Matcha Desserts and Baked Goods: Tips and Tricks to Bake with Matcha Green Tea
By Mariah Bourne and Lauren Danson
Baking is an excellent way to relax, spend time with loved ones, and of course — indulge in baked goods! Matcha easily incorporates into countless recipes to elevate some of your favorite treats.
There are so many ways to enjoy a #MatchaMoment besides sipping on a delicious matcha latte. Adding matcha to desserts and baked goods transforms traditional recipes into something new and exciting with little effort. You can create your own recipes that your family and friends won’t stop asking about!
Delightfully flakey Mizuba matcha croissants
If you're ready to learn more about how to bake with matcha and some of our favorite ways to incorporate it into baked goods, grab a matcha latte, and read on.
Why Bake With Matcha?
Many folks bake with loose tea leaves (think earl grey chantilly cream, rooibos shortbread, etc!). But if you're looking for potent green tea flavor and aroma, baking with matcha is your best option. Matcha powder is concentrated and quite versatile, making it a superb ingredient to pair with a wide range of flavors. The smooth consistency of matcha makes it easy to blend with other ingredients ensuring you’ll taste a balanced matcha flavor in every bite.
Matcha can take the flavors of traditional desserts to the next level. The tea’s unique, sweet yet delightfully earthy taste pairs well with various pastries, from cakes to bread, adding a beautiful vibrant green hue without artificial coloring. You can experiment with different sweet and savory flavors and create new takes on family favorites.
Which Matcha is Best for Baking?
With different options for matcha on the market, you may wonder which matcha is best for baking. Elevated matcha teas (such as our Nagomi, Yorokobi, or Kokoro matcha) are generally reserved for preparing koicha (thick tea) in Japanese tea ceremonies or more casual usucha (thin tea). The reason for this is because their flavor profiles are much more nuanced and best enjoyed by preparing them with just water to fully appreciate their depth of flavor.
You can taste these matcha’s true character and beautiful nuances of flavor with just water – so you don’t want to dilute or lose the flavor with other ingredients. If you’re familiar with wine, think about enjoying an aged cabernet sauvignon. You’re not going to mix a special, 10+-year-old wine into sangria! You’ll want to fully experience all that it has to offer on its own. Same idea with high-grade matcha!
Technically, any grade of tea could be used for matcha desserts and baked goods, but culinary-grade matcha will be your most economical option and a better-structured tea that won't lose its flavor when mixed with other ingredients. But not just any culinary matcha you can find will do.
Homemade brownies with Mizuba matcha frosting
What is Culinary Matcha?
You’ll want to think of “culinary” as a use case, with many qualities within this category. Unfortunately, most culinary matcha in America is low-quality or sometimes powdered tea that isn’t really matcha. The average culinary matcha is less vibrant, clumpier, and tastes more subtle.
Luckily, Mizuba Culinary Organic Matcha is made with the utmost intentionality and is of excellent quality. Our tea is specifically designed to be a premium ingredient that won’t lose its flavor when mixed with other items.
Our culinary matcha is shade-grown and traditionally stone milled, just like our ceremonial matcha. The only difference is that it’s produced with older, more mature leaves that grow a little further down the stem of the tea plant, as opposed to freshly budded, young leaves. These mature leaves deliver a stronger flavor that shines in matcha desserts and baked goods.
Tips and Tricks to Bake with Matcha
If you've never baked with matcha, you won’t believe how simple it is to incorporate it. Some of our favorite tips and tricks for making delectable matcha desserts and baked goods are:
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Make sure it’s well-sifted into your other ingredients: You can guarantee an even distribution of flavors and a perfect texture by making sure your matcha is fully incorporated and well-mixed. Since matcha is prone to clumping, sifting it into your dry ingredients will ensure easy blending. You can also cream matcha into butter.
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Balance out your flavors: Use natural sweeteners like coconut sugar, raw sugar, agave, maple syrup, or honey to balance out the unique, earthy flavor of matcha.
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Less is more: Keep in mind the potency of flavor and aroma, especially with high-quality matcha. The taste of matcha can easily overpower others. If you use too much, your matcha desserts will likely be too bitter.
- Quality is key: As mentioned before, quality makes a huge difference in the outcome of your matcha baked treats. Use fresh, quality matcha that’s designed to be paired with other ingredients (like Mizuba Culinary Matcha).
Mizuba Matcha Layered Cake
Matcha Baked Goods and Desserts You Have to Try
We weren't exaggerating when we said matcha enhances pretty much any dessert or pastry. No matter what you're making, a bit of matcha can transform it into a new creation. Here are some of our favorite matcha baking recipes and ideas you have to try.
- Bread: Matcha Shokupan is a traditional Japanese milk bread made with matcha powder. It’s a soft and light, fluffy bread with an earthy flavor that’s great for sandwiches or to enjoy on its own.
- Muffins: These Vegan Gluten-Free Matcha Muffins by our friend Danielle at HealthyGirl Kitchen are the perfect go-to breakfast with delicious, clean ingredients.
- Pies: We’ve seen gorgeous matcha custard pies! Pair your matcha custard with a black sesame crust to create an elegant dessert.
- Cakes: Matcha plays a beautiful role in all different kinds of cakes. One of our favorites is Foodie Renee’s Mizuba Matcha Layer Cake, with three layers of soft, springy matcha-infused sponge and matcha frosting to top it off.
- Cookies: Cookies and matcha are a match made in heaven. Experiment with sugar cookies and white chocolate chips, or try our Matcha Shortbread Cookies, perfect for the holidays.
- Morning Buns: these Matcha Buns with Black Sesame Swirl are a unique twist on cinnamon buns that will wow your family and friends.
- The list is endless! Check out all our recipes here.
Baking with matcha is a fun and creative way to enjoy a #MatchaMoment. We hope you’re just excited as we are to start baking with these tips and tricks for making delicious matcha desserts and baked goods.
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