Matcha Popsicles
These creamy matcha popsicles are the perfect summer refreshment. They are naturally vegan, made with coconut milk and other natural ingredients, and absolutely irresistible. If you love matcha sweets, make sure you try this easy recipe and make the most delicious matcha popsicles!
Ingredients for matcha popsicles
To make these creamy matcha popsicles, you will need the following ingredients:
- Matcha powder – I like to use ceremonial-grade matcha for the perfect flavour
- Full-fat coconut milk (70% or more coconut) – chilled overnight, to separate the thick and creamy part
- Cashew butter or almond butter – use light or blanched, not roasted
- Plant milk or water – I used my homemade almond and hemp milk, but you can use any plant milk you like
- Light agave nectar
- Cacao butter
The best kind of coconut milk for this recipe is full-fat, with at least 60-70% coconut content – the rest being water, ideally without stabilisers or emulsifiers because we want the creamy (fatty) part to separate in the fridge. If you can get 80% or 90%, even better.
Cashew butter is the ingredient that will make these popsicles extra creamy and also prevent them from freezing too much in the freezer. It is also mild and lightly sweet, which makes it a great choice flavour-wise.
Coconut cream alone can work, but it gets really frozen and icy, and needs some time outside of the freezer to defrost and be good for eating. So, you can skip cashew butter, but the texture of frozen popsicles will not be nearly as nice.
If you can’t have cashews, almond butter is a good substitute. Use white or blanched almond butter, not roasted (the same goes for cashew butter) to avoid any strong flavours that could take over. We want as much of that beautiful matcha flavour as possible.
Light agave nectar is great for this recipe because it gives sweetness and improves the texture of the popsicles, without messing up the nice bright green colour or flavour of matcha. You can also use honey, or xylitol for a carb-free option.
I always use pure cacao butter because then I can control the sweetness and type of sweetener in my recipes. If you prefer to use white chocolate, you can do that. Then skip the agave so as not to have it turn out too sweet.
If you can’t tolerate cacao, use coconut oil instead of cacao butter. You might not get the perfect crunch in the popsicle coating, but it will be nice regardless.
How to make matcha popsicles
This matcha popsicle recipe is divided into two parts – making the creamy matcha ice cream base and making the white chocolate matcha coating. Between those two steps, the matcha ice cream base will need to rest in the freezer in popsicle moulds to harden, ideally overnight or for at least four hours.
Making the creamy matcha popsicle base
1. Whip the coconut cream
Leave a can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight. Coconut cream (the thick, creamy part of the coconut milk) will separate and float on top – it will be easy to scoop and separate it from the liquid at the bottom.
You will use this cream for the popsicle recipe, and the liquid can be stored and used in smoothies, juices and other recipes instead of coconut water.
Beat the coconut cream with a handheld mixer until it looks like whipped cream. It usually takes five to ten minutes to get a nice whipped coconut cream consistency.
2. Prepare matcha
Whisk your matcha powder with hot, but not boiling water. The water temperature should be 70-80 °C (160-175 °F) – anything higher than that and you are risking destroying the beautiful, delicate flavour of matcha.
Lower temperature works, but in my experience, this range between 70 and 80 °C gives you the best flavour. If you don’t have a thermometer, no worries – you can tell that water is at around 70°C when you see tiny bubbles start forming in it while you are heating it.
Use a matcha bowl (chawan) or a deeper breakfast bowl to whisk matcha with water until smooth, foamy and without any lumps. Using a traditional bamboo matcha whisk is the best way to do it, but if you don’t have one, you can try it with a milk frother or a small metal whisk (it will not give nearly as good a result though).
3. Make the cashew cream
In another bowl, add cashew butter, plant milk (or water), agave nectar and whisked matcha tea, and use a bigger metal whisk to combine into a smooth cream.
4. Combine everything into a matcha popsicle base
Add the matcha cashew cream to the whipped coconut cream and whisk to combine, or mix with a spatula. Do it gently so it stays fluffy. Coconut whipped cream will lose a bit of its original shape and firmness, but that’s okay.
For a completely nut-free version, you can improvise – just skip the whole nut-butter cream part and whip liquid matcha and agave directly into the coconut whipped cream. I did this once and it was nice, but not perfect – after freezing, the popsicles needed 15 minutes at room temp to be soft enough for eating. They were still very tasty, much lighter and coconutty.
5. Transfer into popsicle moulds and freeze
Pour the matcha popsicle base into popsicle moulds and leave them in the freezer overnight, or for at least four to five hours to freeze.
Making the matcha white chocolate coating
When your popsicles have hardened in the freezer, you can make the matcha white chocolate coating.
Prepare a new batch of dense matcha tea by whisking another 1.5 grams of matcha powder with 30 ml of hot water.
Mix cacao butter and coconut butter over a double boiler. Add agave nectar and whisked matcha, and whisk well to combine.
Pour it over your frozen matcha popsicles, or transfer it into a narrow glass and dip the popsicles for a nicer, more even result.
The matcha white chocolate coating will harden quite quickly on frozen popsicles. You can eat the popsicles immediately, or return them in the freezer and store them in a covered container.
They should be fine for a few months, but I never tried this since we always eat them within a week or two. The longer they stay in the freezer, the more they will harden. Maybe you’ll need to take them out to room temperature for ten minutes or so before eating to have them as creamy as possible.
The best matcha for this popsicle recipe
Matcha that is available in the stores can usually be divided into two categories – ceremonial and culinary matcha. Ceremonial-grade matcha is the highest quality, made from the youngest first-harvest leaves and has a pleasant, rounded flavour with a mild natural sweetness.
Culinary matcha can vary in quality, but it often has a more robust and bitter flavour. It is used for cooking and baking, while the ceremonial matcha is perfect for making matcha tea.
For this popsicle recipe, I like to use ceremonial-grade matcha. Its naturally sweet and mild flavour is the perfect fit for this kind of sweet treat that doesn’t require baking. Ceremonial matcha also has the perfect bright green colour that will make these popsicles even more appealing.
If you are on a budget, you can make it with culinary matcha instead. I would choose the highest possible quality in that case, to avoid the bitter flavour and dull colour that culinary matcha can sometimes have.
Since I moved to Croatia, I’ve been very happy with the premium ceremonial matcha from our local brand Materia. If you are ordering online, try something like this organic ceremonial matcha, or anything similar.
Ceremonial grade matcha from the Uji region in Japan is considered to be the best, so keep that in mind too while choosing the best matcha for you.
Equipment for making matcha popsicles
- Matcha whisk
- Matcha bowl or a regular breakfast bowl
- Glass bowls for mixing the ice cream
- Electric hand mixer
- Kitchen whisk
- Popsicle moulds
- Wooden sticks for popsicles or reusable popsicle sticks
Matcha Popsicles
Learn how to make super creamy and delicious matcha popsicles with this easy recipe. These are naturally vegan, made with coconut milk and other natural ingredients and 100% irresistible.
Ingredients
- 100 g coconut cream (1 can of coconut milk, but only the thick part - check the notes)
- 1.5 g matcha powder (0.05 oz)
- 30 ml water
- 25 g agave syrup (1 tbsp + 2 tsp)
- 75-80 g cashew butter
- 50 ml plant milk or water
- /// + For the coating ///
- 1.5 g matcha powder
- 30 ml water
- 80 g cacao butter
- 45 g cashew butter (3 tbsp)
- 30 g agave syrup (2 tbsp)
Instructions
- Add 1.5 grams of matcha powder to a matcha bowl and pour 30 ml of hot (not boiling) water over it. Whisk with a bamboo whisk until it’s smooth, creamy and without any lumps.
- Scoop coconut cream from a can of coconut milk that has cooled in a fridge overnight.
- Whip the coconut cream with a handheld mixer until it looks like regular whipped cream.
- In another bowl, combine cashew butter, plant milk or water, and whisked matcha tea. Whisk everything to combine into a smooth cream.
- Add this cashew and matcha cream to the coconut whipped cream and combine the two with a spatula or a cake whisk. Do it gently to keep it fluffy. The coconut whipped cream will lose some of its shape, but it should still remain creamy and not very liquid.
- Transfer this popsicle base mix into popsicle moulds, add the popsicle sticks and leave it in the freezer overnight or for at least four hours.
- When the popsicles are frozen, you can make the coating - start by whisking a new matcha tea the same way as the first one.
- Melt the cacao butter over a double boiler, add the cashew butter and whisk to combine.
- Add agave and matcha tea, and whisk well to combine into a smooth, liquid mixture.
- Remove the frozen popsicles from their moulds and dip them into the matcha white chocolate coating. You can also pour the liquid coating over matcha popsicles if that’s easier. The coating will cool down and harden quickly.
- Enjoy the matcha popsicles right away, or store them in the freezer in a closed container for up to three months.
Notes
- Water for matcha should be at 70-80 °C - it’s when tiny bubbles start to appear while heating it but it’s not boiling yet. This is important because warmer water can destroy the delicate flavour of matcha.
- This recipe will give you 8-10 small popsicles, or 6 larger ones.
- To get coconut cream that is good for whipping, put a can of full-fat coconut milk in a fridge overnight and scoop the thick part from the top. Leave the liquid for smoothies or some other recipes.
- Use coconut milk with at least 70% coconut content (the rest should be water). Different brands will give you different amounts of coconut cream - for me, it was 100 g (3.5 oz) or 140 ml (4.7 fl. Oz, a bit less than ⅔ cup). The recipe will work with a bit less too.
- Use a lighter-coloured cashew butter (not roasted) because it will have a milder flavour, letting the matcha flavour come through.
- The same goes for almond butter - use white or blanched almond butter for the best result.
- Roasted nut butter is too strong for this recipe because it will take over the flavour.
- Use ceremonial-grade matcha for the best flavour. This kind of matcha has a rounded, mildly sweet flavour perfect for this kind of sweets that don’t require baking. If you are on a budget, at least choose a high-quality culinary matcha that is not bitter.
- For a nut-free version, skip the nut butter part and just whisk matcha tea and agave directly into the whipped coconut cream. This will give you popsicles that are harder and more icy straight from the freezer, but they are nice after they defrost for about fifteen minutes at room temperature or half an hour in the fridge.
- If the coconut cream is not good for whipping (too liquid, didn't separate, or you just decided to use the whole can), you can skip all the whipping and just add all the ingredients (including cashew butter, but minus the plant milk if you want a creamier result) to a blender. Blend until completely smooth. When blended like this, cashew butter will give that extra creaminess to the ice cream, so it won't be too watery. Now just pour that mixture into the popsicle moulds, leave them in the freezer to harden and proceed to the next steps as described.