Matcha Chiffon With Matcha Cream and Matcha Ganache - Addictively Good

I love chiffon cakes. They're quite an Asian cake and most people growing up in South East Asia has probably eaten a chiffon cake. My favourite chiffon cake is the Pandan Chiffon that I normally make. Chiffons are mostly left bare and not iced as Asians tend to like less sweet desserts. I'm not Asian in that way as I always put the pandan coconut fudge onto my pandan chiffon. I can now add some more chiffons to my repertoire thanks to Chiffon Queen, aka Agnes. I've had three of her chiffons and they're all super amazing. I've tried a chocolate chiffon with a chocolate ganache glaze, a lime chiffon with lime curd filling and a Matcha Chiffon with with Matcha Cream and Matcha Ganache. They're all so good but I decided to make the matcha chiffon first as I had some matcha powder in the pantry.

For my matcha chiffon, I added some raspberries both for looks and for flavour. I really loved the slight sourness of the raspberries in this cake as it's quite sweet. I reduced the matcha glaze as I didn't want it as sweet and it was still more than enough. The chiffon itself is beautifully light and works so well with the matcha cream. I had been making the chiffons via another method in the past but this method is far quicker and seems to produce a result that is as fluffy. I will be using this method in future and making many more chiffons.

As usual, some tips to help you bake the best cake possible:

* Use a good quality matcha as it will really come through in the cake. The amounts given in the recipe produce that a cake that's medium in matcha flavour. Obviously, adjust the amount according to what flavour profile you want.

* It doesn't really say how much to whisk the egg yolks for but I just used an electric beater to beat it until it became pale and increased in volume.

* In my pandan chiffon recipe I used to have to fold the flour in slowly to not remove the air in the egg whites. But here you add the flour before the egg whites so you don't have to be gentle and can just mix the flour in.

* When beating the egg whites, make sure you beat it until it is really stiff. The stiffer the better as you will get a fluffy cake.

* Definitely do not fill the cake tin more than 3/4 full as it really rises.

* You must let the cake cool upside down in the tin to enable it to stiffen and stay risen.

* DO NOT OIL OR GREASE THE PAN. The chiffon sticks to the pan enabling it to rise.

* I do use a chiffon mould but have made chiffons successfully in regular cake tins.

* The ganache hardens quite quick so only make it once you have assembled your chiffon and are ready to pour the ganache over it.


Matcha Chiffon Cake with Matcha Cream
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

For the cake
7 eggs, separated (note: if you have large eggs, only use 6)
220g flour
350g caster sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon matcha powder (or more to taste)
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

For the whipped cream filling
200ml thickened cream
1 tablespoon icing sugar
1 & 1/2 teaspoons matcha powder (or more to taste)

For the ganache
100ml thickened cream
220 white chocolate
2 tablespoons corn syrup (leave out if you don't have any)
2 teaspoons matcha powder (or more to taste)

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 160°C and set aside a large 20cm tube cake tin that has a removable base.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

3. Whisk together the matcha powder and water until dissolved, then whisk in the egg yolks, oil, and vinegar.

4. Add to the wet ingredients to the flour and whisk until well combined.

5. In a separate, clean bowl, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar with an electric mixer to stiff peaks.

6. Using a large metal spoon, fold in a spoonful of the egg whites to the cake mixture to lighten it.
Add the rest of the egg whites to the cake mixture and fold in with your metal spoon until just combined.

7. Pour the batter into your cake tin and bang it on your work surface a couple of times to bring any large air bubbles to the surface. (Note: if there is a lot of batter, don't add it all to the tin. You only want to fill it to 3/4 full. If you have extra, put them into cupcake liners and make small cakes. Small cupcake sized ones need to be baked for 15 minutes only.)

8. Bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

9. Remove from the oven and immediately invert the entire tin and cake upside down until it's cool - you can do this by resting the middle of the tube over a bottle, or (if your cake isn't too tall) by placing it over a high wire rack that will let air circulate underneath.

10. To release the cake, run a thin knife around the edge of the cake and the tin. You will want to serve the cake upside down as it's prettier that way.

11. Make the cream filling by whipping the cream with the icing sugar and matcha powder until thick and stiff.

12. When completely cool, cut cake horizontally into three layers with a serrated knife. Place bottom layer on a serving plate and spread with half of the cream. Place the second layer on top and spread with the remaining cream. Place the last layer on top.

13. Make the ganache by adding all the ingredients into a saucepan and melting on a gentle heat until all the chocolate has melted. Let it cool for a bit (about 10 minutes) before pouring on top of the cake.