coconut mint matcha cake

This beautiful yet slightly unusual coconut mint matcha cake is a breeze to make yet is utterly delicious and perfect as an indulgent treat with a cup of your favourite tea.

Matcha is a green tea packed full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. It has a unique and somewhat earthy flavour and unlike regular green tea leaves, that need to be brewed for tea and inevitably end up at the bottom of the tea pot, matcha comes in the form of a powder that gets completely dissolved in our drink or food. This means that matcha green tea ends up in our bellies with all the goodness it provides.

It works so wonderfully in this cake because not only does it add its unique flavour profile to the sweetness of the banana and coconut, but it also brings with it its intense green colour which can be increased or decreased depending on the depth of colour you’re after.

for the base:

• 4 tablespoons sunflower seeds – ground
• 4 tablespoons linseed (flax seeds) – ground
• 4 Medjool dates – remove the stones and roughly chop

for the filling:

• 200g desiccated coconut
• 2 bananas
• The juice of half a lemon
• 2 tablespoons honey (or sweetener of your choice such as maple syrup or agave)
• A handful of mint
• 1 teaspoon matcha green tea powder
• ½ further teaspoon of matcha green tea powder

I used a 15cm cake tin with a loose bottom.  I greased it with vegan butter and lined it with parchment paper.

the base

To make the base, place the ingredients into a food processor or a blender and blend until you have a sticky dough. Then press the ‘dough’ into the base of your cake tin.

the filling

To make the filling, add all the ingredients except the matcha to a blender and blitz until they become blended and creamy. Scoop out 1/3 of the mint filling and spread it on top of the base and level it out with a knife or the back of a spoon.

Scoop out the rest of the filling in a bowl and mix it with 1 teaspoon matcha. Scoop out half of this mint matcha filling and spread it on top of the mint layer.

Mix the remaining filling with 1/2 tsp matcha then spread it on top of the other two cake layers.

Refrigerate the cake for at least 30 minutes.

Before serving, dust the cake with matcha green tea. Best served chilled.

for more cake recipes, check out this link on Dom in the Kitchen

Eat and of course, enjoy!