Matcha is not limited to tea and lattes: laid over a chocolate base, it makes a spectacular dessert. The bottom layer combines pecans, softer than almonds, with medjool dates and raw cacao. On top comes a layer of frank green, obtained by whisking matcha into melted cacao butter with a little honey. The contrast is as sharp in the mouth as it is to the eye: the dark, melting base first, then the thin, crisp, slightly bitter layer. Cut it into small squares, it is rich.
Raw matcha brownies with pecans and medjool dates
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Ingredients
For the brownie base
- 165 g pecans
- 16 pitted medjool dates
- 30 g raw cacao powder
- 1 tsp vanilla powder
- 1 pinch of sea salt (or the equivalent of 1 tablespoon - 15 ml - of seawater)
For the matcha layer
- 100 g cacao butter, in small pieces
- 80 ml honey
- 1 tbsp matcha powder
Method
- Blend the pecans in the food processor until you get fine crumbs, stopping short of a paste.
- Add the cacao, vanilla and salt, then blend for a few seconds to even everything out.
- Add the dates and blend until you get a sticky dough that holds together in one piece between your fingers.
- Spread the dough in a square tin lined with baking paper, smooth with the back of a spoon and chill for at least 2 hours.
- For the matcha layer, gently melt the cacao butter in a bain-marie, heat turned off, then stir in the honey away from the heat.
- Whisk the matcha into the still-liquid mixture until no lumps remain.
- Pour over the chilled base, spread quickly and return to the freezer for one hour to set.
- Cut into squares and keep in the fridge, in an airtight container, for three to four days.
Tip
Sift the matcha before stirring it in: it is a powder that forms stubborn lumps as soon as it meets a fat, and a whisk alone will not rescue them. Turn off the heat under the bain-marie as soon as the cacao butter starts to melt, otherwise the green layer turns khaki as it sets. Choose a good quality matcha, frankly green rather than olive: it decides the final colour and the balance between bitterness and sweetness. For a clean cut, take the tin out of the freezer five minutes ahead and run the blade under hot water between each stroke.
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FAQ: your questions about raw matcha brownies
Is matcha good for cholesterol?
Matcha is green tea reduced to a powder, rich in catechins, and several studies have looked at the effect of green tea on the lipid profile. The results vary depending on the study and the amounts consumed, and nothing makes it a treatment. In a recipe like this one, matcha is above all an ingredient of taste and colour, used in small quantity. For any question about your cholesterol, your doctor remains the person to ask.
Is cacao butter good for your health?
Cacao butter is the fat extracted from the cacao bean, made up mainly of long-chain saturated fatty acids, including stearic acid. It is very stable against oxidation, which explains its long shelf life, and its taste is almost neutral. Like any fat it is calorie-dense and used in measured amounts. Its interest in a raw recipe is above all technical: it sets as it cools and allows a clean layer, which no liquid oil does.
How do you store pecans?
The pecan is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, so sensitive to oxidation: it goes rancid faster than most nuts. Shelled, keep it in the fridge in an airtight jar, where it lasts six to nine months, or in the freezer for a whole year. In the shell it keeps several months at room temperature, somewhere dry and dark. A rancid pecan is recognised immediately by its bitterness: better to taste before blending a whole batch.
What is the difference between pecans and cashews?
They are two very different nuts, despite similar uses. The pecan is fattier, softer and sweeter, with a buttery note that makes it ideal in raw desserts. The cashew is more neutral and more starchy, which lets it form smooth creams once soaked and blended, where the pecan would give an oily paste. In this recipe the pecan is irreplaceable for the softness of the base.
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