Photo: Gobba Gobba HeyTrue Story. Recently I received an email from an esteemed publisher you may know of called Bloomsbury, asking if I'd be interested in a review copy of their new release, entitled Gobba Gobba Hey: A Gob Cookbook. It was written by Steve Gdula, who owns a gob (um, whoopie pie) business by the same name in San Francisco.

As a lover of the Whoopie Pie or Gob (it's a geographical thing), even though I wouldn't call them "the new cupcake", I was beyond delighted to receive this sweet book in the mail, and even more delighted when I found the writing style to be engaging, the business backstory to be interesting, and the recipes to be delectable.

But one of my favorites from the book? Matcha Green Tea Gobs with Lemongrass-Ginger Filling. NOM!

And they were kind enough to allow me to reprint the recipe here. Lucky you! here goes:

Matcha Green Tea Gobs with Lemongrass-Ginger Filling

Recipe courtesy Gobba Gobba Hey

For the batter

4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup highest quality Matcha Green Tea powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1.5 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar, sifted
8 tablespoons butter, softened, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
2 tablespoons sour cream

For the filling

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
12 tablespoons cream cheese, cut in 1/2 inch cubes
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
3-4 tablespoons lemongrass-ginger syrup (steps to make below)
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

For the lemongrass-ginger syrup

1 cup sugar
2-inch pieces fresh ginger, sliced into four or five rounds, skin peeled
1/2 cup lemongrass (about 3 stalks), outer husk and bottom tip removed, sliced in rounds
1/2 cup water
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup loosely packed Rau Ram leaves (optional)

Procedure

Make the cookies. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line three 8x13-inch cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, matcha powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together until they're evenly green in color.
In another large bowl, cream the sugar and butter with a mixer on medium speed. Add the egg yolks to the creamed ingredients and mix on medium. Add the egg whites and vanilla, and mix on medium-high until the mixture looks like a dense pudding.
Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the egg mixture, mixing on medium speed after each addition. Then add the sour cream, and mix well.
Using a tablespoon or pastry bag, drop 1 1/2 inch rounds of batter on the prepared cookie sheets, leaving 1 inch between each round. Bake 8 minutes, or until the gob domes have risen. Remove the gobs to a wire rack to cool.
Make the filling, part 1. First, make the lemongrass-ginger syrup which you'll set to the side. Place the sugar, ginger, and water in a saucepan. Bring the liquid to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the lemon juice and the rau ram leaves, if using, to the syrup, and stir well. Remove the pan from heat and set aside, covered, to let the syrup steep for at least 20 minutes. Strain out the lemongrass, rau ram leaves, and ginger and lemon seeds and pulp, and reserve the syrup for the gob filling. This mixture will keep, tightly covered, in the fridge for up to a week with the rau ram, 2 weeks without it.
Make the filling, part 2. Cream together the butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed.
Add the vanilla, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 3 tablespoons of the lemongrass-ginger syrup, and confectioners' sugar; beat on medium high, scraping down the bowl as needed to reincorporate the ingredients. Taste and add another teaspoon of lemon juice or another tablespoon of lemongrass-ginger syrup if you'd like.
To frost your gobs (I love saying that), flip the baked gob domes over on a cookie sheet and match up similarly shaped and sized domes. Add 1 tablespoon of filling to the flat side of an overturned dome, then place another dome on top, sandwich-style. Allow the gobs to fully set by refrigerating them on a baking sheet for at least 1 hour. Wrap the gobs in plastic wrap to keep them from drying out.