I bought this green tea powder from Meidi-Ya supermarket a long time back, used it once or twice and almost forgot all about it until recently when I had leftover red bean paste to use up and I thought of making something matcha to go with it. Realised the powder had already expired but since it looked and smelled alright, I still went ahead to use it for this recipe.
The only disadvantage was that green tea powder would lose its flavour and colour when exposed to heat, light and air over time so if you are particular about the colour or appearance of your baked goods, then I would suggest that you always buy a fresh batch of green tea powder. With that, you would likely to produce richer green cakes as compared to mine which were more of a yellowish green hue.
For this recipe, I used 6 standard sized silicone muffin cups and 6 smaller ones (can get from Daiso). I liked how these steamed cakes rose up like ‘huat kueh’ which were perfect as I meant to make this batch for my Dad who’s into anything with red bean paste and also ‘huat kueh’ because it symbolises ‘prosperity’. Anyway, I could tell he really liked the cakes because he was all smiles while eating them and even emphasized the point that he just loved the ‘huat’ factor, lol. Mission accomplished. ๐
Steamed Green Tea Cake Recipe
Ingredients (makes 6 regular and 6 mini cakes)
1 1/2 cup plain flour (approx. 225g)
1 tbsp matcha powder
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup castor sugar (approx. 60g)
3 tbsp canola oil
300ml skimmed milk
150g ready-made red bean paste, divided into 6 large rounds & 6 small ones
Instructions
1. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and matcha powder.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil and milk till the sugar dissolves.
3. Add the flour mixture to the milk mixture and whisk gently till well combined.
4. Fill a steamer with water and bring it to a boil over high heat.
5. To assemble the cakes, first fill each silicone cup with the batter till half full. Drop in a ball of red bean paste and fill the cup with more batter till almost full to the top. Repeat with the rest.
6. Steam the large cakes for 8 minutes followed by the small ones for 5 minutes over high heat.
By the way, if you’re using a regular steamer like this, do wrap a dish cloth around the lid to prevent water droplets from falling into the muffin cups while steaming.
The texture of the cake was almost like that of a steamed bun – soft and spongy – but with a hint of matcha flavour. And it went really well with the red bean paste filling too. Give it a try! ๐