I’m sure you have all seen the whipped Dalgona coffee trend going around, and I always like trying new recipes but don’t like coffee, so I was inspired to attempt a matcha version! It was super fun to make and turned out great and delicious! I love matcha and it has such a fun color, so I was excited to try this trend out with a new spin. My parents and brother had never tried matcha before, and they even thought this was tasty!
For the standard whipped coffee recipe, you mix equal parts instant coffee, hot water, and sugar and then whip it until fluffy. I decided to use honey instead of sugar as a more natural sweetener (and because my family has a ton of honey at home since we keep bees).
I honestly don’t understand how the coffee would whip so much with only 2 tbsp of water and without any milk, cream, egg whites, or other substance to make it fluffy! What a mystery - I really want to learn the science behind it. Anyways, the matcha didn’t whip like the videos of coffee, so after trying to whip it for a while without seeing any changes, I thought I would add something to fluff it up. I knew that either egg whites or heavy whipping cream can be easily whipped, but wanted to make a vegan version, so I used aquafaba!
If you haven’t heard of aquafaba, it is the liquid leftover from cooked chickpeas. So if you have a can of chickpeas, instead of just pouring that liquid down the sink, you can actually do a lot with it! I had heard of this before, but never tried it myself, but since I had canned chickpeas, I figured this would be a good time to try it - and it worked great! Within a few minutes of adding the aquafaba, the matcha mixture was so fluffy.
Now that I have tried using aquafaba, I have so many ideas for its use in vegan baking! It is basically an egg white substitute. And of course, you can cook and use the chickpeas in the can for so many recipes as well! Here are some tasty recipes I have used chickpeas in if you need ideas: Chickpea cereal (think a healthy version of Reese’s Puffs or Cocoa Puffs) or chickpea cookie dough that you can use to make triple layer brownies.
Note: I used a can of chickpeas without added salt, which I think is important because otherwise your creations would taste really salty (and I have learned a lot in medical school about how high sodium consumption contributes to many health problems, so avoiding excess salt in general is something I try to do).
Ingredients
Makes about 4 servings of whipped matcha
2 tbsp matcha powder (4 packets of the Trader Joe’s single-serve matcha packets)
2-3 tbsp hot water
⅔ cup aquafaba (water from a can of chickpeas)
2 tbsp milk (I used oat milk)
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
Steps
1. Mix the matcha powder with hot water until dissolved in a mixing bowl (it’s ok if it doesn’t fully dissolve because it will once you add everything else, but try your best).
2. Add the rest of the ingredients, and use a stand or hand mixer to whip until thick and fluffy. Peaks should form when you lift up the beater.
3. Pour some milk into a glass, filling it only partway full. You can also add ice cubes if you wish.
4. Use a spoon or spatula to add your whipped matcha on top of the milk, sprinkle with cinnamon, and enjoy!
