Green Tea Mousse Cake
Light and delicately flavored, this green tea mousse cake gets its enticing color from a mix of Japanese matcha powder and fresh spinach. The cashew nuts and the coconut milk give it just the right amount of body without weighing it down.
Servings 8 people
Ingredients
Ingredients for the base:
- 4 Medjool dates Stones removed
- ½ cup (125 ml) raw almonds
- ¾ cup (180 ml) desiccated coconut
- Zest of 1 lemon
- A few drops of water to pull it all together
Ingredients for the filling:
- 1 cup raw cashew nuts soaked in hot water for 20 minutes
- 200 ml (7 oz.) coconut milk I use light coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons palm/coconut sugar or other mild flavored sweetener
- 2 tablespoons matcha powder + a couple of teaspoons more to serve
- 2 teaspoons vanilla paste or essence
- 3 large handfuls fresh spinach
- 1 ¾ cups (430 ml) unsweetened almond milk or milk of your choice
- 1 teaspoon powdered agar-agar
- Fresh berries to serve optional
Instructions
- Start by soaking your cashew nuts in boiling water for 20 minutes. While they soak continue with making the base layer.
To make the base:
- Line a spring-form with parchment- or baking paper. The size of the spring-form does not have to be exact but the larger the form the thinner the cake. I use one which is 7 inches / 18 cm in diameter. * If making individual portion-sized cakes see note below *
- In a food processor, process the almonds until coarsely chopped. Add the dates, coconut, and lemon zest and process until everything is mixed well and sticks together nicely. If the mixture is too dry add a few drops of water to pull it all together.
- Spread the mixture evenly on the bottom of the spring-form and press down firmly. Set aside.
To make the filling:
- Start by steaming the spinach in a pot or saucepan with a bit of water in the bottom. Bring to a boil and steam until the spinach is just wilted, no more. You want it to retain its bright green color so don’t overcook it. Drain and squeeze out the water, then chop it a bit.
- Combine the spinach with the soaked and drained cashew nuts, coconut milk, lemon juice, palm sugar, 2 tablespoons matcha powder, and the vanilla paste in a blender and blend until everything is completely smooth. If your coconut milk is very thick then add about a 1/4 cup of almond milk as well, this will make it easier to get the mixture completely smooth.
- Pour the almond milk into a small pot and whisk in the agar-agar powder. Heat the milk over low heat and let it simmer for about 30-45 seconds, whisking continuously. Be careful it doesn’t boil over, it can happen quickly.
- Start up the blender with the green filling mixture and, with the blender running, pour in the agar-agar milk and blend everything until it is all nicely mixed, then quickly pour the filling over your almond/coconut base. Gently tap the spring form a few times against your worktop to get rid of whatever air pockets or bubbles may be hiding in the filling.
- Put your cake in the fridge until nicely set, about an hour.
- Before serving, remove it from the spring-form and dust the top with extra matcha powder (using a small sieve) and decorate with fresh berries.
Notes
To make the portion-sized mini cakes you simply divide first the base "dough" and then the filling between 8 individual forms. I use simple round metal forms without a bottom, the same type used to present various other foods in nice round portions. These do not need to be lined with parchment paper as the cakes will come out easily after running a knife around the edges, releasing them from the forms. The ones I use are 8 cm (3 to 3 1/4 inch) in diameter.
Image below for reference.
