I didn’t think bananas and green tea go together, but the idea was tempting.
It just so happened that I had some ripening bananas around the same time I got the fresh batch of matcha from T&T.
The initial intent was to make matcha ice cream, which I’ll make in due time, the matcha banana bread seemed more like an experiment that had to happen right away.
Luckily I found a simple vegan recipe that uses easy pantry ingredients (well, with the exception of matcha).

INGREDIENTS

• 3 ripe bananas
• 2 tbs oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 5 tsp matcha green tea
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and matcha into a bowl together and preheat the oven to 185°C/365°C.
2. In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork until very mushy, then add the oil, applesauce, sugar and stir together.
3. Slowly add powder (maybe in 3 goes) and mix until the dough is no longer powdery.
4. Spoon in to a lightly oiled loaf pan and bake for 60 minutes. Test with a knife to see if it comes out clean.

I make banana bread all the time; and it’s always really good, but the banana bread with matcha ups the flavour quotient.
I felt the recipe called for a tad too much matcha (5 teaspoons!) but it turns out it was just the right quantity – the matcha shines through, not at all overpowering.
This and the banana works well together, making a rich, moist and tasty loaf.
Banana and matcha… complimenting each other… I wouldn’t have thunk it.