Being Scottish I love a bit of shortbread and Suzue being Japanese loves matcha (green tea powder), so it felt natural to combine the two.
Makes about 25 shortbread
185g (6½oz / 1¼ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
125g (4½oz / 1¼ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into cubes, at room temperature
60g (2oz / ¼ cup) caster (superfine) sugar
7g (1 tsp) matcha (green tea powder), plus extra for dusting
500g (1lb 2oz) tempered fine dark (bittersweet) chocolate, to coat
Preheat the oven to 160C (325F / Gas 3). Put all the ingredients, except the tempered chocolate, into a bowl and mix until the ingredients come together in a dough.
Remove from the bowl. Roll the dough to 5mm (¼ inch) thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 4cm (1½ inch) squares and transfer to a baking tray (sheet) lined with a non-stick baking mat. Leave to rest for at least 1 hour in the fridge.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from the baking tray (sheet) and leave to cool. Dip in the tempered dark (bittersweet) chocolate and dust with matcha powder.
• This recipe is taken from Couture Chocolate: A Masterclass in Chocolate by William Curley (Jacqui Small, £30). Buy a copy for £24 from the Guardian bookshop
