Pretty In Green: Easy & Delicious Coconut-Mint Matcha Pie!

In my quest to find (delicious, quick and easy) organic, raw and vegan desserts, I discovered a beautiful thing: matcha.

Matcha is green tea in powder form, and aside from it's completely awesome bright green color that ensures any dish that includes it will make a big impression, it's health benefits are huge. From antioxidants, to stress relieving component theanine, to its hunger-repressing elements that can lead to weight loss - this magic green powder packs a mega healthy punch. Since matcha is green tea in a much more concentrated form, it has all the same benefits x 10. When you brew green tea, the water only extracts a fraction of the tea's benefits. When you use matcha in tea or food, you get the whole leaf, 100% of it's fat burning, cancer fighting antioxidant power.

Not to mention all the other super healthy ingredients in this dish including raw honey, flax seed and more! There are many versions of matcha cakes & pies out there. I chose to simplify this quick and easy version as a part of my new series on quick and easy organic desserts. Recipes including matcha run the gamut - everything from ice cream to sushi. Stay tuned to more easy & delicious matcha recipes.

Matcha In Asia & Tea Ceremonies

The benefits of matcha have been known in eastern Asia for centuries, going back to the Tang dynasty in China. The Japanese tea ceremony is often centered around the preparing and drinking of matcha. It is still widely popular in Asia; particularly in Japan, and is still used in these countries for tea ceremony purposes as well as to color food.

Ingredients: (serves 4-5)

Pie Crust

5 tbsp sunflower seeds, ground
5 tbsp linseed (flax seeds), ground
6 Medjool dates

Filling

1 cup coconut shreds
1 banana
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp sweetener of choice (raw honey, maple syrup if you're going for vegan)
about 6-7 mint leaves (use sparingly, mint's flavor is strong and can overpower the pie)
3 tsp matcha green tea

Pie Crust

This was my first time making a dough/crust out of these ingredients. I used a blender set on a high setting to grind the sunflower seeds and flax seeds. To my surprise, the blender I used worked well for this. You can also try a food processor. After the flax and seeds were ground, I added 6 dates to the blender and a little bit of water, and set it on a high setting first to pulverize the dates. Then I left it on a medium setting briefly to blend it up nicely, stirring with a spoon intermittently. Once it looks and feels a lot like dough, spread the ‘dough’ into your cake pan.

Filling

My filling has two layers. Some people use more layers, gradually adding more matcha to each layer to create a gradient color effect. Be careful not to use too much mint. I did this on my first try and it really overpowered the flavor.

Layer 1: Add all the ingredients except the mactha to a blender and blitz until you get them creamy. Scoop out 1/2 of the filling and spread it on top of the pie crust. 

Layer 2: For the other half of the filling, add matcha and blend it well, in the blender or in a bowl. Then spread it on top of the previous layer.

Refrigerate the cake for at least 30 minutes.

Before serving, dust the cake with matcha green tea! Serve and enjoy!