Naturally Green, Tree Shaped Matcha Madeleine Cakes

These naturally green, matcha madeleine cakes are so delicious – I hope you try them because you won’t be disappointed.

I am always amazed when I see bloggers and crafters getting into the holiday spirit in the middle of the summer.  Excluding brand collaborations, I definitely do not think that far in advance.  I was still eking out the last few pleasures of summer as late into the fall as I could.  Bonfires, sailing, sandals – that was my focus.  With the exception of today’s delicious matcha madeleine cake recipe!

I thrifted the most adorable tree-shaped mini cake pan during the summer and have been waiting for the holiday season to put it to use.  All fall I dreamed of a matcha madeleine cake recipe.  When I won a photo contest at a local tea shop (three of my photos will appear in their annual calendar – yay!), I used some of the $150 gift card I won and bought some delicious powdered matcha – but you can find it online too.  These naturally green, tree-shaped mini cakes are so easy to whip up and they taste SO good.  Hubby and I actually invited neighbors over for a cup of tea and madeleines, because we literally couldn’t trust ourselves not to eat them all in one sitting.

Aren’t they adorable?  The magic is in the matcha, but also the cute pan I found for $1.00:

I couldn’t find the exact pan online, but I did track down a similar pan with trees and gingerbread people (hello, Grinches)!  No matter what kind of pan you bake these matcha madeleine cakes in, they’re sure to become a fast favorite!  If you’re already drooling all over your laptop (guilty), here’s what you’ll need to bake these matcha flavored madeleines.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• Juice + zest of half a lemon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp powdered matcha
• 1 stick of butter (1/4 pound)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup flour

Supplies:

• Whisk
• Small pot
• Madeleine tin or other small cake pan
• 2 mixing bowls
• Sieve for dusting sugar

How to Make Matcha Madeleine Cakes:

I had read that making madeleines was tricky and, certainly, there were a ton of extra steps (like refrigerating the dough before baking, letting the eggs come to room temperature, etc) but I skipped them all because I didn’t want my madeleine to have that signature hump; I wanted the trees to lie flat.  So these are the steps I followed, which was a quick and easy way to make madeleines that, to my taste buds, did not affect the tastiness one bit:

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat (I let it bubble so it was golden, then removed it from the heat and set it aside).
2. Meanwhile, grease the pan well with butter.
3. In a mixing bowl, using a whisk, whisk the eggs with the vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest.
4. In another mixing bowl, measure out the flour and matcha powder.
5. Slowly add in the eggs to the dry ingredients, gently whisking.
6. Add the melted butter and whisk until combined.
7. Pour the batter into the greased pan, filling each section only half way.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 15 minutes. 
9. Let cool and lightly dust with matcha powder and icing sugar.

These are a breeze to whip up and yet they turned out so adorably well!  They are such a pretty shade of green and the dusting of icing sugar looks like snow.  Plus they taste amazing: really sweet and cakey, with just the mildest hint of matcha.  They’re really delicious with a cup of tea.

If you loved my matcha shortbread, you’ll love these.  Happy baking!