tasteTea cakes

i cannot sit and chat with you

the way i'd like to do.

so brew yourself a cup of tea,

i'll think of you

while you think of me.

***

I appologize for not having the time for a more proper post, but there's always enough time to take a break for a little tea cake....

Green Tea Cake

I drink green tea regularly, but never really thought about incorporating it into dessert like other loose leaf teas. I just couldn't imagine a little tea bag fully capturing the enchanting flavor and essence of green tea. But, once learning The Gilded Fork's February indulgence would be tea, I remembered seeing some Matcha powder in McNulty's tea store a few months ago when I was replenishing my tea and coffee supply...and knew I had to go back. I had never tasted a dessert using Matcha powder, and I had certainly never used it before, so I was intrigued and enlightened.

After stumbling across a gorgeous Matcha Opera Cake created by Anita Chu of Dessert First, I was intrigued and inspired to craft something of equal beauty. But, rather than an Opera Cake, I wanted to make a layer cake comprised of a Matcha sponge cake (I ended up creating a recipe for a chiffon cake because the texture of the chiffon paired better with the rest of the cake), an orange mousse, and Matcha buttercream (Swiss meringue). This cake was much of an experiment for me, as I was unsure of what to expect, but it is now one of my favorites. I rather enjoyed the mellow, complex Matcha flavor and shocking green color -- perhaps a bit too much! For the less adventurous, the cake could easily be made omitting the Matcha, but I would call that crazy...

I also was compelled this month to replicate the brillant White Chocolate and Matcha Tea Marbled Cake I found on La Tartine Gourmande, Bea's absolutely breathtaking blog. While this recipe was not something I created for The Gilded Fork, it was a delicious tea cake and a lovely nibble with a cup of tea....



See more of the Pastry Princess' dessert recipes!

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