GATHER JOURNAL

Photograph by Stacey Mark Food Styling by Maggie Ruggiero Prop Styling by Theo Vamvounakis
    

Coconut Matcha Pound Cake & Minted Honeydew

Desserts from Issue 7 – Summer 2015 – Spectrum

In feng shui, using green is believed to help calm nerves and improve focus; matcha, the greenest tea of them all has a similar purpose. Our moist coconut pound cake is heartily streaked with it. Paired with honeydew slices drizzled with honey, it’s a match made in green.

serves 8



COCONUT MATCHA POUND CAKE
  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 4 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 ¼ cups sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • ¼ tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 Tbsp matcha powder (either premium or the less expensive culinary grade works)
  • ½ cup sweetened, flaked coconut

MINTED HONEYDEW
  • 1 Tbsp coconut butter
  • 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp mild honey
  • a small handful of mint and basil leaves, torn

  • 1

    Preheat oven to 325°F with a rack in the middle. Butter and flour a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Stir together flour and ½ tsp salt in a small bowl. Beat together cream cheese and butter in a large bowl at medium speed until creamy and smooth. Beat in sugar until mixture is fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition then beat in vanilla. At low speed, add in the flour mixture just until evenly combined.
  • 2

    In a medium bowl, stir matcha together with 2 Tbsp warm water until smooth. Stir in ¾ cup of batter and set aside. Add the coconut to the plain batter, stirring to combine. Spoon layers of coconut batter alternating with thin layers of matcha batter into loaf pan.
  • 3

    Bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 65 to 75 minutes. Cool 15 minutes in the pan then remove from pan and cool on a  rack completely.

     

    Minted Honeydew: Stir together 1 Tbsp coconut butter, 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice, and 1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp mild honey until smooth. Drizzle over wedges of honeydew and scatter with a small handful of mint and basil leaves, torn. Serves 4.