Green Tea Heaven

I went down to Escondido with some friends the other day. I know some of you are thinking -- where the heck is Escondido? Not to hate on that city, but really, it's like the setting of a Friday the 13th movie. There really isn't much out there. Maybe Westminster Seminary had a monastic place in mind for their future students. NO FUN ALLOWED! (just kidding.)

Anyhoo, some friends down there asked me to make some green tea cupcakes for them, but I ran out of green tea powder long ago. Luckily, I was also out of butter and needed to go out to the market anyways, or else I would've made something else and this entry would cease to exist. I went to 99 Ranch and couldn't believe how cheap it was! With so much green tea powder, I was beside myself, like a giddy little school-girl whose crush just acknowledged her. Okay, maybe not that excited. Sorry to say I don't have any pictures of the cupcakes (which came out alright...don't think I'll share the recipe because I'm looking for a better one), but I did make a green tea loaf today that is absolutely delicious! Soft, moist, not too sweet, and "earthy" -- this loaf is definitely a keeper.



It's perfect for those who don't like desserts that are sweet, sweet, SWEET. Here's the recipe, taken from Milk and Honey Cafe:

Ingredients

2 cups bleached all-purpose four
2 tablespoons green tea powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 sticks soft unsalted butter (I used I can't believe it's not butter)
2 cups confectioners' sugar (I used sugar substitute)
5 large eggs, separated
Pinch of salt

Directions

1. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan and line with buttered parchment or wax paper—cut to fit. Set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to 325F. Combine the flour, green tea and baking powder and stir well to mix.
2. Cream butter and confectioners sugar in bowl of mixer with paddle attachment and beat for about 3 minutes or until light. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping bowl and beater occasionally with a rubber spatula. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the flour mixture by hand, with a rubber spatula.
3. Pour the egg whites and salt into a clean, dry mixer bowl. Place on mixer with whisk attachment and whip whites on medium speed until white and opaque and just beginning to hold their shape. Increase speed slightly and continue whipping egg whites until they hold a soft peak.
4. Remove bowl from mixer and quickly scrape whites from bowl onto batter in other bowl. Use a large rubber spatula to fold the egg whites into the batter, folding just until no streaks of white remain.
5. Scrape the batter into prepared pans and smooth the top. I added some chocolate chips on top for decoration. Bake the cakes for about 45 minutes (35-40 minutes for mini loaf pans) or until it is well risen and a toothpick inserted in the center emerges dry. Cool the cakes in the pans on a rack for 10 minutes, then un-mold and cool it completely.

I'm taking requests for the next baking adventure. :)