Gluten-Free Raspberry Surprise Matcha Mini Cakes, #RaspberryDessert

Driscoll’s Raspberries provided their ruby gems to The Ninja Baker for this post. All opinions are my own.

Driscoll's Organic Raspberries 

Merry music floats across the playground and children scamper to catch the ice cream man. Sunshine kisses the faces of students as graduation caps fly into the air. Cheery red raspberries ripe with sweet juice pop up in supermarkets. Summertime!!! What signs let you know summer is in session?

In Japan, June brings in humidity and torrents of rain. July and August are just plain hot! Refuge is taken in air-conditioned movie theaters, malls and pastry shops. In the Parisian influenced patisseries, raspberries dance in tarts and cream filled cakes. Matcha green tea sweets are also prevalent and popular.

#RaspberryDessert! Plain or pastry?

I’m a huge fan of desserts but doctors insist I watch my sweets intake….So, I combined two patisserie favorites from my hometown of Tokyo and created Gluten-Free Raspberry Surprise Matcha Mini Cakes. The good news is that raspberries are low in calories and high on fiber and heart healthy! If you follow @DriscollsBerry on Twitter, you’ll see articles like this one touting the benefits of the elegant raspberry.  Ready for more good news? Japanese green tea matcha allegedly fights cancer and Alzheimer’s.

Cake can actually be good for you!
Especially when the mini cakes are gluten-free, sprinkled with matcha and brimming with raspberries!

All right, so raspberries and matcha are great for your body. But could I concoct a recipe that still tastes like a proper dessert? Yes!!!  The matcha sings true and the raspberry baked in the center of the mini cake harmonizes oh, so sweetly. White chocolate chips helped the symphony of deliciousness, too.