Matcha Green Tea Cake
Matcha (抹茶) is literally powdered green tea, made of top quality tea leaves that are covered before picking, then stone-ground into a delicate fine powder.
The traditional Japanese tea ceremony centers on the preparation, serving and drinking of matcha as hot tea, and embodies a meditative spirituality. In modern times, matcha is also used to flavor and dye foods, such as mochi and soba noodles, green tea ice cream, matcha lattes and a variety of Japanese wagashi confectionery. Matcha used in ceremonies is referred to as ceremonial-grade, meaning that the powder is of a high enough quality to be used in the tea ceremony. Lower-quality matcha is referred to as culinary-grade, but no standard industry definition or requirements exist for matcha.
There are various grades of matcha, sometimes labeled as “culinary-grade” and “ceremonial-grade”, which have a slightly different flavor profile. For making desserts and baking, you can go for “culinary-grade” but the color of green will not be as beautiful as “ceremonial-grade”. layers
Preparation and consumption of powdered tea was formed into a ritual by Chan Buddhists. The earliest extant Chan monastic code, titled Chanyuan Qinggui (Rules of Purity for the Chan Monastery, 1103), describes in detail the etiquette for tea ceremonies.[4][5][better source needed]
Zen Buddhism and methods of preparing powdered tea were brought to Japan by Eisai in 1191. In Japan, it became an important item at Zen monasteries and from the 14th through the 16th centuries was highly appreciated by members of the upper echelons of society.
Cake Flour for Matcha Cake
My personal experience with green tea flavor has mostly been with matcha. Matcha clumps like crazy, so I always try to whisk it in a sieve to dissolve. I actually find that matcha has quite a strong taste and is fairly bitter. Green tea powder is often bitter as well, but has less of the fresh green tea taste (flavor/texture consistency also varies between more brands).
Flavor wise, I like to pair green tea with something sweet and creamy to balance out the bitterness in the tea. Matcha and white chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, honey, azuki(red bean), ginger, cinnamon (surprisingly), seasame, mascarpone, coconut, pomelo, and almond are my favorites. Green tea and cream just loaf pan belong together in food heaven <3. buttercream you can frost this cake with frosting
How to Create the Marbled Texture
There are two ways to make a marble effect:
- Make the swirl with the green and yellow batter inside the cake pan.
- Make the swirl with the green and yellow batter in the bowl and then transfer to the cake pan.
Pound Cake Techniques
Did you know the pound cake is supposed to crack on the top? Pound cakes are denser than most cakes. The exterior of the cake starts to bake first in the oven, and as the heat that is released from the still-baking batter reaches the center of the cake, it needs to expand through the top of the cake since all sides have set. So a pound cake is defined by the crack which gives it a rustic appearance. However, the crack doesn’t usually appear perfectly centered in the cake.
If you wish to achieve a perfectly cracked pound cake where the rupture sets right in the middle, there are two tricks you can do:
Trick 1: After 12-15 minutes into baking, insert a knife into the top of the cake batter in the pan and score a straight line. Do it quickly so you won’t lose the oven heat.
Trick 2: Before putting the cake pan into the oven, cut a very thin strip of cold butter and lay it on top of the cake batter. Or put soften butter into a plastic bag and squeeze out from a small tip to create a line on the cake batter.
See this image if you need a visual guide. I use Trick 1 as it’s easy to do, but both tricks work beautifully. Since pound cakes are supposed to crack, it’s nice to know how to control the cracking so you get the best looking pound cake possible.
Most Important Tips to Make Matcha Marble Cake
These two tips are important to make sure that the pound cake rises properly and the cake won’t end up with a tough texture.