Vegan Matcha Mousse Cake

A creamy Vegan Matcha Mousse Cake with an airy, whipped texture flavored with the complex taste of Japanese matcha green tea powder.

One of my favorite flavors in the whole world is matcha, the stone ground green tea that is used to flavor many Japanese foods, sweet and savory. This very fine powder is made by grinding whole green tea leaves and is traditionally prepared and drunk in Japanese tea ceremonies. The flavor can be described as green, earthy, grassy, and slightly bitter with a sweet umami finish. This complexity is what draws me to its unique flavor.

Conventional mousse cakes are made with heavy cream and often employ gelatin to allow them to set and become sliceable. A perfect vegan replacement for the gelatin is agar, a neutral-flavored seaweed-based thickener. The resulting texture of the mousse is bubbly and airy, yet sliceable and very rich.

If matcha is not your thing, this mousse can be flavored in many other ways: instant espresso or Turkish coffee for a mocha mousse, cocoa powder and melted chocolate for a chocolatey mousse, or blended strawberries and raspberries (substituted for some or all of the nondairy milk) for a pink berry mousse.

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Vegan Matcha Mousse Cake

 

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A creamy Vegan Matcha Mousse Cake with an airy, whipped texture flavored with the complex taste of Japanese matcha green tea powder.

Author: Lands & Flavors

Ingredients

For the Crust:

• 1¼ cups ground cookies or biscuits (homemade or store-bought vegan animal crackers, digestive biscuits, graham crackers, etc. pulsed and ground in a food processor or blender)
• 2 Tablespoons melted coconut oil
• pinch of sea salt
• 2 Tablespoons nondairy milk

For the Matcha Mousse:

• 1 cup unroasted cashews, soaked in boiled water for 20 minutes and drained
• 1¾ cups coconut milk (one 14oz can)
• ½ cup plus 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 4 Tablespoons coconut oil
• 4 teaspoons lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 pinches of sea salt
• 1¾ cups nondairy milk
• ¾ teaspoon agar powder
• 1 Tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons matcha powder

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare the crust by combining the ground biscuits, coconut oil, and salt in a small bowl. Mix until the cookie crumbles are like wet sand. Add in the nondairy milk and combine thoroughly with a spoon or your fingers until it is a crumbly paste. Press this mixture evenly into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan and bake for 15 minutes. The crust will look golden brown at the edges and will feel crisp.
2. Now prepare the mousse by combining the cashews, coconut milk, sugar, coconut oil, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt in the blender and blending until completely smooth. Set aside.
3. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the 1¾ cups nondairy milk and agar powder and bring to a boil while whisking. When it comes to a boil, bring the heat down to low and allow to simmer for 2 minutes while you whisk. After 2 minutes, pour this entire mixture into the blender jar along with the cashew mixture and blend until well mixed (around 1 minute). Add the matcha powder to the blender and blend again until throughly incorporated. You will notice that the mixture may be very bubbly, that's ok.
4. Pour this entire green mixture over the pre-baked crust in the springform pan. Set the pan aside on the counter to cool for 20 minutes uncovered before covering the pan with foil and placing in the refrigerator to chill for 6 hours or overnight.
5. When it has chilled, run a knife along to edge to loosen the mousse and remove from the springform pan. Dust the top of the cake with extra matcha powder (using a small sieve), slice, and serve.

Notes

-If you don't have biscuits or cookies on hand for making the crust, you can make a quick crust by combining some walnuts, almonds, and a few dates in a food processor until it is a crumbly paste. This type of crust doesn't need to be prebaked but keep in mind that it won't be nice and crisp like a cookie crust.

-For a gluten-free version, simply use any kind of plain gluten-free cookie or biscuit.

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