The Easy Way To Transform Matcha Into Dessert

If you thought your matcha order was limited to iced or hot, think again. While matcha is delicious as a cafe beverage or as a traditional ceremonial green tea, it's also great in other forms — including dessert. To easily transform matcha into a frozen sweet treat, for instance, you can simply blend the green tea powder into your favorite vanilla or no-churn ice cream recipe. Similar to how the earthy, grassy tea powder takes on new heights with frothed milk, sugar, and a touch of vanilla in a DIY matcha latte, matcha is the perfect refreshing yet complex flavor complement for a variety of ice cream styles. 

You can certainly transform any standard vanilla ice cream recipe by adding matcha to a Ninja CREAMi recipe or heating matcha powder with milk, cream, sugar, and eggs to churn in a classic ice cream maker, but you don't necessarily need any fancy equipment to make matcha ice cream. You can make matcha green tea shaved ice with sweetened matcha syrup. Or craft an easy no-churn matcha ice cream by simply stirring a few tablespoons of matcha into condensed milk, folding in whipped cream, and freezing the luscious green mixture in an airtight or covered container until solid. You'll see that the sugar content plus the rich dairy and bright matcha notes with hints of umami will make for an elegant frozen dessert that's undeniably creamy. 

Once you try blending matcha into a delectable homemade ice cream, you'll likely view the world — and the green tea powder's endless possibilities — differently. You can start with a simple vanilla matcha ice cream base, or add in mix-ins or complementary flavorings, such as marshmallow bits or lavender extract. Whatever matcha powder you have on hand to make your morning tea, whether that's the high-quality ceremonial or culinary grade stuff, will work well for blending into recipes (though ceremonial matcha is known for its more pronounced taste). Either way, just make sure to sift the matcha powder well before mixing it with other ingredients to avoid any green clumps in your ice cream.

While scoops of matcha green tea ice cream or vanilla matcha ice cream floats are perfect for summer, you can also use matcha powder to impart a vibrant green color and subtle earthy taste to a myriad of baked goods and seasonal treats, from pancakes to muffins to cakes. Just whisk sifted matcha powder into the dry ingredients of the batter when making matcha green tea pound cake or matcha white chocolate chunk cookies. When blended into an ice cream base or a variety of sweets, matcha powder can seriously transform a dessert.