Sunday 18 August 2013

Matcha Chiffon Cake 抹茶戚风蛋糕 (中英食谱)




I have never baked a chiffon cake in a tube pan before. (other than the Hokkaido chiffon cupcakes) I was told that the failure rate of baking a chiffon cake is rather high so I was a little nervous but delighted that it turned out alright on my first attempt. :)

A chiffon cake is a very light cake made using vegetable oil instead of butter and it is so versatile that you can come up with many variations of it.



What inspired me to bake a chiffon cake was this very tall 6 inch chiffon cake that caught my attention when I was on vacation in Japan last week. It's the first time that I have ever seen such a tall chiffon cake and it is selling at 3675 yen which is about SIN$60, a hefty price to pay for a plain cake!



The friendly, polite and kawaii shop assistant offered me some samples to try. So, I took a bite but found the texture somehow dry and did not like it. From what I know, chiffon cakes are light and fluffy in texture, at that moment I decided that I should try making my own.

This is my newly bought 8 inch cake pan (San Neng 三能 brand) which comes with two removable base, one for making a chiffon cake and the other for making a round cake. I like it for it's versatility.



It was easy to decide on the flavour of the chiffon cake that I was going to make. I used the matcha powder which I got from the baking department at the basement of Takashimaya (Osaka) located in the Nankai Railway Namba Station building . The matcha powder is very fragrance, unlike those bought at our local baking suppliers which taste somewhat artificial.


The baking ingredients section in Takashimaya Osaka, where I got the matcha powder.



Matcha is a finely ground, powdered, high quality green tea and it is not the same as green tea powder for making green tea drinks. So make sure you get the correct type for use in baking.

The benefits of Matcha are plentiful, it can boost metabolism, helps reduce cholesterol levels and contains antioxidants. However, not everyone takes Matcha well as some do not like the taste of it. I am one huge Matcha fan and I love to use Matcha in my bakes. Thankfully, my hubby and kids accept Matcha well. I am glad that my daughter has grown to be a huge matcha fan like me. :)

Last Friday, the day which my daughter took her PSLE (our nation's most stressful and high stake examination) Chinese oral exam, I wanted to bake something specially for her as she has overcome the first part of PSLE exam. I decided to bake this Matcha chiffon cake after consulting a baking friend Serene in a FB baking group. She has advised me to add the matcha powder to a basic chiffon cake and some honey for a great taste. Thanks to her advice, the cake turns out Oishi!

I searched through my collection of baking books and chose a basic chiffon cake recipe by 君之. I am happy that the cake turned out well, taste light and fluffy too. My girl came home from her exam and was surprised to see the cake made specially for her. She took a bite and gave me two thumbs up. She likes it so much that she had three pieces at a go! (What an appetite... Lol!)  My other half who is used to eating Pandan chiffon cake commented that this Matcha flavour cake is nice and fragrant and he likes it too. :)

Here's the recipe to share with you, hope you will like it.




Matcha chiffon cake



Ingredients: (8" tube pan)

5 eggs (50g each)
85g Top flour or cake flour 
3 teaspoon premium Matcha powder
40g corn oil
40g milk 
1 tablespoon of honey
60g caster sugar (add to egg white)
20g caster sugar (add to egg yolks)


Temperature: Preheat oven to 160 degree C, top and bottom heat. 






Methods:

  1. Sift the top flour and matcha powder together. Separate the egg yolk from egg white. Use a stainless steel container to hold the egg whites, ensure that no water or oil comes into contact with it. This will help to whip up the meringue successfully. 
  2. In another mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and caster sugar until combined.
  3. Add the corn oil and fresh milk to the egg yolk mixture and mix well. Fold in the sifted flour and matcha powder. Take care not to overfold or the cake will not be fluffy. Set aside for later use.
  4. In a stainless steel mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the egg whites. Add in 1/3 of the caster sugar when you see bubbles forming. Add another 1/3 sugar when the bubbles get coarser, add the last 1/3 sugar when you see surface lines forming. Continue to whip and stop when it has just reached stiff peak. Do not over whipped the meringue, too stiff will cause the cake to have a dry texture.
  5. Take 1/3 of the meringue and use a rubber spatula to mix with the egg yolk mixture. Fold gently from the bottom to the top, do not stir in circular motion as this will flatten the meringue. Gradually add in the remaining meringue and fold in till just combined.
  6. Transfer the batter into chiffon pan , smoothen out the surface. Gently give the pan a few bangs on the work surface to release air bubbles that are trapped in the batter. Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 mins on the lowest rack to prevent the surface from browning too fast and causing cracks. 
  7. Invert the cake immediately after taking out from the oven, and cool on the rack completely before you run a thin knife around the sides to dislodge the cake from the pan.
Note: Chiffon cakes are supposed to stick to the sides of the pan when baked. Thus, it is not recommended to use a non-stick pan. Also, do not grease the pan or line it with baking paper as it serves as a surface for the cake to "climb" and "stick" on while baking.
  
Recipe modified and translated to English from 君之's baking book - 跟着君之学烘焙





【抹茶戚风蛋糕】(分量:8寸戚风模一个)


配料:

鸡蛋5个(约50克/个),
低筋面粉 85克,
上等抹茶粉 3小茶匙
蜀米油 40克,
鲜牛奶 40克,
蜜糖 1大匙
细砂糖 60克(加入蛋白中),
细砂糖 20克(加入蛋黄中)

烘焙:160度上下火,约50〜60分钟。


制作步骤:

1)面粉和抹茶粉一起过筛,蛋白蛋黄分离,盛蛋白的盆要保证无油无水,最好使用不锈钢盆。

2)开始制做蛋黄糊,把5个蛋黄加入30克细砂糖,用打蛋器轻轻打散。不要把蛋黄打发。

3)依次加入40克蜀米油和40克鲜牛奶,搅拌均匀。再加入过筛后的面粉和抹茶,用橡皮刮刀轻轻翻拌均匀。不要过度搅拌,以免面粉起筋(面粉如果起筋,可能会使蛋糕的口感过韧,影响蛋糕口感的松软)。做好放一边,接着做蛋白霜。

4)用打蛋器把蛋白打到呈鱼眼泡状的时候,加入1/3的细砂糖(20克),继续搅打到蛋白开始变浓稠,呈较粗泡沫时,再加入1/3糖。再继续搅打,到蛋白比较浓稠,表面出现纹路的时候,加入剩下的1/3糖。(如果一次加入糖过多,会妨碍蛋白的起泡,所以打蛋白的时候,一般习惯使用分次加糖的方式。)

5)再继续打一会儿,当提起打蛋器,蛋白能拉出弯曲的尖角的时候,表示已经到了湿性发泡的程度,还需要继续搅打。当提起打蛋器的时候,蛋白能拉出一个短小直立的尖角,就表明达到了干性发泡的状态,可以停止搅打了。打到干性发泡以后,就不要继续搅打了,如果搅打过头,蛋白开始呈块状,会造成戚风制作的失败。

6)盛1/3蛋白霜到蛋黄糊中。用橡皮刮刀轻轻翻拌均匀(从底部往上翻拌,不要划圈搅拌,以免蛋白消泡)。翻拌均匀后,把蛋黄糊全部倒入盛蛋白的盆中,用同样的手法翻拌均匀,直到蛋白和蛋黄糊充分混合。

7)将混合好的蛋糕糊倒入模具,抹平,用手端住模具在桌上用力震两下,把内部的大气泡震出来。放进预热好的烤箱的最低架,防止表面烧焦。160度上下火,约50〜60分钟。烤好后的蛋糕从烤箱里取出来,立即倒扣在冷却架上直到冷却。然后,脱模,切块即可享用。


注意: 戚风烤的时候不能使用防粘的蛋糕模,也不能在周围铺油纸或涂油,否则戚风会长不高。

 食谱改编自君之的烘培书-  跟着君之学烘焙



“It takes time and effort to compose or translate recipes, I would appreciate it if you do not copy and pass it off as your own recipe. If you wish to share or adapt any of the recipes that I have posted in this blog, please provide a link back to the relevant post. Thank you.”

 "编写或翻译食谱需要时间和精力的,请不要复制或将它作为自己的谱。如果你想分享部落格的任何食谱,请至少提供相关的链接谢谢。"

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