I don’t like the taste of coffee so I drink a lot of herbal teas. I only recently found out that green tea (and chocolate!) contains caffeine. Maybe the little energy kick I get from it is what makes it appeal so much to me?
Well, ice cream is definitely a pick me-up, so this green tea variety is sure to give you a boost!
You might have had green tea in bags but not tried matcha powder. Matcha is a type of finely milled green tea grown in the shade and which is traditionally used in the Japanese tea ceremony. It’s this shading process which turns the leaves darker and results in higher levels of caffeine and antioxidants than found in other teas. The matcha lattes, cakes and smoothies you might have come across aren’t traditional recipes but matcha has a delicious, unique flavour that’s perfect for desserts.
I used Clearspring Organic Matcha Green Tea Powder for my ice cream, a premium grade variety and smoother and less bitter than others I’ve tried so I highly recommend it. Note that if you use other varieties you might want to add more or less to taste.
A full review of Clearspring Snacks is coming up tomorrow!
I’ve seen various matcha ice cream recipes about but they’re usually either not vegan or high in sugar and so I ruled them out. I’ve also seen matcha banana soft serve which I’m sure is delicious but I wanted mine to be a little richer, and scoop-able! Cashews are a staple in my pantry as they blend up into creamy, dreamy sauces and I decided they’d work well here.
I used frozen bananas for their natural sweetness and a little drizzle of agave and blended them with cashew cream for my thick ice cream base. A touch of matcha is all you need for the distinctive flavour and pretty shade of green. Finally, a few mint leaves in the mix add a little “somethin’ somethin’” too so if you have them available to you definitely use them.
Look at that pretty green colour!
Raw Vegan Green Tea Ice Cream:
I made this WITHOUT an ice-cream maker and it was still luscious and creamy, although you need to leave it out for 5-10 minutes for it to be scoopable. Using an ice-cream maker would be preferable but mine takes up so much space in the freezer that I rarely use it!
1C Cashews, soaked
3/4C Water or non-dairy milk
4 Bananas, frozen and broken into chunks
5-6 Mint leaves
1T Agave nectar
1 1/2t Matcha (Green Tea) powder
1/4t Xanthan gum OR 1/2T Vodka (stops it being too solid)
Blend cashews and water in a high powered blender until smooth. Blend in frozen bananas. This might take a little time depending on how powerful your blender is, but stop and scrape down the edge several times to get everything incorporated. Add in matcha powder, mint leaves and agave and blend again. Finally add xanthan gum or vodka and blend for a final time. Pour into a freezable container (I used a loaf pan) and cover tightly. Freeze for several hours until solid.
Serves 4-6
Have you tried Matcha before? How do you like to use it?