There’s a reason why we call this husband of mine The Hulk. He’s super strong and loves pretty much all things green. So it came as no surprise to me that he was all about a matcha experiment for his birthday confections. So I did what any good wife would do in that situation… Immediately hopped on Amazon and ordered some matcha! Needless to say, the impressive 8.8 ounces of organic matcha I got for a steal of a bargain was a bit more than I needed for his cake… But given this guy’s love for all things green tea, I’m sure it’ll be gone in no time. (We’ve already made matcha pancakes!)
There will be much matcha-ing in the weeks to come, so keep an eye out for those recipes. I’m thinking about a matcha gingerbread for the fall… The gorgeous green color is just so fun to play with! Once you get it right that is… Lesson learned: Never EVER use baking soda with matcha. It deadens the color to a dull brown as the cake bakes. Totally ruins all the fun. Luckily it only took me three batches to figure that one out… I’m sure you can guess who wasn’t the least bit disappointed about eating up the test batches… Yeeeaaahhh… Anywayyyys, back to birthday!
He wanted a low-key celebration this year, so we did a fun DC museum tour together on Saturday, ate more than our share of my mom’s spaghetti with the family on Sunday, and enjoyed doing almost nothing on Monday (his actual birthday) because that’s what he wanted to do. 🙂 And yes, he ate cake everyday. He’s still eating cake, actually…
Luckily for me, this matcha green tea cake recipe was infinitely easier than the key lime cake and cupcakes he requested last year. I took the same approach, though, and made a 2-layer 6″ round cake (for him) and a few cupcakes for the family (9 to be exact). He was quite content polishing off that cake all by himself. Can’t say I blame him; it has virtually nothing to feel guilty about in it whatsoever, making it 100% #HulkApproved indeed.
OH! On that note, I have GOT to tell you guys about this new sweetener I’ve been using! For the longest I’ve been looking for a sugar replacement (for you know who…) that doesn’t have any glycemic impact. You all know I’m all about agave around here, but I learned that your body responds to it essentially the same way that it would sugar… Kind of pointless. I mean, it’s good, and definitely a great alternative for a natural, unprocessed sweetner. Pure stevia is a great 0 glycemic index alternative, but it definitely has its own distinct taste. BUT if you’re looking for something that flies totally under the radar in your digestive system and has literally NO taste of its own, MONKFRUIT SWEETENER IS EVERYYYYTHINNNGG!!! I saw it in the store and was honestly skeptical about the whole zero-aftertaste thing… But it’s totally true. I was over the moon excited! Full disclosure though: it’s not the most economical sweetener you’ll find. But I’ve determined that if it will allow me to make desserts that taste amazing and are genuinely good for you too, then it’s worth the investment, at least in this kitchen! …Now I just have to find a way to get it in bulk and not ever again pay retail prices. Heyyyy Amazon!
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour
- ½ cup almond flour
- 1¼ monkfruit sweetener
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon fine iodized sea salt
- 1 cup canned coconut milk, at room temperature
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted and cooled
- 2 tablespoons matcha powder
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- ¾ cup hot water
- ½ cup shredded coconut, toasted (for garnish, if desired)
- 16 ounces mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
- ½ cup coconut butter (or coconut manna)
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon matcha powder (for color, if desired)
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and cut two rounds of parchment paper to line the bottoms of your cake pans. Spray the tins with coconut oil, place a parchment round in the bottom of each pan, and spray the parchment. Line muffin tins with paper liners if making cupcakes.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the flours, monkfruit sweetener, baking powder, ginger, and salt.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, and vanilla. Then slowly pour in the coconut milk and oil. Mix until thoroughly incorporated, stopping to scrape down the sides and mix up the bottom a few times as you go.
- Stir in the matcha powder. Finally, slowly pour in the hot water (you'll need to stop and scrape down the sides and mix up the bottom of the bowl a few times here, too).
- Divide the batter evenly among prepared tins. Bake 6" cake layers for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Bake cupcakes for 18-20 minutes.
- While the cake/cupcakes cool, make the frosting by beating together the mascarpone and coconut butter. With the mixer on low speed, add in the powdered sugar a little at a time until it's all incorporated, then add the matcha. Once it's all in, raise the mixer speed to medium and beat until the frosting is smooth. Frost cooled cake/cupcakes and garnish with toasted coconut.
You can always use an equal amount of regular cane sugar instead of the monkfruit sweetener!
If you're making these ahead, keep the frosted cake/cupcakes in the fridge until about an hour before dessert. Allow them to come to room temperature before serving.