Green Tea Chiffon Cake

 

There's really no cake like chiffon. Pillowy-soft, perfectly sweet, and melt-in-your-mouth, the texture of a chiffon just hits the spot. Combined with the delicate, earthy, flavors of matcha, the cake is elevated to a different level. As an added bonus, the vibrant green color of the cake is truly gorgeous, as adds an aesthetically delicious component. 

The cake isn't too hard to make either. Arguably the hardest part is whipping up the egg whites, but with a handheld or stand mixer, the process is expedited, even if it's still a little tedious. Whipping up the egg whites by hand is slightly more difficult, but in my experience, is completely doable - although this may make baking this cake a less convenient affair. Even with complications, I think this cake is completely worth it to make. 

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Tips: 

- Measuring out ingredients beforehand helps expedite the baking process - I like to have one bowl with the dry ingredients, a pot for the wet ingredients, and a separate bowl for cracking eggs into later. 

- Take care to neither overmix nor overbake the muffins - overmixing the batter will deflate it, killing the rise of the cake. 

- The water bath is crucial. My springform pan isn't leak-proof, so I place a baking sheet filled with water on the rack below the cake - this works just as well. 

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Green Tea Chiffon Cake

Makes one 8-inch cake, about 3 inches tall

Ingredients: 

100g milk

60g oil

90g cake flour

5g green tea powder

6 eggs

100g sugar

Instructions: 

1. In a small saucepan, pour 100g milk and 60g oil. Over medium-low heat, warm the mixture to 50 degrees Celsius (120 degrees F; slightly warmer than lukewarm). Remove from heat. 

2. To the milk and butter mixture, sift in 90g cake flour and 5g green tea powder. Whisk until fully incorporated. 

3. Separate the eggs. Add the 6 egg yolks to the saucepan. Place the 6 egg whites in a separate, large bowl. 

4. Using a mixer or a whisk, beat the egg whites until white and bubbly. Continue whisking, while gradually incorporating 100g sugar. Whisk until egg whites have reached soft to medium peaks, when the egg whites are fully glossy and no longer liquid, but still remain soft and mixable. 

5. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. 

6. Add 1/3 of the egg whites to the green tea mixture, and whisk until fully incorporated. Then, pour everything in the saucepan back into the egg whites, and fold gently until evenly combined. 

7. Pour the cake batter into cake pan. 

8. Prepare the water bath. Place the cake pan in a larger pan, and pour about an inch of water into it. Alternatively, place a sheet pan with water into the oven rack below the cake pan. 

9. Put the cake in the oven, and bake for 60-70 minutes. 

10. Remove the cake from the oven, and allow to cool upside down for 20 minutes. This will ensure that the cake does not collapse. After 20 minutes, remove the cake from the pan and enjoy.