In today’s tutorial Tuesday, we share several ways in which you can create beautiful and delicious baked good with this vibrant green superfood. Moreover, if you thought matcha was only for sipping, you may be surprised at how versatile it can be!
Have you ever tried baking with Matcha tea? If not, you’re in for a treat. You’ve likely heard of Matcha, the beautiful jade super-food that has become quite popular in recent years. While it may be popular today, matcha tea actually dates back to 13th century Japan! Not only is matcha tea perfect for sipping, it has many great uses in the kitchen.
There are three main grades of matcha tea: ceremonial, premium and culinary. It’s important to distinguish the different kinds of matcha, because they each contain different amounts of chlorophyll and will impart varying degrees of green colour.
Because ceremonial matcha is quite expensive, it often leads us home bakers to resort to a culinary and/or premium grade to impart both flavour and colour without breaking the bank. Culinary grade matcha is clumpier, less vibrant, and tastes more subtle, whereas, ceremonial and premium grades are bright green, very fine and taste strongly of green tea. As a result, it’s important to sift culinary matcha to prevent any lumps of tea in your finished product.
While culinary grade is usually sufficient, it should be noted that ceremonial and premium grades will provide a very brilliant green colour to your finished baked goods. For the colour alone, they’re worth the added expense, if you ask me!
So, why bake with Matcha tea? Below we share some of the simple reasons why you may want to give this unique ingredient a try.
Why use Matcha powder?
Flavour: matcha is an easy way to add green tea flavour to your baked good. It’s quite earthy and easily pairs with vanilla, ginger, chocolate and lemon flavoured baked goods.
Color: skip the artificial colouring agents and use matcha tea to add a natural pop of green colour to cookies, cakes, frostings or glazes. A little goes a long way.
Nutritional content: There is some scientific evidence to suggest that matcha tea is high in very antioxidants due to its higher levels of chlorophyll. [Whether these antioxidants stand up to high temperature of baking is not determined, though]
Interest : there’s something to be said for taking a simple recipe and giving it new life. You can easily add matcha power to your dry ingredients to transform your baked good into something new and different.
How to Use Matcha powder in Baking
Now that you know the why, here are some of our favourite ways to use matcha tea in your everyday baking and desserts!
Pie crust: sift in 1 tablespoon of matcha tea to your flour mixture before blending in the fat and water. Use 2 tablespoons for a double pie crust.
Cookie dough: sift in a 2 tablespoons of matcha to your flour mixture for a standard size cookie recipe (24 cookies).
Cake batter: sift in 1 tablespoon of matcha for each layer of cake into your dry ingredients (2 layers=2 tablespoons).
Granola: sift in 1-2 teaspoons of matcha to your granola mixture before adding wet ingredients.
Frosting, Glaze & Garnish: 1 teaspoon of matcha sifted into powdered sugar glazes will provide a beautiful green colour. Opt for Premium grade matcha here if you can. As a simple garnish, sift a tablespoon of matcha over your finished baked goods for colour and flavour.
Pudding: whisk 1-2 teaspoons of matcha to the hot milk/alternative ingredients.
Ice Cream: sift and stir in 2 teaspoons of matcha to 1 cup of milk/alternative, bring it to a slight simmer to infuse the milk, before adding it to the rest of the milk/alternative for freezing.
Want to try experimenting with Matcha? Try adding it to some of our favourite recipes:
Lemon Ricotta Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Matcha Tea Cupcakes
Vegan Scones
Flower Cookies
Vegan Vanilla & Lemon Challah
Artisan Traveller says
I’ve learned to love Matcha Green Tea a lot more recently, its quite a unique flavour but it can be used across a variety of different recipes – great post!
Heidi Richter says
Thank you so much for the comment and feedback! Yes, it can be somewhat of an acquired taste. It can really elevate your baked goods for the better, lol!
:)
Sky says
If I bake a souffle cheesecake and want to add matcha powder – do you know if I need to reduce the amount of flour I add to the recipe?
Heidi Richter says
Hi Sky! You may need to reduce it slightly; matcha doesn’t contain any gluten, however, it will absorb some moisture. Let us know how it works out!
Ava says
If i make a loaf cake, like a blueberry loaf, how much matcha powder would i use?
Kelly Neil says
Hi Ava! I’d say start with a tablespoon and then adjust for colour and taste. You may need 2 or 3 tablespoons depending on your matcha!