Green Tea Chiffon Cake

This morning, I woke up to the Santa Ana Winds rattling my windows. I knew it was going to be a chilly, blustery day. As I walked downstairs, wrapped in my fuzzy blanket, I couldn't help but wander to my little baking cupboard. The first thing I saw was the last of my matcha green tea powder. After an ingredients check, I realized that I had plenty of eggs, but no butter. So what choice does a girl have but to make a chiffon cake, right? 

This chiffon cake is pillowy soft and not too sweet with just a wonderful balance of green tea flavor. My parents already inhaled a chunk of the cake. They're Asian, so anything that's overly sweet is definitely overly despised. Onwards to the process!

The starting line-up...


My wonderful scale, for all my delicate cakes and macarons.


First off, combine the flour, green tea powder, baking powder, and salt. Sift together in a bowl and set aside.


Next, combine the egg yolks and sugar. Whisk until pale.




I combined the water and oil in one cup, and then I added it into the egg yolk mixture a little at a time.


In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, mix the egg whites until foamy. Once it's foamy, slowly add the sugar. Whisk until stiff peaks form. Look at those stiff peaks!


Fold the egg whites into the wet ingredients in 3 installments. Fold gently.








Pour into an angel food cake pan and bake in a 340F for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the cake.


Voila!

Ingredients

Part A

• 6 egg yolks 
• 80 g white sugar 
• 200 g cake flour 
• 2 tsp baking powder 
• Pinch of salt 
• 2 tbsp green tea powder
• 100 ml vegetable oil 
• 150 ml water 

Part B

• 6 egg whites 
• 80 g white sugar 

1. Sift together the flour, green tea powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar until pale. Slowly add in the water and oil until all is combined.

3. Add the flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Don't over-mix!

4. Using a stand/hand mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk egg whites until foamy. Add sugar slowly. On medium speed, whip eggs to stiff peaks. 

5. Add the egg whites into the wet ingredients in 3 installments, folding gently until there are no more white streaks. 

6. Pour into a 10" tube pan and bake at 340F for about 45 minutes. 

7. Once the cake is done, take it out of the oven and turn it upside down so that the cake can maintain its volume. Cool completely. 

Grean Tea Loaf

Since coming back, I've been craving simple eats. Result: Green Tea Loaf. It's a simple loaf, clean, earthy, and tasty. Can't forget the most important part -- it's GREEN!

Adding green tea to the flour.


Soft peaks...


Smoothing the top before going into the oven...


Recipe from the Green Tea Co:

ingredients

2 cups bleached all-purpose four
2 tablespoons Matcha green tea
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 sticks soft unsalted butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar
5 large eggs, separated
Pinch of salt

directions

1. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan and line with buttered parchment or wax paper—cut to fit. Set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to 325F. Combine the flour, green tea and baking powder and stir well to mix.
2. Cream butter and confectioners sugar in bowl of mixer with paddle attachment and beat for about 3 minutes or until light. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping bowl and beater occasionally with a rubber spatula. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the flour mixture by hand, with a rubber spatula.
3. Pour the egg whites and salt into a clean, dry mixer bowl. Place on mixer with whisk attachment and whip whites on medium speed until white and opaque and just beginning to hold their shape. Increase speed slightly and continue whipping egg whites until they hold a soft peak.
4. Remove bowl from mixer and quickly scrape whites from bowl onto batter in other bowl. Use a large rubber spatula to fold the egg whites into the batter, folding just until no streaks of white remain.
5. Scrape the batter into prepared pans and smooth the top. Bake the cakes for about 45 minutes (35-40 minutes for mini loaf pans) or until it is well risen and a toothpick inserted in the center emerges dry. Cool the cakes in the pans on a rack for 10 minutes, then un-mold and cool it completely.

Green Tea Heaven

I went down to Escondido with some friends the other day. I know some of you are thinking -- where the heck is Escondido? Not to hate on that city, but really, it's like the setting of a Friday the 13th movie. There really isn't much out there. Maybe Westminster Seminary had a monastic place in mind for their future students. NO FUN ALLOWED! (just kidding.)

Anyhoo, some friends down there asked me to make some green tea cupcakes for them, but I ran out of green tea powder long ago. Luckily, I was also out of butter and needed to go out to the market anyways, or else I would've made something else and this entry would cease to exist. I went to 99 Ranch and couldn't believe how cheap it was! With so much green tea powder, I was beside myself, like a giddy little school-girl whose crush just acknowledged her. Okay, maybe not that excited. Sorry to say I don't have any pictures of the cupcakes (which came out alright...don't think I'll share the recipe because I'm looking for a better one), but I did make a green tea loaf today that is absolutely delicious! Soft, moist, not too sweet, and "earthy" -- this loaf is definitely a keeper.



It's perfect for those who don't like desserts that are sweet, sweet, SWEET. Here's the recipe, taken from Milk and Honey Cafe:

Ingredients

2 cups bleached all-purpose four
2 tablespoons green tea powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 sticks soft unsalted butter (I used I can't believe it's not butter)
2 cups confectioners' sugar (I used sugar substitute)
5 large eggs, separated
Pinch of salt

Directions

1. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan and line with buttered parchment or wax paper—cut to fit. Set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to 325F. Combine the flour, green tea and baking powder and stir well to mix.
2. Cream butter and confectioners sugar in bowl of mixer with paddle attachment and beat for about 3 minutes or until light. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping bowl and beater occasionally with a rubber spatula. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the flour mixture by hand, with a rubber spatula.
3. Pour the egg whites and salt into a clean, dry mixer bowl. Place on mixer with whisk attachment and whip whites on medium speed until white and opaque and just beginning to hold their shape. Increase speed slightly and continue whipping egg whites until they hold a soft peak.
4. Remove bowl from mixer and quickly scrape whites from bowl onto batter in other bowl. Use a large rubber spatula to fold the egg whites into the batter, folding just until no streaks of white remain.
5. Scrape the batter into prepared pans and smooth the top. I added some chocolate chips on top for decoration. Bake the cakes for about 45 minutes (35-40 minutes for mini loaf pans) or until it is well risen and a toothpick inserted in the center emerges dry. Cool the cakes in the pans on a rack for 10 minutes, then un-mold and cool it completely.

I'm taking requests for the next baking adventure. :)