I’ve always been a keen baker, and lockdown has certainly increased my habit. It’s also made me more adventurous - I’m no longer satisfied with just flapjacks or chocolate chip cookies. This week I decided to make a batch of matcha blondies using the Marukyu Koyamaen Baking Matcha. The recipe I used was from cooking-therapy.com, but there are plenty of good recipes available, depending on what type of blondie you are looking for (the gooey to chewy ratio if you will). I used white chocolate chips as I think pairing matcha with white chocolate really enhances the earthy flavours and the sweetness of the chocolate balances the slight bitterness. Usually I try cut down on the amount of sugar in the recipe (with varying degrees of success). For these I used 150g rather than 220g, and still found the blondies sweet enough. 

I will admit that I’ve had some blondie disasters before - far too sweet and far closer to a cookie than a brownie. Thankfully these turned out just how I wanted. Crumbly and tender without being too cakey, and the green colour was incredible and stayed that way after they were baked. I’ve used some matcha powders before that fade to a brownish green after baking. The flavour was just right too, the perfect balance of bitter and sweet with an almost grassy earthiness that is unique to matcha. I was wary at first about baking with matcha, as I’ve eaten matcha baked goods before that were overly bitter and thoroughly unpleasant. I’m so glad I gave it a shot though, as these truly were delicious and I’ll definitely be trying some other matcha recipes soon!