the middle of the fresh slice of bread…
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There are several reasons for my brother’s visit to London this time - Firstly, it was the Japanese national holiday week called ‘renkyu’. Secondly, my parents have now exchanged contract on the sale of our family home & my brother needs to clear out his room.
And thirdly, Monday 30th April was my 31st birthday. A friend of ours called Martyn came down from Newcastle to spend his time with us too. We went to Whipsnade Wild Animal Park where we had the most mellow day out - the weather was beautiful & the zoo was on the emptier side since it was a Monday, & we felt a bit like Michael Jackson hiring out the place! It’s so cool that everytime Martyn stays over, we all have the most amazing time together.
The day was finished off with a meal at our fave chinese. It’s a very special place for our family, where we would go to for birthday celebrations, when a family member lost his job, when he then found a new job, & it was also the place where we dined the night before the birth of our son.
Hi!!
First of all, Happy belated 31st Birthday!!
Secondly, I didn’t know that your parents were planning to sell their house! I don’t know what to say… I’ve been there so many times over the years it’s sad even for me ;(
Where are they/you moving to??
Finally, it’s great that you got to spend time with your big bro! Glad to hear he’s doing well in Paris. Lucky him!
Love A xxx
Comment by Akiko - May 7, 2007 4:49 am
Hi,
Very sweet post–speaking of both the content and the azuki beans! I love matcha flavoured pastries and I love azuki beans. Do you have a recipe of this dessert or one similar to it? Do you make anything with matcha or azuki for your stall? And Happy Belated Birthday!
Poppy
Comment by poppy - May 7, 2007 6:36 am
Hi Tamami!
Thanks once again for 3 days of non-stop enjoyment under the wing of your very special family. My visits are always filled with amazing times and the warmest of welcomes. “I” is growing into a wonderful person and someone to be very,very proud of :)
Oh, and you were right to pick the white plate - it sits so well within the design of your site :)
See you all soon….. DEFO!!
Comment by martyn - May 7, 2007 11:52 am
Hello Akiko!
Yes… we’ve gotta move by September… And yeah I know, I remember you coming to play at mine after school, in our sweet teens! It’s brought alittle sadness for many many people around us it seems, I guess living in a same house for almost 20 years had attatched many great memories of laughter & special events with our friends & family in this family home. I am in deep sadness myself, & have been for a while since the decision 2 months ago, but I understand that my parents think that ‘time-is-right’… So which makes me realize, that when you come in August, we would have probably moved out by then… Or you might catch the last ever BBQ there!
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Hi Poppy!
I used to do a Matcha Macaron for my stall - but was alittle unpopular compared to the Pink ones & the chocolate ones… I understood that it was because it is an exotic flavour for many of them, & they did not feel comfortable paying money for something they might not like, y’know?
By the way, I’ve got the recipe for the Roll-Cake, but am still in need of few more practice runs before putting the recipe up for this blog…
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Hello there Mart,
no no, thank You for spending your time with us here. I know it’s a long drive for ya & I hope you managed to get home alright - & not head to Brighton this time! ;-) ;-)
Gotta do this again D.e.f.o.!
Comment by tamami - May 7, 2007 1:36 pm
Hi Tamami,
I was watching a James Martin show the other night and he visited a Scottish patissier who is heavily influenced by Japanese flavours. The chocolate mousse truffle dessert filled with green tea creme brulee made me think of you!
Comment by Laura - May 11, 2007 10:47 pm
Hello Laura! Is that the new J.Martin show on telly at the moment? Do you like it? I’ve been meaning to watch it, but never do, coz it’s on at the same time as when I’m ushering my boy to bed! Green tea brulee sounds amazing…
Comment by tamami - May 12, 2007 8:01 pm