Healthy Green Tea Cake
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! In Mexico we don’t celebrate this day, but in my house we always try to do something special because my mom’s name is Patricia. She loves green tea and anything with it as an ingredient, so this green tea cake was made especially for her. The characteristic green color of the tea makes it a perfect treat for this day. 
I wanted to make a healthy cake, so I used only whole wheat flour, oil instead of butter, Greek yogurt instead of buttermilk and used Stevia instead of sugar. I had some doubts while I was preparing it, but the final result was just great! Both texture and taste! 
I have been away from home for the last two weeks, first for vacations and then because of work. To be honest it was a little bit hard to return to the daily routine. I went to the hotel gym and I tried to eat balanced, but I think part of traveling is to enjoy different types of meals. And boy, did I try new things! I will try to make my own versions of some of these dishes that I tried and really liked, and share them with you. Back to the subject, I knew I had to prepare something healthier, and that is why this healthy green tea cake was born. 
I also discovered that Matcha green tea is very hard to find in Mexico. You can find it only in stores specialized in gourmet teas. And it’s super expensive! I hope that all the antioxidants associated with this type of tea are not lost on the baking of the cake, so at least the tea is worth its price! 
It is a spongy cake with a slightly flavor of green tea, not too sweet and with a bright green color. In my house we really liked it, especially my mom. I think a slice of this green tea cake goes perfectly well with a cup of tea in the afternoon.
- 220 gr (7.76 oz) whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 150 gr (5.29 oz) granulated Stevia
- 1 Tablespoon Matcha powder
- ½ cup canola oil
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease and flour one loaf pan 23 × 13 × 7.5 cm (9 x 5.1 x 3 inches)
- In a medium bowl, sift together the whole wheat flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the eggs and the vanilla extract until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add the Stevia powder and the Matcha powder, mix well for 2-3 minutes more. Gradually add the oil and the yogurt. Mix until well incorporated.
- With a spatula, add the flour mixture and mix until all the ingredients are well combined. The batter is heavy and compact.
- Spread the batter into prepared pan. Smooth surface with a straight spatula. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the bread cool in the pan. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool.
- Enjoy!
- You can sprinkle the cake with confectioners’ sugar.
This cake is so cute! I love the pattern. I just got some matcha powder so I’m bookmarking this one as a healthy cake 🙂
Hi, just checking if 150g of stevia is too much. I thought stevia is 140 times sweeter than sugar.
Hi Natalie,
Actually this recipe was my second attempt at making the cake, the first time I prepared it, I reduced the amount of sugar in half and I felt that it missed some sweetness. So I repeated it using 150 grams of granulated stevia. The matcha has a very strong flavor, slightly bitter, so I guess you need a sweet balance. For this recipe, I used the brand Super Life (http://www.superlifenatural.com/super-life-gourmet/), which I now realize is only sold in Mexico, but according to their website, it’s made using pure stevia, they claim that they don’t use artificial sweeteners (aspartame, phenylalanine, sucralose) or high-glycemic sugars (sucrose, dextrose or maltodextrin). Hope this information is helpful.
Hi I am baking it now and I replaced the stevia with the same amt of sugar! Is it okay? And I used 300 grams of all purpose flour since whole wheat flour’s ratio to that of all purpose is 3:4 right?
Hi Yen, Sorry I just read your comment.
This recipe is for high altitude baking, so if you are in a high altitude city, the quantities you mention are good. Buy if you live in a sea level city, you would have to increase the sugar (170 grams), decrease the flour (209 grams fro whole wheat), and double the quantity for baking powder. Hope this helps, let me know. Azu