Matcha (Green tea) Banana Pound Cake

Everybody has a way to celebrate the feeling of return, after a long time spent away from home. For some, it may be stopping by a local ice-cream shop, while for others it may be taking a scenic route that is filled with memories. It can be a small, almost trivial thing, but it's nonetheless refreshing.
My own homecoming ritual doesn't wait until I leave the airport. After a set of duties - retrieving luggage from the baggage claim, clearing customs, and so on - I enter the arrival lobby, my brain in a sort-of Terminator-mode, and start looking for a vending machine. I insert some yen coins and press the button for the Japanese tea I'm in the mood for. One gulp... refreshingly cold, green tea runs down my throat... Ahhh... After the cramped, twelve-hour flight from New York, this is for me the first moment in every return trip there that I feel "I'm back!"
In Japan, it's almost impossible to avoid seeing vending machines everywhere in your daily life. Different types of machines sell all kinds of common goods, such as tickets, batteries, cigarettes, magazines, and so on. But the majority of products sold from machines are beverages - various teas, coffees (hot or cold, sugared or sugar-free), soft drinks, and even beer or sake. This phenomenon, what I call "vending machine culture", is something I've become more aware of after living away from Japan. It's something most Japanese take for granted; they probably don't think twice about how convenient it is.
For the love of tea - especially green tea - that Japanese hold, it's no surprise to see many kinds of canned teas available from vending machines. Every time I visit, I'm pleasantly surprised by the appearance of new varieties of canned tea that come onto the market. These newcomers offer appealing features like specially harvested tea leaves or new brewing techniques, with sophisticated names and packaging.
To continue this green tea motif, today I want to introduce a dessert recipe for matcha cake, which, with its flavor and fragrance of traditional Japanese green tea, reminds me of... well, my homecoming moments. I often add banana puree into the matcha mix, since I love the taste of the unexpected-yet-beautiful marriage of the two flavors - the bitter sweetness of matcha and natural, sweet fragrance of banana.

Of course, you can enjoy the full traditional elegance of matcha cake by omitting the bananas. Enjoy your own green tea time!

Written by Ayako Akeura
A TranNet member and freelance writer/translator based in New York City

♦ INGREDIENTS
(Makes one pound cake)

T   = tablespoon

80   g  butter
150 g  cooking flour
1.5    bananas (medium)
1  T   baking powder
1-1/2  T   matcha (green tea) powder
70  g   sugar
4    eggs


♦ How to make Matcha (Green tea) Banana Pound Cake

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 degrees C).
2. Sift flour, baking powder, and green tea powder together.
3. Melt butter using a microwave.
4. Cut bananas into small pieces. Place in bowl and mash with the back of a fork until they get pasty.
5. Whisk eggs to a thin, creamy texture. Gradually mix in sugar and continue to whisk together.
6. Add flour mix in separate steps. Mix gently.
7. Add melted butter and mix promptly.
8. Add banana paste. (Omit if making plain matcha cake.)
9. Pour the mix into a pound cake pan. Gently lift the pan a few times on a flat surface like a countertop, to let the air out.
10. Put in oven and bake around 30 minutes. Take out before the top begins to brown.
11. Let cool. Serve cake slices with fruit garnish or whip cream, as you please.

Fish species are written using a variety of kanji. Each epecies has its own kanji name. It's said that not all such kanji names originated in China: many were created in Japan. Let's study the origins and meanings of fish names.