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If you have a sweet spot for donuts, you must try these heavenly matcha green tea donuts covered with semi-sweet chocolate glaze! Sprinkles are optional, but they make the kids smile. These donuts are baked, so you can have more than one without guilt.
Have you seen or tasted Matcha Green Tea Donuts before? They are actually pretty popular in Japan. From green tea latte, green tea tiramisu, to green tea KitKat and Pocky, the Japanese like to make sweets and desserts with matcha (green tea powder, 抹茶).
Well, I’m definitely not an exception; I’ve made cookies, ice cream, Crème Brûlée, and steamed cake with matcha on Just One Cookbook so far. And guess what, there will be more green tea dessert recipes coming up soon (call me green tea lady!). 🙂
How to Make Matcha Green Tea Donuts
Enjoy these heavenly matcha green tea donuts baked and covered with semi-sweet chocolate glaze! Sprinkles are optional, but they make the kids smile.
We only eat donuts once in a while, like when there is a fundraising bake sale at my children’s school. We like good donuts but we haven’t quite found one that we love around where we live. In Japan, we love it when the seasonal green tea donuts are available at Mr. Donuts!
I bought my donut pan a few months ago thinking that baked donuts are an easier alternative to make at home. Since there is no deep-frying, they are a little healthier too. Have you had baked donuts? They are pretty awesome! I actually didn’t think it was going to be so easy to make; otherwise, I would have tried baking these a long time ago.
Baked Donuts VS Deep Fried Donuts
Since some of you might have not tried “baked” donuts yet, I thought I should quickly compare how different they are.
First of all, baked donuts will NOT taste the same as donuts right out of the deep fryer. Like how deep-fried fries are different from baked fries… but they are both good in their own ways.
The texture is more cake-like and moist. And you can skip the chocolate glaze if you prefer less sweet. I’m happy with just plain green tea donuts. Of course, my children have to have chocolate on theirs!
We needed to buy a donut pan (about $10) to make these donuts, but I think it’s a good small investment. Compared to fried donuts, it’s much easier and quicker to make baked donuts, not to mention they are fewer calories! The recipe is for 6 donuts so don’t worry about over-consuming! You can double or triple the amount you want to prepare easily with this recipe.
Hope you enjoy these Matcha Donuts with hot green tea. Too much green tea? Nah, not for me.
I hope you will enjoy making this Green Tea Donuts recipe! If you try it, don’t forget to share your picture on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter with #JustOneCookbook. Thank you so much for reading, and till next time!
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Enjoy these heavenly matcha green tea donuts baked and covered with semi-sweet chocolate glaze! Sprinkles are optional, but they make the kids smile.
- ¾ cup cake flour (¾ cup = 95 g) (See Notes for homemade recipe)
- 2 Tbsp sugar (2 Tbsp = 25 g)
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; Use half for table salt)
- 1 Tbsp matcha (green tea powder) (1 Tbsp = 6 g)
- 1 large egg (50 g w/o shell) (beaten)
- ⅓ cup milk (⅓ cup = 80 ml)
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter (2 Tbsp = 35 g) (melted)
- 1 Tbsp honey
- ¼ cup chocolate chips (I use semi sweet chocolate chips, but white chocolate goes well too!)
- Sprinkles of your choice
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Gather all the ingredients.
- Preheat oven to 425 F (220C). Lightly coat your donut pan with cooking spray.
- Add all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and matcha) in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine (you can sift dry ingredients first, but this is a short cut – just whisk for 15 seconds).
- Add the beaten egg, milk, melted butter and honey to the mixing bowl, and whisk until incorporated.
- Use a pastry bag fitted with a round tip (or a large Ziploc bag with one corner snipped off) to pipe the batter into the donut mold. Fill each mold about 3/4 full.
- Bake donuts for 8 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean and the donuts spring back when you lightly press your finger into them. Let cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.
- To make the chocolate glaze, melt the chocolate in a double boiler (or in the microwave: method shared on this post).
- Dip the cooled donuts into the melted chocolate and top with sprinkles of your choice. I recommend these donuts to be consumed on the same day.
Cake flour: To make 1 cup cake flour, put 2 Tbsp. cornstarch in an empty 1-cup measure. Then add all-purpose flour till the top. Sift the mixture 2-3 times to evenly distribute the cornstarch.
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe in your own words and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
Very interesting. I do have two comments/inquiries though. 1) where can you purchase the green tea powder? and 2) I would love to know the “green tea recipe for the Cream Brule. Also does it change the taste of the Cream Brule? Thanks in advance. enjoy your postings.
Rose Marie
Hi Rose Marie! Here are my answers to your questions.
1) I buy my green tea powder at a Japanese supermarket but you can purchase online too. The shop link is in this post.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry/green-tea-powder-matcha/
2) Green Tea Cream Brulee recipe is here: https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/green-tea-creme-brulee/. Yes, it does, with a hint of green tea. My friend told me Green Tea Cream Brulee is already popular in Paris (not only in Japan). If you like matcha/green tea, you may enjoy this variation. 🙂
Thank you for your comment!
I made these tonight (with the chocolate and sprinkles) and they were so yummy and easy too! Thanks!
Hi Kylie! Ohhh that sounds wonderful! Thanks so much for trying this recipe! 🙂
What a great treat! I adore the flavor of matcha as well, and a green tea donut would satisfy my horrible sweet tooth too. I didn’t know there were donut pans out there — thanks for introducing the baking alternative for donuts to us! It might be a good thing that the pan limits to six… =)
Thank you Kimmi! I didn’t know about donut pans too. I can’t wait to make different kinds of donuts. 🙂 I almost bought 2 pans, but I just bought one and that was a wise choice. 😀
Oh my! That is way too easy! And much healthier than deep fried donuts. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe! Love your video, too!
Thank you for watching the video Donna! Don’t we love green tea flavor… 🙂
Hi Nami,
I wanted to comment on your email from yesterday on “happiness” and kindness. I don’t use a lot of social media, but I thought it was such a wonderful thing to focus attention to after all the negative and catastrophic news that has happened over the last few months. You may also want to google the commencement address that George Sanders gave at Syracuse University regarding the value of kindness a few months ago. It is very good, and addresses the importance of kindness and how we often overlook it and the profound impact it has on our everyday lives. I wish we could all pass a little more kindness while reaching out and doing simple acts of kindness everyday. Thanks for yesterday’s e-mail and today’s doughnut recipe.
Hi Randy! I just saw the video. What a great speech! In our busy life it’s easy to overlook the importance of kindness, but thanks to you, I had a moment to think about it again. Thank you for stopping by!
Really good recipe! I’ve done it but in a gluten free version, putting 1/3 of cornstarch and 2/3 of rice flour, and it was delicious. Thanks!
Hi Tatiana! Wow, gluten free version! Your information will be very valuable for those who need GF version. Thank you SO much for sharing here! 🙂
I will need to buy a donut pan at Amazon n matcha tea I ran out. Will definitely try them it looks delish and my son will love them for sure! Hi Nami how are you and the family <3
Thank you Tina! Hope you and your son will enjoy these donuts. 🙂 I’m good, just being very busy these days and always trying to catch up. =P Hope all is well with you and your family!
Oh my gosh…these are so good. I made them tonight to take to my inlaws house. I changed the “frosting” though because I’m not a big fan of chocolate…I know, I know…what kind of woman doesn’t like chocolate?? Anyway, I melted 3 Tbls real butter in a glass bowl in the microwave for 58 seconds, when I removed it, I added a teaspoon of almond extract, a dash of Saigon Cinnamon, about a 1/3 tsp of green tea powder mixed well then added enough powdered sugar to make very thick…once that was done I added Lactose free milk until a smooth consistency (aprox 1/4 cup). After drizzling it over the donuts, I added sliced almonds on top…it got rave reviews from my Japanese inlaws…in fact, pop ate 3 after dinner! Oh, and I should mention, that I had enough for 18 donuts. I’m so glad I found your site!! I also just checked out the red bean paste…can’t wait to try that for some yummy anpan.
Hi Mimi! Yay! I’m so glad you and your in-laws enjoyed these. Haha 3 donuts after dinner. That describe everything. 😀 Your glaze sounds delicious! I’m glad you found my site, and thank you so much for trying this recipe. 🙂
Hi Nami, these donuts look delicious indeed, I have to bake them! But as donuts pan are difficult to find in Europe, I was wondering if you had any suggestions for any other baking pan that would work, like individual pastry case? thanking you for sharing all your delicious recipes!
Hi Aurelia! Ahh too bad it’s difficult to find the donut pan. I think you can use regular small pastry case you’re talking about. Please watch the baking time. As long as you don’t put too much batter (more than what you see in each donut mold), it should work. But since the middle is not open, maybe it takes a little longer to fully baked in the center. Hope this helps. 🙂
Made these tonight. Love them! I’ve tried a few of your recipes. All turned out to be excellent. Best cooking website ever!!!!!
Hi Brianna! Aww so happy to hear that. THANK YOU!! 🙂 I’m so glad all the recipes worked out for you. Thank you for following my site. xoxo
Nami, to make a dozen at one time (use two pans at once) can we simply double the recipe? Thank you!
Hi Donna! Yes, you can! 🙂 Hope you like these! 🙂
Hi Nami! Thank you for your response! I’m going to try them VERY soon and will let you know how they turn out–can’t wait!
Hiya was wondering what’s the calorie intake per donut please
Hi Debbie! I’m sorry, but I’m not sure how to calculate that… maybe there is online tool you can check? Without green tea powder (which is pretty much no calorie), it’s a typical baked donuts. 🙂
Hi Nami,if I don’t want to use green tea powder,what can I use.pls advise me.thank you
Hi Shirley! Hmm good question. I have only tried with green tea powder so far, so I am not sure what else would work. Hope you find a good alternative! 🙂
Hi nami,I try with cocoa powder instead of green tea.i put the same amount as green tea powder in your recipe.is awesome.
can I check if I want to make more do I need to increase double for every ingredient?(95g of cake powder x2)?
Hi Shirley! Thank you so much for letting me and others who’re interested know about the amount of cocoa! I assume you do need to double it to keep it consistent. 🙂
I would love to make these but is it possible to make them into cupcakes or a mini cake instead because I don’t own a donut mold.
Hi Mabel! I’ve never tried using cupcake mold to make these donuts. If you give it a try, would you please let us know? Hope it will come out well. 🙂
I made these for desert tonight. My pan is square shaped and so it only made 4 doughnuts. I used agave syrup instead of sugar and honey. And since I had buttermilk, I used that (when I’ve got it, I want to use it up or I find it hangs out in the back of the fridge creating new and interesting species of critters) and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. Then, right before I was about to pop them in the oven, I realized I forgot to add the butter. Gah! So, back they went to the bowl where I mixed in the butter, and they seem to come out alright. My husband referred to them as Frankendonuts, but they looked better once they had chocolate on them. They’re seriously yummy, and I’m looking forward to making them again for St. Patrick’s Day. Thanks so much for posting this recipe! I really love your cookbook. 🙂
Hi Merideth! I’m glad you liked the recipe and thank you so much for trying! I’m happy to hear that you enjoy reading my recipes and thank you for following! 🙂
Hello! I tried making these donuts but the mixture was very thick almost dough like. I’m not sure why but do you have an idea as to why it’s not liquidy like yours?
Hi Mabel! It sounds like you had more dry ingredients. Did you use a kitchen scale? It’s not “required” but it is important that you have the accurate amount of ingredients. When you scoop up with a measuring cup, 1 cup of flour, for example, may weigh more than 120 g (4.25 oz). If you don’t use a kitchen scale, try to stir the flour in the bowl, scoop it up with a spoon into the measuring cup and level off the top. It’s much more accurate than scooping the flour with a measuring cup.
Now, if you used a kitchen scale… I’m not too sure what was wrong. Egg should be “large” and if it wasn’t, it won’t give enough moisture to the batter. Sorry I wish I can help, but I can’t think of any other reason… I’ve seen other readers made these and shared on Facebook/Instagram/Twitter. I am confident that the measurement/recipe should work (I tested this recipe several times prior to sharing too). I hope it’ll come out well next time. 🙂
Thank you for that cool recipe. I use it to make some muffins and I also add some little chocolate pieces to the dough and it works just fine.
Also very delicious.
Greetings from Germany.
Hi Sebastian! Great to hear it came out well! Thank you very much for your kind feedback! 🙂
These are great! But i would use baking soda instead of powder. They come out a bit darker but the taste is magnificent.
Hi Sophie! Thank you for your kind feedback and helpful tip!! I’ll try it with baking soda next time too! 🙂
Hi, Nami! I made this recipe and it was delicious. My whole family loves it. However, when I dipped the donut into the melted chocolate, it fell inside the chocolate! Is there any way to prevent that? Thanks
Hi Ashlynn! Glad to hear you liked the recipe and thanks for trying this recipe. Typically you would use 2-3 fingers to hold the donut and dip into the frosting / chocolate, instead of dropping the entire donut. You can also use less chocolate at a time so you won’t have too much chocolate? 🙂
An amazing donut recipe, so easy to do as well. Thanks!
Hi David! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe and thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
I just made these and they were so good! I made your homemade cake flour but forgot to remove a 1/4 cup afterwards so mine turned out more dense but still delish. The matcha flavour was strong and the donut not too sweet, which is what I was looking for.
Hi Janice! Yay! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe. Next time, remove the 1/4 cup for less dense texture. 🙂
Hi Nami! These look amazing! I can’t wait to try to make donuts for the first time – especially green tea ones!
Something that’s been popular around my area recently is mochi donuts. What are your thoughts on substituting the flour with mochi flour? 🙂
Hi Ashley! I hope you enjoy this recipe! 🙂 Yeah, I’ve tried Mochi Donuts from Third Culture in Berkeley (they call theirs Butter Mochi Donuts though), but not the ones from Hawaii.
I don’t think you can simply substitute. I haven’t made it so it’s hard to tell. Sorry I wish I can help…
(P.S. Please don’t get confused with my Pon de Ring recipe as Mochi Donuts even though it looks similar – https://www.justonecookbook.com/pon-de-ring-donut-recipe/). 🙂
ohhh nooo Nami-san i forgot to put the melted butter (i put it to cool behind me) and didn’t double check *facepalm* so i made them AGAIN and it’s good ! they are cooling right now, and i’ll cover them in melted dark chocolate. i baked them in muffin silicone molds, since i haven’t found donuts molds in my new city yet.
Hi Bee! Oh that kind of things happens to me often. LOL! I hope you enjoyed the recipe. Thank you for your feedback. xoxo
They turned out quite okay ! I’d need a better oven and appropriate molds to bake them well. The taste is delicious !! I’ll have to try again and again to perfect the recipe, what a pity 😉
Hi Bee! Thank you so much for your feedback. Yeah, get the mold to make it easier. 🙂 Glad it tastes good! Thank you for writing!