Every morning I start my day with a big cup of green tea. Every morning I use the same cup. It is a handmade yellow ceramic cup with vertical black stripes that my mother gifted me for my birthday about 15 years ago. I am always scared that one day this cup will break. I know the day will come and I try to prepare myself for this tragic moment which is not an easy undertake. However, I calm myself down that I might lose my morning cup one day  - and maybe I am lucky and keep this cup my entire life - but there is always green tea. Green tea gives me comfort, brings me so much joy every single day and instantly lifts my mood. Some people take pleasure in drinking exquisite wine, but I take the greastest pleasure in sippping the best Japanese green tea that I can find. Besides my morning ritual green tea, I also love my chawan (tea bowl) with Matcha tea in the afternoon. 

Aside from drinking green tea, I like incooperating green tea in baking. I like making mousse cakes with Matcha powder such as these cakes or these cakes. 
Today I would like to share a little Matcha cake recipe which is very easy and simple to prepare. 
There are big differences - in price and quality - between Matcha powders. When drinking Matcha tea I use ceremonial powder but for baking or making Matcha lattes or smoothies I am using a less expensive Matcha powder (but organic Japanese tea powder). 
Makes 8 little cakes

INGREDIENTS
  • 65 g / 4 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 45 g / 3 1/2 tabelspoons granulated sugar
  • 4 g / 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 1 egg, medium size
  • 80 g / 1/2 cup and 1 tabelspoon pastry flour
  • 4 g / 1 teaspoon matcha powder
  • 1,5 g / 1/3 teaspoon baking powder
  • 25 g / 1 1/2 tabelspoons milk
  • 25 g / 1 1/2 tablespoons yoghurt
DIRECTIONS
  • Preheat the oven to 175 °C / 350 °F.
  • Grease a madeleine cake tin or a muffin tin. 
  • Add the softened butter, granulated sugar, vanilla sugar and salt into a bowl. Mix until creamy. 
  • Add the egg and mix until well combined. 
  • Sift the pastry flour, baking powder and the matcha powder. Then add the dry ingredients together with the milk and the yoghurt to the butter egg mixture and mix until combined. Make sure that you do not overmix the batter. 
  • Fill the batter into the madeleine tin or muffin tin. 
  • Bake the little cakes for 8 to 10 minutes. If you insert a tothpick in the middle of the cakes and the toothpick comes out clean, the little tea cakes are done. 
  • Let the cake cool for about ten minutes, remove from the tin and let it cool completely on a wire rack. 
  • The little tea cakes taste the best on the day of baking.