Green tea is a classic beverage, popular the world over. Whether you want something to sip on or want to detoxify after an indulgent meal, green tea is a great beverage to turn to. With its subtle, grassy notes, the tea can also pair well with a variety of desserts. The earthy undertones make it versatile and easily enhance the flavors of the desserts served with it. Here are some easy sweet recipes that we think go especially well with green tea.
Matcha green tea cake
Matcha is a powder made from green tea leaves, with a vibrant green color and rich flavor. A cake of this flavor will pair especially well with green tea. The slight bitterness of the matcha will balance well with the sweetness of the cake.
Ingredients:
- 99 gm unsalted butter, softened
- 200 gm granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 5 ml vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tablespoons matcha powder
- 120 gm all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 120 ml buttermilk
- 113 g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 260 gm powdered sugar, sifted
- 7 ml vanilla extract
- 30 ml heavy cream
- Fresh strawberries, optional for garnish
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 325°F, and line the bottom of an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper. Then, lightly spray the exposed sides of the lined pan with cooking spray.
- In a medium-size bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add the eggs, matcha powder and vanilla, and beat just until combined.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.
- Add half of the flour mixture to the bowl, and stir to combine.
- Add all of the buttermilk, and stir again.
- Finally, add the remaining half of the flour mixture and stir until no streaks of flour remain, but be careful not to overmix the batter.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and bake on the middle rack for 30-33 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean with only moist crumbs.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, until it starts to pull away from the edges of the pan. Then, run a knife around the edge of the cake, and lift it out of the pan and place on a cooling rack to cool completely.
- For the frosting, combine all ingredients in a bowl. Then, beat all of the frosting ingredients together until light and fluffy.
- Slice the cake in half (from one square into two rectangles), and spread some buttercream on top of one half. Place the opposite cake half on top of the cake half with buttercream.
- Decorate the cake with powdered sugar, the remaining buttercream and fresh strawberries. Slice into 5 or 6 triangle slices and serve.
Green tea macarons
Macarons are delicate cookies that come in several flavours. Green tea macarons are made with matcha powder that will pair perfectly with green tea.
Ingredients:
For the macaron shells
- 45 gm Almond meal
- 3 gm Matcha powder
- 45 gm Icing sugar
- 40 gm Egg whites
- 40 gm White sugar
For the matcha ganache
- 75 gm Thickened/heavy cream
- 125 gm White chocolate
- 30 gm Unsalted butter
- 5 gm Matcha powder
Directions:
- In a medium-sized bowl sieve the almond meal, matcha powder, and powdered sugar together. If there are large chunks of almond meal remaining in the sieve dispose of them.
- In a large clean bowl, add the egg whites, and using an electric mixer beat until foamy.
- Slowly add the sugar and beat until stiff peaks.
- Add your food coloring of choice and beat until well distributed.
- Fold the sieved almond meal and powdered sugar into the meringue in 2-3 additions, scraping around the bowl and down the center. Once all folded in, press the batter around the bowl and then fold it into the center. Continue until you notice that the lines that form when the batter falls back into the bowl slowly start to disappear.
- Transfer to a piping bag with a round tip and pipe out 1.5-inch circles. Allow to dry for 1-2 hours.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 140°C for 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool. Set aside.
- Roughly chop white chocolate and place in a large bowl with matcha powder.
- Heat the cream on the stove, or in the microwave, until steaming.
- Pour hot cream over the white chocolate and cover the bowl with a plate- let sit for 5 minutes.
- Remove the plate and stir until the chocolate has completely melted.
- Add the unsalted butter and mix until completely dissolved.
- Place in the fridge for 2 hours to firm up.
- Remove from fridge and fill a piping bag with the ganache. Pipe a dollop of ganache into the center of a macaron shell, top with a matching-sized shell.