Matcha Green Tea and Sweet Chestnut Cake
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As a fan of Japanese food and culture, you may already know the importance and health benefits that green tea offers. Japan has many different types of green tea, but one of the most popular and traditional varieties is matcha green tea.

Matcha green tea powder is widely used to flavour mochi rice cakes, soba noodles or ice creams. More recently, inventive bakers have discovered the great taste matcha green tea can give to cakes. This recipe invites you to make a delicious matcha green tea and Japanese sweet kuri chestnut cake, perfect for a tasty slice to go with your tea. We also like to think that adding a little green tea makes this cake a little more healthy for us! :)

Matcha green tea was first introduced to Japan by monks in the early 8th century and is believed to promote the health of ones mind and body. This may be one of the reasons that matcha green tea is so highly regarded in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. As matcha green tea powder is made by grinding the whole tea leaf into a fine powder, it contains more vitamins and antioxidants than normal tea that is just infused with the tea leaves. Japanese sweet kuri chestnuts are a symbol of Autumn in Japan and adds a sweet and nutty flavour to any dish which makes them ideal for cakes and desserts.

1 person 20 minutes 40 minutes spend

Ingredients

• Matcha Green Tea Powder – 10g
• Japanese Sweet Kuri Chestnuts – 100g
• Sugar – 80g
• Self-raising Flour – 120g
• Eggs – 2
• Butter – 100g

How to prepare

Begin by pre-heating your oven to 180°C. Before preparing the cake mix, slice your sweet chestnuts in half and put them aside for a moment.
Put the butter in a large bowl in your microwave on full power for one minute, or heat it in a saucepan until it melts. Once the butter has melted fully, slowly add the flour and mix well until you obtain a smooth mixture.
Now add the eggs and sugar to your bowl before mixing again. Lastly, add the matcha and the sliced chestnuts to the bowl. Mix everything until all the ingredients are fully blended together and the mix becomes a lovely green colour.

Grab a cake tin and grease it with a small amount of melted butter. Pour in the cake mix into the tin and then pop it in the oven for 40 minutes. Your cake is now ready and tastes extra delicious when it is still warm.
Baking is easy isn’t it! :)

Tips and information

• If you really love the great taste of matcha, experiment with adding more, or less to get the perfect balance of flavours for your tastes.
• Try using azuki sweet red beans instead of kuri chestnuts if you want to try baking with another authentic Japanese taste. Or why not try azuki and kuri chestnuts together!
• When greasing your cake tin, using too much butter will make your cake too greasy. Use a paper towl to evenly spread the melted butter over the tin in a thin layer.