A super simple 3 Ingredient Nama Chocolate recipe - only dark chocolate, heavy cream, and some matcha powder! It is a fast and easy no-bake recipe. If you like Royce's Nama Chocolate, you will like this too 😉

This Nama Chocolate is made with dark chocolate, and dusted with matcha powder for a hint of matcha flavour. You can substitute matcha powder with cocoa powder instead if you prefer. 

 

MATCHA BASQUE BURNT CHEESECAKE RECIPE 
by Sumopocky

Equipment
6 inch round cake pan
Baking paper

Ingredients
[For Original Basque Cheesecake]
150g of Cream Cheese (room temperature)
60g of Caster Sugar
150ml of Heavy Cream
1.5 Eggs
10g of Cake Flour
[For Matcha Basque Cheesecake]
150g of Cream Cheese (room temperature)
60g of Caster Sugar
150ml of Heavy Cream
1.5 Eggs
15g of Matcha Powder

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 210°C and grease the cake pan with softened unsalted butter. Place the baking paper in the pan and press it down so that it sticks to the pan. Grease again and place the second layer of baking paper. Press the paper well into the mould.
2. Prepare Original Cheesecake Batter. With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar, heavy cream, eggs in that order till they are well combined. Sift in the cake flour and mix well.
3. Prepare Matcha Cheesecake Batter. With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar, heavy cream, eggs in that order till they are well combined. Sift in the matcha powder and mix well.
4. Pour the matcha batter into the cake pan, followed by the original cheesecake batter. Knock on countertop to prevent air bubbles.
5. Bake in the preheated oven at 210°C for approximately 25 to 30min. When you remove the cheesecake from the oven, it should still be jiggly and wobbly. This is normal, and you don't need to bake it for longer.
6. With the cheesecake still in the pan, let it chill in the fridge for at least 6 hours, or till it is completely chilled.
7. Gently remove the cake from the pan and peel off the baking paper. Slice and serve!

This Flourless Matcha Cake with no added sugar is rich, smooth, and super easy to make! Only 5 ingredients are needed - vegetable oil, white chocolate, matcha green tea, eggs, and milk! It is good for those who don't like desserts that are too sweet, or those who are seeking a healthier option. With increasing focus on health, this will certainly be well received at parties as there's no additional sugar incorporated this recipe (as the sweetness comes from the white chocolate). 

I am happy to work with founder of JapaneseGreenTeaIn, Kei Nishida-san, who has generously sponsored the matcha powder for this recipe. All their tea comes directly from Arahataen Green Tea Farms and undergoes stringent quality controls.

In addition, their teas contain better flavor because of the Deep Steaming Technology used. Baking with their premium Japanese matcha, I can testify that the taste does come out stronger than others you purchase from the baking store/supermarket in Singapore. You don't need to use as much matcha for the flavour to come out in the desserts 👍🏻

FLOURLESS MATCHA CAKE RECIPE 
(NO ADDED SUGAR)
by Sumopocky

Equipment
7 inch silicon donut cake mould

Ingredients
160ml of Vegetable oil
400g of White Chocolate
20g of Matcha Powder
6 Eggs

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F).
2. In a heat-proof bowl, melt the white chocolate in the vegetable oil over a water bath. Stir till smooth.
3. Add the matcha powder, and mix well.
4. Add the eggs gradually, stirring well between each addition.
5. Stir in the milk.
6. Pour the mixture into the silicon mould and transfer to a baking tray. Pour water in the baking tray to create a water bath. Bake for 30 minutes.
7. The cake will still be slightly wobbly when you remove it from the oven. When it's cooled to room temperature, wrap the cake in the mould with cling wrap, and leave it in the freezer overnight.
8.  Gently remove the cake from the silicon mould, and dust with matcha powder. I decorated the cake with some Sakura macarons, but it is totally optional if you choose to leave it out ☺️ Cut the cake with a sharp, warm knife. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas Eve! Before diving into the festivities, I'd like to share a cute and simple Christmas macaron design - a Christmas Tree decorated in the festive colours of red, white and green. These macarons are filled with Matcha Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

Hope you enjoyed the Christmas macaron collection~ Happy holidays ♥

CHRISTMAS TREE MACARONS
by Sumopocky

Yield: ~20 macarons

Ingredients
[For Basic Macaron Shells]
Meringue: 70g of Egg whites + 90g of Castor sugar
80g of Almond flour
80g of Powdered/icing sugar
Green food colouring
Brown food colouring or Cocoa powder
Icing sprinkles

[For Matcha Filling]
Click here for recipe

Directions
[For Basic Macaron Shells]
1. Make the meringue. In a bowl, beat the egg whites on low speed using an electric mixer until it is white and frothy (approximately 1 minute). Gradually add the sugar 1/4 at a time. When the first addition of sugar has completely dissolved (approximately 1 minute later), increase the mixer speed to medium and add until all the sugar has been incorporated. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
2. Sift the almond flour and icing sugar to the meringue.
3. Begin macaronage. Using a spatula, start the macaronage process by folding and lightly scraping the top of the batter. Continue until the wet and dry ingredients just start to combine.
4. Scoop out 2 tablespoons of batter and add brown food colouring. Mix well and transfer to a piping bag with a small tip.
5. Add green food colouring to the remaining batter and continue the macaronage process until you get a molten-like mixture and drips down like a ribbon when lifted. Transfer some to a piping bag with a small round tip. TIP: Do not over mix the batter as it will become too runny and would not hold the shape of the christmas tree. 
6. Pipe out batter onto baking tray lined with parchment paper. Please refer to video above for demonstration. When the shells are still tacky, sprinkle some icing sprinkles.
7. Let the shells dry in a non-humid place. You should be able to touch it gently with the tip of your finger without it sticking.
8. Bake in a preheated oven at 150°C for approximately 10 - 13 minutes.
9. Let shells cool before filling. Enjoy!

Here's a no-sugar recipe that uses natural honey as a sweetener - Sugar Free Matcha Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting. Even the cream cheese frosting is sugar free! The matcha muffins are moist, and the almonds adds a nice crunch. 

I decorated them as little happy muffins with a strawberry "hat". They remind me of samsui ladies from the past, who wore trademark red cloth hats. But in any case, that was not the intended design haha... they were just supposed to be happy muffins~ 

The thing about muffins is that they are hard to go wrong, thanks to their simple yet versatile nature. You can even customise the taste of these muffins by mixing chocolate chips or nuts to the batter.

(Update: Batterful has evolved their business model and they now sell ingredients for my recipe on their site!)

SUGAR FREE MATCHA MUFFINS 
(with cream cheese frosting)
by Sumopocky

Portions: 8

Ingredients
[For Muffins]
3 Eggs
1/2 tsp of Cream of Tar Tar
75g of Honey
60g of Unsalted butter
60ml of Milk
90g of Cake flour
17g of Matcha powder
Crushed almonds (or other nuts) for topping

[For Cream Cheese Frosting]
60ml of Heavy cream
80g of Cream cheese

[To Decorate]
3 strawberries, sliced
20g of melted chocolate

Directions
[For Muffins]
1. Split the egg whites from the egg yolks. In a bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tar tar with an electric mixer till stiff peaks form. This forms the meringue. Set aside.
2. Melt the unsalted butter in a microwave. Keep your eye on it so that it doesn't boil in the microwave. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks, honey, melted unsalted butter, and milk.
4. Sift in cake flour and matcha powder. Mix well.
5. Whisk in 1/3 of the meringue in Step 1.
6. Gently fold in the rest of the meringue till well incorporated.
7. Transfer to muffin cups (fill to 4/5 full) and sprinkle crushed nuts on surface.
8. Bake in a preheated oven at 170° C for 20 - 25 minutes. Let it cool.

[For Cream Cheese Frosting]
1. Beat the cream cheese till it is nice and smooth.
2. In a separate bowl, beat the heavy cream till soft peaks form.
3. Combine the 2 and transfer to a piping bag with a round tip. If you don't have a piping bag, you can always frost it on with a spatula/spoon.

[To Decorate]
1. Melt chocolate in a microwave (stirring every 20 seconds) and transfer to piping bag with a small tip (or use a small ziplock bag and snip off a small portion at the corner).
2. Pipe a round dollop of frosting on muffins.
3. Draw on face with melted chocolate.
4. Top with sliced strawberries.

On another note, my life has reached another cross road, and along with it comes anticipation and anxiety. Decisions are overwhelming, almost like a tide waiting to wash me deep into the ocean. 

At times like these, it's important to reassure myself that it's fine if I make a "bad" decision. Because whenever I think back on all the "wrong life choices" I've made, I realised the good things in my life wouldn't have been possible without them too. 

“For what it’s worth: It’s never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start over.” - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Matcha Berries Naked Cake
7" cake pan

Ingredients
[For Sponge Cake]
5 Eggs
150g of Caster sugar
150g of Cake flour
18g of Matcha (Green tea powder)
50g of Unsalted butter
50g of Fresh milk

[For Matcha Swiss Meringue Buttercream]

Directions
[For Sponge Cake]

Hi Weekenders! The arrival of November means the festive season is creeping up soon. Instead of indulging on ultimately sinful desserts during the holiday period, how about cushioning the blow with a healthier choice - Matcha green tea desserts!

Okay, I know what you must be thinking; Desserts can't ever be healthy. But I'm hoping that incorporating Matcha will make things better? #wishfulthinking&nbsp

This month's featured recipe is a Matcha Azuki Rare Cheesecake, in other words, Green Tea No-bake Cheesecake with Japanese Red Beans. I've made Matcha cheesecake previously, but this is a new and improved version with an added flavour of azuki red beans! The sweetness of the azuki is a nice contrast to the slight bitterness of Matcha as they are one of the classic flavour combinations. 

And yes, Macchan makes her appearance again! In case you are unaware, Macchan is my new Matcha Green Tea character. She debuted in my Matcha Macaron post, and now you stand a chance to win a box of Macchan macarons with other assorted flavours.

MATCHA AZAUKI CHEESECAKE
By Sumopocky
Equipment: 6 inch spring-foam cake pan
Time: 50 minutes active time + 3-4 hours for cake to set in the fridge

Ingredients
[For Biscuit Base]
60g of Plain/Digestive biscuits
20g of Unsalted butter

[For Red Bean Paste]
100g of Azuki beans
30g of Caster sugar

[For Matcha Cheesecake]
200g of Cream cheese (room temperature)
100ml of Heavy cream
50g of Plain yoghurt (If your yoghurt is unsweetened, add 50g of caster sugar)
1/2 tbsp of Lemon juice
1 tbsp of Matcha powder
6g of Gelatine
3 tbsp of Water (for Gelatine)

Directions
[For Biscuit Base]
1. Place the biscuits in a ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to crush them into fine pieces.
2. Add the softened butter and knead it until they are well combined.
3. Line the cake pan base with parchment paper, and press in a layer of biscuit base. Let it sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

[For Red Bean Paste]
1. Strain the beans to remove water. I used the canned "yudeazuki" as pictured below.


2. Place the soft beans and sugar in a pot on medium-high heat, stirring constantly for approximately 10 minutes until a shiny but loose paste is formed. It might appear too liquid, but the paste would harden up when cooled.
3. Transfer the paste to a bowl/container and allow it to cool in the freezer for 5 minutes.
4. Spread a layer of the azuki bean paste on top of the biscuit base made earlier. Let it cool in the fridge while you prepare the cheesecake.

[For Matcha Cheesecake]
1. Place the gelatine in water and heat it up in the microwave until all is dissolved.
2. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar using an electric mixer until it is smooth.
3. Add the yoghurt, heavy cream, and lemon juice until they are thoroughly combined.
4. Sift in the matcha powder to avoid any lumps and mix well.
5. Pour in the melted gelatine and mix well.
6. Transfer the batter to the cake pan and let it rest for at least 3 hours in the fridge.
7. Dust with matcha powder before serving.

Hi! November has been kind of crazy. In the search for some peace and serenity, I baked a soothing Matcha Azuki Cheesecake. It features a scrumptious crumb base layered with red bean paste, and topped with Green Tea infused Cheesecake.

This is a new and improved version of my Matcha cheesecake, with an added Japanese flavour of azuki red beans! I have always enjoyed the classic flavour combination of Matcha and red beans as they can't seem to go wrong. They complement each other so well, like butter and toast, chocolate and berries, or peanut butter and jelly.

As a resident blogger at  Project Weekends, I've shared this exclusive recipe on their site. Do visit for more of my recipes, and other ideas to relax over the weekends!

Matcha (Green tea) is one of my all time favourites. Be it served as a traditional matcha drink, or incorporated into desserts, there are very few occasion when I'd turn down anything related to matcha. 

Apart from green tea's elegant taste, it also contains many health benefits. It helps with digestion, increase metabolism, is loaded with anti-oxidants, and lower the risk of various cancers. Thus, green tea is one thing I'm sure I'll never stop drinking. 

Macchan chilling and resting on other macarons, nothing much. 

You can imagine how thrilled I was to be in Japan's Kansai region, the area famous for its green tea. With each sip of tea, the warmth and spirit of Japan flowed through me and touched my heart. That is one of the many reasons why I am absolutely in love with Japan's food culture. You can honestly taste their genuineness from the food and drinks they prepare.

Now, I strive to make my desserts reach that level in terms of taste and emotions. And while I still have a long journey to go, this matcha macarons recipe brings me one step towards that coveted level. These macarons are elegant and subtly sweet, and carries the distinct taste of matcha green tea. If you try this recipe, you won't be disappointed. Hope you enjoy the macarons, and let me know if you created Macchan macarons too! 

MATCHA GREEN TEA MACARONS RECIPE 

Servings: ~ 10 macarons
Time: 40min Active Time + Baking Time

Ingredients
[For Macaron Shells]
40g of Ground almond flour
40g of Powdered/icing sugar
1 Tablespoon of Matcha Powder
Meringue: 35g of Egg whites + 45g of Castor sugar

[For Matcha Filling]
1 tablespoon of Heavy cream
80g of White couverture chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon of Matcha Powder

Directions
[For Macaron Shells]
1. In a large bowl, sift the ground almonds, icing sugar and matcha powder. Mix it well with a spatula.
2. To make the meringue, beat the egg whites on low speed using an electric mixer until it is white and frothy (approximately 1 minute)
3. Gradually add the sugar 1/4 at a time. When the first addition of sugar has completely dissolved (approximately 1 minute later), increase the mixer speed to medium and add until all the sugar has been incorporated. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
4. Add the meringue to the sifted ground almond flour and icing sugar in Step 1. Using a spatula, start the macaronage process until you get a molten-like mixture and drips down like a ribbon when lifted. Read here on how to macaronage.
5. Transfer the batter to a piping bag with a round tip and pipe out equal sized circles (Approximately 2.5cm) on parchment paper or a baking mat placed over a baking tray. After piping, knock the bottom of the tray against a flat surface to get rid of air bubbles.
6. Let the shells dry for approximately 30 minutes in an air-conditioned room. You should be able to touch it gently with the tip of your finger without it sticking.
7. Bake in a preheated oven at 150C for approximately 10 - 13 minutes. Let it cool.


[For Matcha Filling]
1. Heat up the heavy cream until it starts to simmer. Remove from heat and stir in the matcha powder.
2. Pour the heavy cream over the white chocolate and continue to stir until all the chocolate has melted.
3. Transfer the filling to a piping bag and pipe them on to your macarons. Sandwich two macaron shells together.

Done!

Hi all! If you are unaware, I am the resident blogger at Project Weekends and write baking posts every first Monday of the month. My latest post is up, featuring Toy Story Alien Donuts in matcha green tea flavour. 

If you don't have any special plans this weekend, how about baking these donuts? You can make them with your friends and family as a good way to spend quality time. The recipe is simple and suitable even for the novice bakers! I used hotcake mix for this recipe so the texture is nice and chewy. 

Also, we will be giving a silicon donut mat to one lucky winner, so head down to their Facebook page for the giveaway details! 

TOY STORY ALIEN MACARONS