Plant-Based Matcha Muffins with No Resting Time

Matcha muffin batter goes into paper liners as soon as it's mixed. There's no chilling time to wait through; the oven does the rest. That quick start distinguishes these muffins from other individual matcha cakes whose batter needs a rest.

For twelve plant-based muffins, allow about 5 tsp (10 g) matcha, 6.3 oz (180 g) flour, and 55 minutes in all, including 20 minutes of baking and 20 minutes of cooling.

• Preparation 15 minutes
• Resting none
• Baking 20 minutes
• Cooling 20 minutes
• Total time 55 minutes
• Makes 12 muffins
• Tools a twelve-cup muffin pan with about 2 1/3 fl oz (70 ml) per cavity, twelve paper liners, two bowls, a sieve, a spatula, and a rack

We sell Essence and choose it for this sweet batter that goes into the oven. The soy drink and yogurt base can be poured straight into the liners after mixing. Unlike madeleines, there's no wait between the bowl and the pan.

Matcha muffin ingredients

• 6.3 oz (180 g) wheat flour
• About 5 tsp (10 g) matcha
• About 2 tsp (8 g) baking powder
• 3.5 oz (100 g) sugar
• About 5 fl oz (150 ml) plain, unsweetened soy drink
• 3.5 oz (100 g) plain soy yogurt
• About 2 1/3 fl oz (70 ml) sunflower oil

How to make matcha muffins

1. Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C) without convection.
2. Place twelve paper liners in a muffin pan with about 2 1/3 fl oz (70 ml) per cavity.
3. Mix about 5 fl oz (150 ml) soy drink, 3.5 oz (100 g) soy yogurt, and about 2 1/3 fl oz (70 ml) oil in a bowl.
4. Add 3.5 oz (100 g) sugar to the wet ingredients.
5. Sift 6.3 oz (180 g) flour, about 5 tsp (10 g) matcha, and about 2 tsp (8 g) baking powder into a second bowl.
6. Pour the dry ingredients over the wet mixture.
7. Fold them in with a spatula until no dry flour remains.
8. Divide the batter among the twelve liners, filling each two thirds of the way.
9. Bake for 20 minutes at 355°F (180°C), until a knife blade comes out of the center without raw batter.
10. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
11. Transfer them to a rack.
12. Cool for another 10 minutes before serving.

Mix the liquids and dry ingredients separately, then combine them with just a few strokes of the spatula. No dry flour should remain at the bottom. We keep this batter thick enough to hold in the liners; a runny batter would need a different formula.

Chocolate or peach in matcha muffins?

For matcha and chocolate muffins, add 2.1 oz (60 g) dark chocolate chips just before filling the liners. Check their ingredients to keep the variation plant-based. For fruit, fold in 3.5 oz (100 g) well-drained ripe peach flesh, cut into small pieces. It brings moisture, so check the centers after 20 minutes and bake longer if needed.

We'd add either chocolate or peach, not both, to leave room for the matcha flavor. With 3.5 oz (100 g) fruit for twelve muffins, the peach stays subtle. The base recipe needs neither addition.

Which matcha works in sweet, baked muffins?

For this sweet batch, we choose Essence matcha for cooking in the batter. To drink matcha with water, choose by the flavor you want in your cup. The sifted about 5 tsp (10 g) is distributed through all twelve cakes.

Muffins, financiers, or madeleines: which batter?

Muffins bake without resting in deep liners. Matcha madeleine batter, by contrast, chills before it bakes in shell-shaped molds.

Our tip. Take the muffins out of the pan after ten minutes, then finish cooling them on a rack. Their bottoms stay less damp than they would in the warm cavities.

Allergens. Wheat (gluten) and soy. Check the chips' label if you make the chocolate variation.