Two easy green tea dessert recipes, so you can have your tea and eat it too

It is easy to adapt a favourite dessert recipe to a green tea version because the powdered tea is both a colouring and a flavouring. Some recipes call for “green tea for baking”. Ignore that – that type of tea is usually a faded green and will give the final product neither a good colour nor a pleasant flavour. While you don’t need to use expensive, tea-ceremony-standard green tea, use the best powdered version you are willing to buy.

Green tea and black sesame marble cake

The black sesame paste used for this recipe shouldn’t be too sweet or oily; it should be thick but spoonable, and without a layer of oil floating on top.

The process of dividing the cake batter into two por­tions, then taking a smaller amount out of each to mix in the black sesame paste and green tea powder separately before adding them back into the main mixture sounds convoluted, but it is necessary. If you were to add the green tea and black sesame straight into the two main portions of the batter, you would risk overmix­ing them.

225 grams unsalted butter, slightly softened
200 grams granulated sugar
¼ tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
2 large eggs, at room temperature
230 grams plain (all-purpose) flour
235 grams sour cream, at room temperature
3-4 tsp green tea powder
60 grams black sesame paste

1 Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Prepare one or two loaf tins (I use one with a capacity of 1.3 litres, and another that holds 1.8 litres) by spraying them with tin coating, then lining with baking paper, leaving some overhang. Use a small sieve to sift the green tea powder.

2 Put the butter, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a mixing bowl and beat until fluffy and pale yellow. Mix in one egg and when it has been fully incorporated, stir in half the flour. Scrape the mixing bowl and beaters with a rubber spatula, then mix in the second egg and the remain­ing flour the same way. Again, scrape the bowl and beaters, then stir in the sour cream but do not overmix.

3 Put about one-third of the cake mixture into a second bowl. Remove about 60 grams and place it in a smaller bowl, then mix the black sesame paste into it. When it is evenly incorporated, add it back to the second bowl and stir until just combined, but don’t overmix.

4 Out of the main cake batter bowl, remove about 150 grams and place in a smaller bowl. Add the sifted green tea powder and mix until smooth. Add this back into the main cake batter and stir until just combined.

5 Spoon one-half of the green tea mixture into the prepared pan(s). Scrape the black sesame mixture over the green tea cake batter in the pan(s). Top with the remaining green tea mixture. Use your fingertips to marble the two mixtures together in the pan, then smooth the surface of the batter. Bake at 180 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until fragrant, firm to the touch and with the cake starting to pull away from the sides of the pan.

6 Cool the cake(s) for about 30 minutes, then take them out of the pan(s) by lifting using the overhang of baking paper. Cool completely before slicing.

Green tea, almond and brandied sour cherry financiers

Sour cherries macerated in eau de vie or kirsch are sold in bottles or jars.

220 grams unsalted butter
60 grams sliced or slivered almonds
½ tsp fine sea salt
180 grams granulated sugar
2 tsp green tea powder
60 grams plain (all-purpose) flour
160 grams egg whites
24 brandied sour cherries

1 Put the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over a medium flame and heat until melted. Place a paper towel over the pan and hold it in place by partially covering the pan with the lid (the paper towel prevents the butter from splattering all over the place). Cook over a medium-low flame until the butter smells nutty and turns a pale golden brown. Cool until tepid.

2 Put the almonds, salt and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely ground, then mix in the green tea powder and flour. With the motor running, add the browned butter through the feed tube, then mix in the egg whites. Scrape the mixture into a container and refrigerate overnight.

3 Preheat the oven to 220 degrees. Drain the sour cherries (don’t throw away the liquid – the eau de vie or kirsch can be sipped as a drink), then blot them with paper towels. Spray 24 to 28 standard-size financier moulds with pan coating.

4 Divide the batter between the financier moulds, then top each one with a sour cherry, pressing it down firmly. Bake the financiers at 220 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until done – they will be medium golden (darker at the edges) and fragrant. Take the financiers from the moulds while hot, but cool them for about five minutes before serving. On a plate, stack the financiers, cherry-side up, like gold bars (that is how they got their name).