6 matcha preparations you must try at home

Four Ingredient Smoothie
Cook time: 5 minutes
Makes: 1 tall glass
Ingredients:
1-1 1/2 tsp organic matcha powder
1 cup almond milk
½ ripe avocado
2 ice cubes
½ tsp vanilla bean extract
2-tsps honey (or two-three dates soaked in water, then pitted and chopped)
Method:
Simply spritz all of the above in the blender until smooth. Pour into a glass and enjoy immediately.


Green Tea Chia Seed Pudding
Prep time: 5 minutes + leave overnight
Serves: 2
Ingredients
1/2 cup chia seeds
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 cup light coconut milk (alternatively use 2 cups almond milk)
1/4-1/2 teaspoon matcha powder
1-2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
Toppings
Berries or any other fruit
of choice
Toasted coconut flakes
Dark chocolate (optional)
Preparation
In a blender, blend all the ingredients except the chia seeds and the toppings. Mix the blended liquid with the chia seeds in a bowl.
Cover the bowl and let the matcha chia pudding soak for at least 3 hours in the refrigerator, but preferably overnight. The next morning, before serving, add more almond milk to thin out the pudding as desired. Finally, top with the fruits and toasted coconut and enjoy.

Whole Wheat Matcha Pancakes
Makes: Approx 6 pancakes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour (or gluten-free flour)
½ tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 tbsp oil or melted butter
1 cup full-fat milk
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp coconut sugar
½ to 1 tsp matcha powder
Few drops of vanilla essence or a teaspoon of organic bean paste

Method:
Mix all the ingredients using an electric blender until you get a batter-like consistency.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and lightly brush with melted butter.
Pour pancake batter and use the back of the spoon to spread it out.
Cook for about two minutes. When bubbles start to appear on the surface, flip it over.
Cook until lightly brown. Remove from heat.
Serve warm with maple syrup, blueberries or other toppings of your choice.

Chocolate Almond Truffles with Matcha Dust
Makes: 12-16 truffles
Cook time: 30 to 40 minutes
Ingredients:
2 cups almond meal flour
½ cup almond butter
2 ½ tbsps organic milk chocolate powder
3 pitted Mejdool dates
2 tbsps maple syrup
1-tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp semi-sweet chocolate chips (dairy-free for a vegan version)
Matcha powder for dusting.
For the dipping sauce:
12 tablespoons of dark chocolate chips, melted.
For the almond nut butter:
1 cup almonds
2 tbsps olive oil (optional)
Method:
For the almond nut butter, roast the almonds at 180°C for 10 to
12 minutes. Remove and cool. Blend in a mixer and add the oil if you prefer it. The almonds will break to form a creamy paste.
For the truffles, add all ingredients into a food processor. Blend and stop until the ingredients are well-combined. Be careful not overdo it or you will be left with a paste.
Take one tablespoon mixture and kneed it a couple of times with one hand, then using both palms, gently roll into a ball. Repeat until you have used up all the mixture.
One by one, dip into melted chocolate, then place on a baking paper and then sprinkle with matcha dust. Use a strainer, or a sieve, so that you don't get any small lumps of matcha.
Freeze for 5 minutes or keep in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Store in airtight container and keep refrigerated. Use within three days. These bites are perfect for a teatime snack.
(Note: If you want to enjoy it while reducing the calories, simply do without the chocolate dip. It will still be delicious.)
 
Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache Frosting
Prep time: 30 minutes
Bake time: 40 minutes
Makes: 8-12 slices
Ingredients:
2 cups almond flour
1 tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
5 tbsps milk chocolate powder
A few tbsps of water
Handful of chocolate chips (use the non-
dairy kind if needed)
1/3 cup olive oil (plus more for greasing)
Half a cup granulated coconut sugar
1 tsp organic vanilla paste (or two teaspoons vanilla essence)
3 large eggs
For the frosting:
90 grams Lindt Fondant Baking Chocolate (or dairy-free chocolate)
3 tbsps Greek yoghurt.
Few drops of vanilla essence
Matcha powder, for dusting
Method
For the frosting, melt the chocolate in a double broiler, and let cool. Add vanilla essence, Greek yoghurt and whisk together.
Preheat your oven to 170°C and grease a 9-inch springform tin with a little oil and line the base with baking paper. Don't pre-heat for more than 8 to 10 minutes.
In a bowl, combine the almond flour with baking powder, a pinch of salt, and keep aside.
Heat a few tbsps of water and whisk the chocolate powder until you get a thick chocolate paste. Add vanilla paste. Stir again and keep aside.
Put sugar, olive oil and eggs into the bowl and use an electronic cake mixer to blend the ingredients. Pour in the chocolate mix and give it a stir. Slowly add the nut flour and stir with a spatula.
Pour half of the batter into the pre-heated cake tin. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Pour the remaining batter. Bake for 40 minutes.
Remove from oven and let it cool for 10 minutes, then ease the sides to gently spring it out of the tin. Once it has cooled, slather on the chocolate ganache. Finally, dust the matcha powder over the cake.

Vegan Matcha Green Tea Popsicles
Cook time: 5 minutes + leave overnight
Makes: 6 - 8 popsicles

Ingredients
1 cup coconut cream
1/3 cup cashews (preferably soaked at least 4 hours or overnight)
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup soft and pitted dates
1 tbsp matcha powder
1 tbsp pure vanilla bean paste
Method:
Drain and rinse the cashews and add them to your blender with the remaining ingredients. Blend on high setting for 1-2 minutes until completely smooth. Pour the liquid into popsicle molds and freeze for several hours or overnight.