Wow... has it been a month since I last made cake? Well maybe it's a month minus about eight days but still. It's been longer still since I last made something green tea and I can't even remember when was the last time I made a chiffon cake. I think today's a special day.
It has been said and proven that chiffon cake is very prone to failure. Many things can go wrong with this relatively uncomplicated cake because of the finicky meringue. However when I set my mind on baking this cake I completely forgot about the possibility that my cake might be a flop so thank goodness it turned out fine.
The reason why I felt so compelled to bake a chiffon all of a sudden is because of some pictures of chiffon cake sandwiches I saw on Instagram lately. It's such an ingenious idea I just couldn't wait to execute my own version. I mean, there are regular sandwiches made with bread, I'm sure we've all seen the occasional waffle sandwich, the Japanese have this thing called dorayaki which is basically two pancakes sandwiching red bean paste (traditionally), but up until recently I've never ever seen a sandwich made with cake. I'm pretty sure my eyes must have sparkled with inspiration at that moment.
I decided on going with a Japanese flair for my cake sandwich simply because I'd uncovered a bottle of green tea powder and red bean paste in my kitchen - a pleasant surprise. Green tea and red bean is pretty much a classic combination so I don't think I have to elaborate further on how fabulous these sandwiches taste. Instead I shall gush about how soft and fluffy the cake is - you can use it as a pillow and drift off to sleep dreaming the sweetest dreams, literally.
These sandwiches are probably one of the most photogenic things I've made in a while. I think most of us agree that as long something tastes good its appearance, however messy and unprofessional, can be forgiven. Sometimes when my cakes turn out short of aesthetically pleasing I'm inclined to think that way, but with these, I'm reminded again that I should continuously strive to make both pretty and delicious cakes. After all, our eyes do take part in the feasting too.
Enjoy! P.S. More pictures of these on my Instagram!
Matcha Adzuki Chiffon Cake Sandwiches
cake adapted from Keiko Ishida's Okashi
For the cake:
70g cake flour
10g matcha powder
5 egg yolks
20g sugar
70g water
60g oil
180g egg whites
90g sugar
10g corn flour
For the cream:
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sweetened red bean paste + extra for filling the cake
Make the cake: Preheat oven to 160C. Have a 20cm in diameter chiffon cake pan ready.
Sift the flour and matcha powder together twice.
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar until combined. Add the oil and water to the yolk mixture and whisk until well incorporated. Stir in the flour mixture.
Stir the sugar and corn flour together in a bowl.
Beat the egg whites until frothy then add half the sugar mixture while still beating. Slowly add in the rest of the sugar mixture and beat until the egg whites reach stiff glossy peaks.
Fold one third of the meringue into the yolk mixture to lighten. Fold in the rest of the meringue until evenly mixed and well combined.
Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Invert the cake pan onto a cooling rack to cool completely, about 2 hours.
Make the cream: Whip the cream to stiff peaks. Whisk 1/4 of the cream into the red bean paste to lighten then fold in the rest until the mixture is homogenous. Transfer the cream into a piping bag with a tip of your choice. (I used a star tip.)
Assemble the cake: When the cake has completely cooled, slice it into 12 portions or more if you wish to stretch it. Take a slice and make a cut down the inner side (it's quite hard to explain, I'm sorry - I hope that the pictures are of some help) but not all the way down or you'll have two slices of cake.
Take a bit of red bean paste and press it into the bottom. Be careful not to use too much strength though! You may rip the cake into half. Pipe the cream into the remaining space.
Eat now or refrigerate if you're not.
No comments :
Post a Comment