Cake: Green Tea Sponge Cake

After a number of failed attempts in recreating the green tea roll cake I made last year, I decided to give it a rest. I just couldn't get the consistency right! My cakes always ended up with the texture of a corn tortilla. WHY?! No, I haven't given up I'm just taking some time off. 

So rather than going on a rampage I ended up making this. It's quite fool-proof and requires minimal ingredients. Though you do need to do a lot of cleaning afterwards, but the end result is just so rewarding. 

Oh no, I added too much filling!

Makes 1 cake

Ingredients:

For the cake

• 6 eggs, separated
• 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon bread flour, sifted
• 1 cup caster sugar 
• 1 1/3 tablespoon (or more) green tea powder
• 3 tablespoons hot water
• 1 tablespoon light honey 

For the filling

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 1/2 tablespoons caster sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons green tea powder
• 2 cups diced strawberries

Directions:

• Line two 9-1/4"W x 5-1/4"L pan with parchment paper. Spray oil on pan (if necessary) and set oven at 325°F.
• In a small bowl, mix green tea powder and 2 tablespoons hot water with a small whisk. Set aside. 
• In a large bowl, beat egg whites using hand mixer in medium speed. Add caster sugar little by little until stiff peaks form. 
• Beat in egg yolks one at a time into the batter until combined.
• Slowly pour in sifted bread flour into the batter and mix with a spatula by using a cutting and scooping motion. Pour in watered down green tea into the batter and mix. *Do not over-mix the batter*
• Pass the batter through a sieve in a separate bowl. 
• Pour batter into both lined pans in equal parts and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cake looks golden-green. Remove cake from the pan and set on a cooling rack for 5 minutes.
• When cake is completely cooled, brush top layer of cake with honey and water mixture. Wrap the cakes with saran wrap and let it sit in the fridge for two hours.
• In the meantime,  you can dice your strawberries and make the whipping cream.
• To make whipping cream, simply whip the heavy cream in a chilled bowl until soft peaks form. Add in sugar and green tea and whip until peaks form. Once the cake is completely chilled, decorate the cake as seen in the picture below.

I dusted the cake with 1/2 teaspoon green tea and 1 teaspoon caster sugar.