Cake & tea in one

MATCHA or green tea powder is of Japanese origin, where leaves from tea bushes are ground finely into a powder after they’ve been plucked and dried.
The website Health.com writes: “Matcha preparation involves covering the tea plants with shade cloths before they are harvested.
“This triggers the growth of leaves with better flavour and texture, which are hand-selected, steamed briefly to stop fermentation, then dried and aged in cold storage, which deepens the flavour.
“The dried leaves are then stone-ground into a fine powder.”
Drinking green tea made from matcha gives you more nutritional benefits, as you are consuming whole tea leaves.
Green tea contains vitamins and minerals, but is mainly known for its high content of an antioxidant compound known as catechin.
The most potent form of catechin, known as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), has been shown to boost metabolism, protect against heart disease, and slow the growth of cancer cells.
Apart from mixing the powder with hot water to make green tea, this powder is also used as an ingredient for flavouring and colouring food such as noodles, cakes, desserts and drinks.
Matcha or green tea powder can quite easily be found in supermarkets or baking supply shops. They could be packed in tins or sealed sachets.
This recipe makes one loaf pan, but I had decided to fill the loaf pan with a little less of the batter so that I could make a few cupcakes as an easy school snack.
If you also want to make a few cupcakes, be sure to remove the cupcakes from the oven after 12-15 minutes, or when a toothpick inserted into the cupcake comes out clean.
Matcha Pound Cake
Ingredients
»¼ cup butter
»¾ cup fine sugar
»2 large eggs, lightly beaten
»½ cup milk
»1 cup flour
»1 tbs matcha (green tea powder)
»1 tsp baking powder
»¼ tsp salt
Method
1. Preheat oven to 165°C (329°F).
2. Grease a medium-sized loaf pan.
3. Mix the butter with the sugar until fine.
4. Add the milk and eggs slowly into the mixture and combine evenly.
5. Sift the flour, matcha, baking powder and salt together into another bowl.
6. Spoon the flour mixture into the egg, milk and butter mixture and fold in to combine thoroughly.
7. Pour the batter into the loaf pan.
8. Bake for 45 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and leave to cool before cutting and serving.