Baking with Tea: Green Tea Chiffon Cake With A Ginger Twist

Next time you see a green cake, don’t run! It’s not a joke but a little bit of magic thanks to matcha, powdered green tea. This lighter-than-air green chiffon cake is an absolute treat for a tummy and a sheer beauty for eyes. So roll up your sleeves and let’s get started!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup plus another 3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons matcha powder
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
About 85 g crystallized ginger, finely chopped
8 large eggs, yolk and white separated
1/2 cup grapeseed or canola oil
3/4 cup water
2 teaspoons lemon extract (I used lemon zest)
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius. Butter the inside of a tube pan and dust with a generous pinch of flour.

Step 1: Sift 2 1/2 cups of flour into a mixing bowl. Then sift the sugar, the baking powder, and the matcha powder. Add chopped walnuts and ginger and mix well.

Step 2: With an electric mixer beat the egg yolks with the oil, water, and lemon extract. Slowly add the flour mix in three batches and blend well.

Step 3: Now the egg whites! Use a dry mixing bowl and add a pinch of salt into the egg whites. Beat on low speed until frothy, then increase the speed to high until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 3/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff and glossy peaks form.

Step 4: Gently fold the egg whites into the batter, incorporating just one-third of the egg whites at a time. This step is very important, so if you don’t know how to do it, better watch a video tutorial explaining how to fold egg whites into the batter.

Step 5: Carefully pour the batter into the tube pan. Gently tap the pan on a counter to level the contents and smooth the top of the batter. Place the cake in the oven and bake for about 1 hour, or until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean.

You can also make a glaze to top the cake, but I decided to skip this step.