Matcha Brownies

Hello all!

I have been loving Matcha green tea since it became a thing 6-7 years ago. Since I don’t have a sweet tooth and my sweet tolerance is quite low, I simply love the earthiness and that Matcha brings into a your mouth and ends every bite with a very delicate floral aftertaste. I feel that Matcha  flavor can be both bold and subtle at the same time. It is strong enough to be a stand-alone flavor and versatile enough to be married with other bold flavour like chocolate.

I came across Matcha Brownies on Pinterest awhile back and I have been wanting to try making them. My family members (whom I live with) are not exactly avid dessert eaters. They would taste the desserts, love the desserts but not indulge in the desserts. I, on the other hand, love making desserts more than eating them. Hence I always try to find an event or a get-together to try making any kinds of desserts or else it will stay in the fridge for weeks!

I tried this recipe a few months back for a friend’s birthday and another friend of mine simply loved it and asked me to bake another one. So I did!

The original recipe came from here: http://www.ful-filled.com/2016/10/17/matcha-cheesecake-brownies/

  

Ingredients

Matcha Cheesecake:

250g  of cream cheese, room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

1 tbsp Matcha powder

1 egg, room temperature

1 teaspoon of green coloring (optional, if needed)

Brownies:

6 tbsp (85g) unsalted butter, diced

1 cup or 160g semi-sweet chocolate chips/coins

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

1.   Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 180 degree Celsius and line an 8 x 8 inch baking pan

Matcha Cheesecake:

2.    Using an electric mixer,  beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth and fluffy.

3.    Sift the Matcha powder into the mixture and continue beating.

4.    Mix in the eggs and continue beating until well combined. Set aside.

Brownies: 

5.    In a microwave-safe bowl, melt butter in the microwave.

6.    Stir in the chocolate and add in another 10 to 20 seconds extra in the microwave (if needed)

7.    Mix in the eggs. (if the mixture is a bit too hot, do wait for a couple of minutes to ensure that   the eggs do not scramble)

8.   Add the vanilla, flour, cocoa powder and salt into the mixture and continue mixing until well combined.

9.    Pour ¾ of the brownie batter into the baking pan evenly.

10.  Slowly pour and spread the Matcha cheesecake batter on the brownie batter.

11.  Dollop the remaining brownies batter onto the Matcha cheesecake batter.

12.  Using a skewer or a butter knife, swirl the dollops of brownie batter to create a marble effect

13.  Bake for 30 minutes or until the middle of the brownies no longer jiggle and not sticky to     touch.

14.  Let cool completely before serving (or not, your choice).

 

I like that this brownie recipe is not overly sweet. Do add or reduce the amount of sugar to your liking. The green-ness of the Matcha cheesecake depends on the quality of your Matcha powder. Some can be browner than green. So you may add a bit of colouring if you want the green-ness to pop out a little :)

Enjoy!