My colleague’s husband is turning 30 (“scoring 3 perfect 10’s”) and had a birthday extravaganza today. In lieu of a present, I made 5 flavors of ice cream for his party. The ice cream bar was a hit, and this matcha green tea got the most votes for “favorite”. It wasn’t quite as strong as a true Japanese matcha, but that wasn’t considered a con. The right balance of tea, cream, and sugar.
Making tea 
When making the green tea ice cream I invited my Asian friend over to make sure I am true to the original taste. Initially I only used 25g of tea, but because of the milk powder in this version, it was weaker in matcha flavor. The final result ended with doubling the amount of matcha to 50g, but if you use a powder without milk, then the 25g might be more your style.
Take-Home Tips: The color will darken slightly after it has frozen overnight, you probably won’t need any food coloring. It you want a stronger flavor, try mixing 25g of the milky powder with 25g of a matcha without the powdered milk incorporated. This will also help darken the color. Increasing the cardamom by ½ to 1 additional tablespoon will add value to the flavor without overwhelming the senses. Dare to try other spices. If you add the spices after cooking the milk, they will be visible, although probably not noticeable. The spice is typically stronger if added after the whipping process. It is possible to do this recipe with coconut milk instead of regular milk, but the other creams should remain consistent.
Scoring: 8 or 10. Although it was voted #1 at the party, it was specifically mentioned that it is not as strong as the Japanese version. I would recommend using the milk powder for ice cream, it does mute the flavor. The cardamom also was not very strong and could easily have been more noticeable. Overall, a crowd pleaser. If you like tea, you will enjoy this cream.
Food of the Month 