Matcha Pound Cake Recipe

The end of citrus season + new Drinking Chocolate mix = deliciousness

Quick! Before all the good oranges are gone for the season, make this recipe!

Jordan, one of our chocolatiers, told me that his wife ate 7 oranges for dinner last night. I thought this was impressive. I mean I’m all about seasonal eating, but I myself have only embraced this kind of mono-grazing during corn season. But then again, Jordan’s wife seems to exist solely on fruit and cake. This, combined with the fact that she has silky blonde hair as long as she is tall, has convinced me that she is really some kind of mythical creature. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to find out she got around on a unicorn.

But I digress. It’s still (if only barely) citrus season, and the bins in the grocery stores are brimming with minneolas, blood oranges, navels, and–my favorite–Cara Caras. But not for much longer. So, we should be celebrating! Which could mean eating oranges exclusively for one a meal a day. Or not. But in whatever way you embrace citrus season, you should tuck this recipe between the pages of your stickiest, most dog-eared cookbook.

I should also tell you that this recipe is just one in a series that I use one of the 3 new varieties in our line of Drinking Chocolates. (More on this later, but let’s just say, I am so excited about our drinking chocolate that I’ll be dedicating a whole post to it.) The addition of white chocolate to this poundcake results in a pastry that is moist and rich, but surprisingly light enough to go back for seconds. It also has a dark, crackling crust that is almost impossible not to peel off and eat right out of the oven.

Ingredients

Makes one 9" x 4" loaf

• 1 cup Ragged Coast Chocolates Matcha Green Tea White Drinking Chocolate mix
• 1 cup butter (8 ounces, or 2 sticks), softened
• 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• zest of one whole Cara Cara orange (or other variety)

Method

• Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9″ x 4″ loaf pan.
• Place the drinking chocolate mix into a heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of just-boiled water, and allow it to melt, stirring occasionally. When the chocolate is completely melted and smooth, remove the bowls from the heat.
• Beat the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Crack the eggs into the bowl, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Scrape the bowl a few times. Beat in the melted Matcha Green Tea Drinking Chocolate mix.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk, beating well between each addition. Scrape the bowl several times. Remove the bowl from the stand, and stir in the orange zest by hand.
• Scrape the mixture into the prepared baking pan, even out the top with a rubber spatula, and bake for 60-90 minutes, or until a knife stuck in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
• Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan before slicing. Serve with cold milk.