Green Tea Ginger Cakes

I got this receipe from Anna Olson's Sugar on Food Network Canada. I was a bit dubious about putting fresh ginger in the cake - but it gives these cakes absolutely wonderful fresh taste, like nothing else I've ever tasted. For tea-lovers, this cake is a must - it's best if you can find some matcha powder - it also gives the cake wonderful green colour. But if you can't find any matcha you can use green tea leaves - infuse them with the orange zest and strain.

• Ready In: 50 mins
• Yields: 6 mini bundt cakes

Ingredients

• 1⁄2 cup unsalted butter
• 3⁄4 cup sugar
• 2  tablespoons honey
• 2  tablespoons orange zest
• 2  eggs
• 1⁄3 cup yogurt
• 2  tablespoons  orange juice (squeeze from the zested)
• 1 1⁄2 ginger, freshly grated
• 1  teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1⁄2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1⁄2 cup  pastry flour
• 1  teaspoon baking powder
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2  teaspoons  green tea powder (matcha)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons poppy seeds

• Glaze

• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1  cup icing sugar, sifted
• 2  tablespoons water (up to)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 F and spray and flour 6 mini bundt tins. If you don't have mini tins, you can use a big one (4-5 cups) too.
2. Cream together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
3. Stir in honey and zest, add eggs one at a time. Mix well.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together yoghurt, orange juice, grated ginger and vanilla. Stir into the egg mixture.
5. Sift in dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, ground ginger, matcha powder and salt).
6. Gently fold in the poppy seeds.
7. Spoon evenly into the prepared pans, they don't rise much so you can fill to the top.
8. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes (add 10 if using a big tin), they are done when a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
9. Allow to stand for 15 minutes, then take out of the tins and let cool on a wire rack.
10. Glaze: In a pan on low heat, add butter. Stir until melted and then add icing sugar. Add 1 tbsp of water and stir until it has a glaze consistency, add more water in drops if needed. If it becomes too thin, add more sugar.
11. Pour over the mini bundts and let set, which happens really quickly. The purpose is to just glaze them, it's not icing.