12 matcha recipes: drinks, breakfast and puddings
12 matcha recipes: drinks, breakfast and puddings
Culinary matcha is not only for the morning latte. Its vegetal flavour and strong green hold up in batter, cream and chocolate, where a ceremonial grade would only cost you money. Below are twelve recipes with exact quantities, from the cup to the sponge. All of them work with a decent culinary grade.
Drinks
1. Classic matcha latte
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon culinary matcha, 250 ml plant milk (almond, coconut or oat), 1 teaspoon honey or agave syrup (optional), 60 ml hot water.
Method: Sift the matcha into a bowl. Add the hot water and whisk briskly with a chasen until it foams. Warm the plant milk and add it. Sweeten to taste. A pinch of cinnamon or vanilla works well.
2. Matcha and banana smoothie
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon matcha, 1 ripe banana, 1 cup fresh spinach, 200 ml coconut milk, 1 teaspoon chia seeds.
Method: Blend everything until smooth, serve cold and scatter chia seeds on top. The banana brings the sweetness and the dense texture that carries the green base note.
Breakfast
3. Matcha pancakes
Ingredients: 150 g flour, 1 teaspoon matcha, 1 egg, 200 ml milk, 1 tablespoon sugar.
Method: Mix everything and cook in a non-stick pan on both sides. Serve with fresh fruit and agave syrup.
4. Açaí and matcha bowl
Ingredients: 100 g frozen açaí, 1 banana, 1 teaspoon matcha, fresh fruit to finish.
Method: Blend the açaí, banana and matcha, pour into a bowl and top with fruit. Two assertive colours that get along better than they have any right to.
Baking and puddings
5. Matcha biscuits
Ingredients: 2 cups flour, 1 tablespoon matcha, 1/2 cup soft unsalted butter, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Method: Heat the oven to 180 °C. Mix the flour, matcha and salt. Beat the butter and sugar until creamy, add the egg and vanilla. Fold in the dry ingredients. Shape the biscuits, place on a tray and bake for 10 to 12 minutes until lightly golden. Cool before serving.
Variation: melt 50 g of white chocolate and coat the cooled biscuits.
6. Matcha cupcakes
Ingredients: 200 g flour, 150 g sugar, 1 teaspoon matcha, 2 eggs, 100 ml milk, 100 g butter.
Method: Mix the dry ingredients, add the eggs, milk and melted butter. Fill the cases and bake at 180 °C for 15 to 20 minutes.
7. Matcha mousse
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons matcha, 1/4 cup hot water, 1 cup double cream, 3 tablespoons sugar, fruit to finish.
Method: Dissolve the matcha in the hot water and let it cool. Whip the cream with the sugar to soft peaks. Fold in the dissolved matcha slowly. Spoon into glasses and chill for at least an hour.
8. Matcha cheesecake
Ingredients: 200 g digestive biscuits, 100 g melted butter, 500 g cream cheese, 200 ml whipping cream, 100 g sugar, 2 teaspoons matcha, 1 teaspoon unflavoured gelatine.
Method: Crush the biscuits, mix with the butter and press into a springform tin. Beat the cream cheese with the sugar until smooth. Dissolve the matcha in a little hot water and stir it in. Whip the cream and fold it in gently with the dissolved gelatine. Pour over the base and chill for 4 hours.
Baked version: enrich the mixture with 2 eggs and bake at 160 °C for about 45 minutes, then cool completely before turning out.
9. Matcha ice cream
Ingredients: 500 ml cream, 3 egg yolks, 100 g sugar, 2 teaspoons matcha.
Method: Heat the cream without letting it boil. Beat the yolks with the sugar until pale. Add the cream slowly, return to the heat and stir until it thickens. Add the dissolved matcha and freeze for 4 hours.
10. Steamed matcha mochi
Ingredients: 250 g glutinous rice flour, 100 g sugar, 250 ml water, potato starch (katakuriko) or cornflour, 10 g matcha, filling of your choice.
Method: Warm five tablespoons of water and stir in the matcha until no lumps remain, then let it cool. Mix the flour and sugar, add the water and stir to a smooth dough. Stir in the matcha. Pour into a heatproof dish and steam for 20 minutes. Dust a clean surface with starch, turn the hot dough onto it and dust the top too. Roll into a cylinder and divide into 14 pieces. Place the filling in the centre of each and close the balls by hand.
11. Matcha chocolates
Ingredients: 200 g dark chocolate, 100 g white chocolate, 1 teaspoon matcha.
Method: Melt the dark chocolate and line the moulds. Stir the matcha into the melted white chocolate and use it as filling. Seal with the remaining dark chocolate and leave to set.
12. Light matcha sponge
Ingredients: 3 eggs, 85 g sugar, 95 g flour, 30 ml milk, 6 g matcha, filling of your choice.
Method: Heat the oven to 180 °C. Beat the eggs with the sugar thoroughly. Fold in the flour and matcha. Add the milk and stir to a smooth batter. Pour into a greased tin and bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 180 °C. Test with a skewer and cool before turning out.
One note on quantity
Matcha is not a shy ingredient. Double the amount on your first attempt, on the theory that you ought to taste it, and you will produce a sponge that tastes of privet hedge. Stick to the grams the first time, then experiment.
For every recipe on this page we use the organic culinary matcha, strong enough to survive the oven. For drinking neat, the ceremonial grade stays where it belongs. Both from Jingshan (China), processed at Zhejiang Camel Transworld in Yuhang (Hangzhou).